The National Women’s Soccer League championship is uncharted territory for the Red Stars.
Except for two-time league MVP Sam Kerr, who played for the Western New York Flash in the 2013 final.
“I honestly don’t think it’s that relevant,” Kerr said. “We have girls on our team that have played in a World Cup final. There are much bigger games than the NWSL final. Yuki [Nagasato’s] taken a penalty in a World Cup final. Girls have played in bigger moments. For us, it’s just exciting. We’re not taking it as a pressure.”
Though it isn’t her first championship match, it could be her last. If that’s the case, Kerr, who reportedly has received lucrative offers to play in Europe, wants to leave it all on the field Sunday against the defending champion North Carolina Courage.
“It’s probably the most important [game],” Kerr said. “In my career right now, it’s the most important. I don’t have anything other than this game to look forward to.”
The Courage are playing in their fourth consecutive final, including when they were the Flash in 2016. They beat the Red Stars in the semifinals the last two seasons.
“They’ve knocked us out a few times, so hopefully we can get some revenge,” said Kerr, whose team is on a six-game winning streak.
Kerr headlines a match that will feature some of women’s soccer’s most prominent players, including 12 World Cup players and nine NWSL Best XI and Second XI selections. The Red Stars will rely heavily on Kerr, but the league’s first two-time MVP isn’t feeling the pressure from anyone other than herself.
Kerr, who led the league in scoring (18 goals) for the third consecutive year, scored four goals in three games against the Courage this season. North Carolina’s Lynn Williams finished second with 12 goals.
“I don’t want to let the girls down,” Kerr said. “I don’t want to let the fans down, and I’m pretty hard on myself when I don’t score, but it’s not really about me scoring.
“We’ve showed that over the last few games. Everyone can score, and if I’m making runs, that’s taking defenders away, that opens up other spaces, I’m happy with that. The main thing on the weekend is that we win. It doesn’t matter how we do it.”
They’ll have to do it without defender Tierna Davidson, who was ruled out after suffering a sprained ankle Thursday in practice. The Red Stars will rely on Julie Ertz, Casey Short and their athletic midfielders to shut down the Courage’s impressive transition game and attack, which helped them lead the league with 54 goals this season.
North Carolina is deep on offense, led by Williams, Kristen Hamilton and Debhina. They also has U.S. women’s national-team players Jessica McDonald and Crystal Dunn at forward.
So as important as Kerr will be, without a big game from the back line, the Red Stars could be in trouble.
“We know how fast and how dynamic they are going forward,” Ertz said. “Trying to take that part of their game is huge, but at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to individual battles. You have to defend when you play North Carolina.”
