Crystal Dunn is accustomed to coming into Providence Park with the visitors, dealing with a hostile environment as the Rose City Riveters and a packed stadium root against her team and for the Portland Thorns.

Now, after being traded from the North Carolina Courage to the OL Reign and then from the Reign to the Thorns, Dunn is excited for a new experience when she plays at Providence Park starting next season.

“The environment has always energized me and made me feel like this is a proper professional environment,” Dunn told reporters Friday from U.S. Women’s National Team camp in Colorado.

“To be able to wear that jersey and have the fans cheering my name now and cheering for me is going to be definitely a really great feeling versus the opposite happening.”

The Thorns acquired the 28-year-old midfielder on Thursday in exchange for allocation money, a 2021 international roster spot and the Thorns’ first-round pick in the 2022 NWSL College Draft.

The Thorns paid the Reign $150,000 in allocation money now, and will owe them $50,000 on Jan. 1, plus more allocation money later that is contingent on Dunn’s future play in the NWSL.

Dunn, the NWSL MVP in 2015, helped lead the Courage to championships in 2018 and 2019. She also has been a mainstay on the national team, with 24 goals and 17 assists in 104 appearances.

Dunn’s move from North Carolina will reunite her with husband Pierre Soubrier, the head athletic trainer for the Thorns.

“I think most people, when they talk about getting traded or wanting to be traded, they are super unhappy and they want out and they’re scratching and clawing,” Dunn said. “I think for my situation, it was different. I spoke calmly to North Carolina earlier this year, just voicing that distance has been hard for me and my husband. … They understood, they accepted how I felt and throughout this year we had various conversations.”

Dunn said she approached the Courage again after the conclusion of the NWSL Fall Series to see if a deal could be struck.

“They’ve showed nothing but support and I am so grateful that they handled it in the way they did because, of course, they did voice that they wanted me to stay,” she said. “Of course they were like, ‘We would really, really like you to stay, but we understand that family’s important and having balance in your life is extremely important as well.’”

Dunn also will be back with Thorns coach Mark Parsons, her coach during her first two seasons with the Washington Spirit from 2014-15. Parsons called Dunn “a game-changer” who can “unlock a game in a split second.”

Dunn plays multiple positions and has played defender for the national team alongside the Thorns’ Becky Sauerbrunn, but she is looking for a different role with her new team.

“I think he knows that I want to pursue an attacking role and I think he can agree with me as well on that,” Dunn said. “He’s excited, I’m excited.”

The Courage and the Thorns have developed a rivalry, with the Thorns beating North Carolina for the NWSL title in 2017 and the Courage returning the favor in 2018.

“I think that’s what makes this move obviously very interesting,” Dunn said. “I obviously, beginning of my career, never thought I’d see myself playing for the Thorns. They obviously were the team that everyone was like, ‘Ah, they have everything, so we’ve got to take them down.’ And I think life works in mysterious ways and I think it’s really cool to kind of wake up this morning and be like, ‘I’m playing for a team that I never thought that I’d play for.’”

Dunn said she is excited about the talented players she will join in Portland, and she is especially happy to no longer have to contend with Lindsey Horan during games.

“I feel like every time it was North Carolina versus Portland, Paul (Riley) would be like, ‘All right, make sure Lindsey doesn’t get on the ball, Crys. Wherever she goes, just make it hard on her.’ And obviously I spend the whole game where I’m like, ‘I just want to be free, I want to do my thing. I don’t want to be worried about Lindsey getting on the ball.’ But now she’ll be alongside me and I feel like my job will be a lot easier.”

Since the trade became official, Dunn said she has been “on a roller coaster kind of feeling.” Dunn not only has played in North Carolina for the Courage for the past three years, but also played for the University of North Carolina from 2010-13.

“It’s hard to say goodbye,” she said. “I loved playing in North Carolina. It’s such a special place for me. My teammates were incredible, the environment was incredible and it’s been hard. But of course I am excited for a new chapter. I’m excited to be challenged in a different way and play in an incredible new city and in front of so many amazing fans.”