The 2018 National Women's Soccer League season has led back to where things ended a year ago: a final between the North Carolina Courage and Portland Thorns.

Last season in Orlando, Portland edged out North Carolina, 1-0, in an extremely physical championship match. On Saturday in Portland, the league's top two teams will meet once again, with North Carolina looking cap a record-setting season with some revenge and Portland hoping to add a third NWSL title to their cabinet.

After coming up just short of the title in 2017, North Carolina was even more of a force this year, setting NWSL records for wins (17), regular-season points (57) and regular-season goals (53), while winning a second consecutive Supporter's Shield. Portland, meanwhile, finished second in the regular-season standings, led by NWSL MVP Lindsey Horan.  Each team had four players selected to the league's Best XI.

To preview the match, Former NWSL player and United States International Lori Lindsey spoke to beIN SPORTS about the finalists and her view of the championship rematch between the North Carolina Courage and the Portland Thorns.
 
beIN: North Carolina had a record-setting regular season. What was it that made them so special?

Lori Lindsey: I would say their belief in the mindset of being the best, the way they approach the game every single day and the way they compete at training. I would say that they have the most competitive environment in training every single day so when it comes time for the gameday it doesn’t even compare to what goes down on the training field.

The reason why I say that is because I played for Paul Riley before in Philadelphia and I know that he brings that level of excellence and that competitiveness himself, and he demands that from his players.

Love him or hate him, love or hate North Carolina and the way they play, they limit the amount of mistakes they make, they put other teams under pressure to force them to make mistakes and that’s really what separates them. Plus, add in unbelievable quality of play and the depth in their roster.

But credit to Paul Riley and his players, he gets the most out of his players and there is a deep belief in their team and the way that they want to play and the ruthlessness that they bring to the team. Anybody will tell you, they’re difficult to play. That’s shown in their record, that’s shown in the amount of goals and opportunities they create, so they’re going to be a difficult one to beat.

 
beIN: Who is the player that makes them go?

Lori Lindsey: I would have absolutely said McCall Zerboni, sitting in a midfield position. Her play in the NWSL has provided her with numerous call ups now with the women’s national team. Unfortunately, her start in the last women’s national team game she shattered her arm basically, so now she’s out.

I think that’s more of a loss than a lot of people would probably think. They can easily make that up with the players that they have, but I think McCall and her position, her tenacity, her leadership on and off the field, they’re going to feel that loss. I think that will be interesting to see if that will be the difference maker for them. But at the same time I don’t know if it’s an individual player that makes them tick.  

I think if you look at them they’re operating on all cylinders with their pressure, their ability to win the ball back immediately and if one person is having an off game you’re looking at their lineup and the players that are operating at a high level and there’s somebody else there. They’re not just relying on one person.

 
beIN: It sounds like you don’t think all last week’s controversy around moving their home semifinal will have rattled or affected them at all?

Lori Lindsey: There’s a couple things. No, I don’t think they were rattled by it. They might be upset by it and that might fuel them, because they deserved that home field advantage.

As much as I love the NWSL and I back our league, we do have room to improve and I think this is, if you look across the board at other leagues in the U.S., this wouldn’t have happened. They would have looked for a place in Atlanta, even D.C., somewhere closer where their fans could support them instead of moving it all the way across the country.

I understand where that thought process came from in terms of whoever wins can stay in Portland for the final, but I think if you deserve a home field advantage then you’ve got to do whatever you can to preserve that or somewhere close enough.

But at the same time if you just look at the mentality of their team and how they performed throughout the season and again I mentioned Paul Riley and what he brings as a coach to that team, I think they’ll use it as fuel to be pissed off.
 
beIN: For Portland, last year’s champions, how did they get back here:

Lori Lindsey: First, you can’t talk about Portland when they’re playing at home without talking about their fans and the stadium and the atmosphere that brings. That’s massive … it’s unbelievable. It sets a precedent for women’s football. So there’s that.

Then on the field, you look at their roster with the squad they have with Christine Sinclair, one of the best players ever to play in the women’s game; Lindsey Horan, I can’t even say up-and-coming at this time, she’s got a number of caps for our national team, has played an important role the last few years with them; and then Tobin Heath.

Then there’s also just a good balance with the team. You have these star-studded players but then you also have players who are just willing to do their job. I think that is sometimes overlooked with the balance in a team: players that are just willing to do the work, cover for some of these players and not necessarily cater to the abilities they bring, but I can’t stress the balance of the team across the board.

Then you look at goalkeeper Adrianna Franch, she had a hell of a game on Saturday vs. Seattle, kept them in it, huge saves that allowed them to get back into the game.
 
beIN: What is that atmosphere like? How much of a factor will the crowd be?

Lori Lindsey: I think it’s going to be massive. … It’s a huge home-field advantage for them to have that loud of a stadium behind them, but also I think it plays into the team that’s coming there as well.

Because for a lot of players if you haven’t played with the national team and you haven’t played in a World Cup or Olympics then you haven’t played in front of that amount of fans before. So to come into a stadium and you’re playing in front of 15-20 thousand fans, that’s the most fans that some of these players have ever played in front of by a longshot.

So there’s nerves but there’s also excitement behind it, and that ups the ante in the game immediately. At the same time it’s the final and you have all these teams have played there at least one or two times this season. Then you look at the opponent, they’re so well coached, so well prepared.

So I think it adds and additional element for Portland but it just adds to the excitement in general and I don’t know how much at this point in time it will play a role for Portland because with that opponent they’re going to be ready to go and fired up.

 
beIN: Let’s talk more about Horan. What has she done to grow into such an influential player and now a league MVP?

Lori Lindsey: I think the thing that sets her apart is her goal scoring ability as a midfielder.

A lot of players, myself included, would think of her more as a playmaking midfielder, attacking midfielder that can thread balls through, is skillful, can wiggle her way out of pressure, but at the same time the amount of goals she’s scored this season, game-winning goals, important goals she’s score has set her apart.

I’m still shaking my head at how these other teams on set pieces are not double teaming her. A lot of times on the goals she’s scored she’s been wide open. It’s mind boggling. I think that’s what’s really separated her.

She’s an interesting one because she didn’t go to college, she skipped college, played over in France, so she’s gotten this experience that’s unique. Playing overseas and then coming here and playing in these high-level games at such an early age, I think that has really helped with her development as well.

 
beIN: A year later, how do you see this match going differently than last season’s final? How have they adjusted, how are they different?

Lori Lindsey: It could still be a very physical game as it was last year. That was what that final was known for, just the physicality.

But I think going into this game there could be even better soccer played. I think both teams have matured, you have another year with the majority of these players on both of these teams – Portland with a few new faces compared to last year.

Just high-quality teams, good players, good footballers and they’re going to bring that physicality. But I still think there’s going to be better soccer played and maybe some more tactical awareness within the game than we saw last year.

You can check out more of Lindsey’s thoughts on recent developments with Real Madrid, the World Cup, and more here.