NWSL
Red Stars defeat Thorns 1-0 to reach NWSL championship
NWSL

Red Stars defeat Thorns 1-0 to reach NWSL championship

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:48 p.m. ET

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) — Sam Kerr scored in the ninth minute and the Chicago Red Stars advanced to the National Women's Soccer League championship match with a 1-0 victory over the Portland Thorns on Sunday.

The Red Stars are heading to a final for the first time after four straight semifinal losses. They'll play the North Carolina Courage, which defeated the Reign FC 4-1 in Sunday's early semifinal.

The Red Stars finished second in the league with a 14-8-2 regular-season record, including victories in their final five games.

Kerr, the league's Golden Boot winner, scored 18 goals in 21 matches to break her own league record for goals in a single season. Widely expected to leave the NWSL and play in Europe next season, Kerr's goal Sunday was her first ever in the playoffs.

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The Thorns, who finished third in the standings with an 11-6-7 record, had won just once in the last five matches with only one goal over that span. Portland had not dropped a match to the Red Stars since the 2013 season.

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