Lindsey Horan earns League MVP of 2018

Voted 2018 league MVP, Lindsey Horan talks about being MVP and the final ahead (photo by Dante’y Buitureida).

Joining Portland in 2016, Lindsey Horan became the first Thorn to earn the title of League MVP. Breaking a club record, Horan scored 13 goals during the 2018 season and scored the game winning goal in their semi-final, sending them to the championship game for the third year in a row.

Horan becomes only the second player in NWSL history to earn both the League MVP and a NWSL Championship MVP, which she won for her role in the 2017 NWSL Championship, where she also scored the game winning goal.

Horan is a native of Colorado and was the first American woman to join a professional team straight after high school; giving up a scholarship to North Carolina to play for Paris Saint-Germain FC.

After winning the award Horan started by thanking her team.

“Credit to my team and what they’ve done this year to get us to this point. I thank them and I’m so grateful for them and the staff, they’ve pushed me hard every single day and they’ve gotten me to this point. It’s just an honor to win this award with my team behind me. “

Thorns head coach Mark Parsons then spoke about what Lindsey brings to the team.

“What’s she’s brought this year is a level of consistency where she’s preforming at that level every single week, every single game. She trains at such a high level and demands to be pushed. The fact that she’s had a year like this, when we’ve had some ups and downs and we’ve had the challenges we’ve had, she’s been able to individually perform. It’s a great testament to her mentality.”

The Thorns will be facing off against the North Carolina Courage in the NWSL Championship for the third year in a row. The final will be Saturday September 22nd at 1:30 pm PST, broadcast on the Lifetime channel.