>
What’s the standard for Sunday when Portland visits North Carolina Courage (3pm PT, NWSLsoccer.com)? For most games, the standard would be win, and undoubtedly, in the single day of preparation Thorns FC will have on the ground in Cary, North Carolina, ahead of the team’s third meeting of the year with the Courage, that will be the standard espoused.
The Thorns are the reigning NWSL champions, the only team in the league with two stars above their crest and, in players like Christine Sinclair, Lindsey Horan, Tobin Heath and Adrianna Franch, can proclaim to have some of the league’s best at their positions.