Thorns FC: Balefire

From Merriam-Webster:
“Middle English, from Old English bǣlfȳr funeral fire, from bǣl pyre + fȳr fire”

Nothing says the 4-2 thumping the Thorns dealt out to Seattle to me so much as this moment in the 55th minute. The play had started about half a minute earlier, off an Olivia Moultrie free kick.

Moultrie’s lofted service was cleared, but only out to Hina Sugita above the penalty arch. Hina-san‘s hard shass (shot? pass? whatev’…) went to Isabella Obaze inside the 18, and Obaze deftly slid it out to Moultrie, who’d followed her service into the left side of the Seattle defense.

Sam Meza had the unenviable job of putting a collar on Moultrie.

That…didn’t go so well. Because first Moultrie took a step to her left over the ball.

And Meza completely bit the step, guessing Moultrie was going to the byline to cross in.

So Moultrie, in one of the coldest, filthiest, most brutal, utterly disrespectful moves I’ve ever seen, neatly stepped back to her right…

….leaving Meza stone dead at her feet and the whole goal open to her mercy.

Of which she had absolutely none. Moultrie could have blasted at Claudia Dickey, who’d been tough in front of the shot all match.

Instead she lifted her head, saw Reina Reyes calling for the ball, and lofted it onto her head…
(Correction: commentor Brian points out that Moultrie didn’t try to dime Reyes, and looking at the tape again, dammit, he’s right. Moultrie bangs in…something. I’m not convinced it’s a shot – if so it’s a poor one, too low and short – and it pings off a Seattle head to Reyes – but it’s also not a cross, so let’s call it a “shoss” and just enjoy the nasty deke. For which, BTW, Carlisle-sensei had a wonderful little story:
“Moultrie took from this playbook (Tobin Heath-style trickery) to completely sell Meza a fake Rolex. “No no, it’s real,” she said, lying. “You can tell by the weight,” she said, liarfully. “I’ll tell you a secret, real Rolexes have a tiny, engraved heart that confirms it was handcrafted,” she explained, lying liarly. Meza bought it and was happily on her way home when it broke apart into seven pieces in her pocket.
Dammit.”)

…and, however it got there, into the goal.

Three-one Portland and Seattle never clawed all the way back level.

Pulled one back in the 64th minute (dammit, Fishlock, you magnificent bastard…) but Portland shipped a fourth less than a minute later and then it was all smoke and roses.

Isn’t it fun to beat Seattle?

Some opposing clubs are, well, sort of…nice. Decent to play against. The “best of enemies” sort of opponents.

Seattle?

Fuuuuuck no. Those wenches are just poison.

A lot of that is the long history, but a lot more is the people. I talked about this a couple of years ago when the Reign rolled in here late in the season, and how Megan Rapinoe and Jess Fishlock were the bookends for “Fuck Seattle”:

“I kinda love ‘Pinoe for her understanding of the role she plays in the Thorns-Reign rivalry: she’s the “heel”.
Now Fishlock?

“She’s just a dick. Great player, total dick, and is ice-cold about it. She’ll roll you for a nickel and stab you for the extra dime.
Fishlock don’t care.
But Rapinoe does. ‘Pinoe just gets it. She loves the kayfabe, loves her part in it, loves trolling the Riveters, loves starting shit because that’s what a heel does.
She’s enjoyed a lot of Double Birds over the years, and has reveled in the abuse floating down from the Shed End, and I enjoy that, too.”

Without Rapinoe, though? Seattle’s all just mean and Fishlock-grim and Harvey Sufferball and so to send that lot packing back up I-5 weeping bitter tears?

Makes me shout with joy.

That makes me a bad person, and I’m okay with that.

We’ll talk a lot more details in the comments, but I wanted to note a couple of things.

It wasn’t just Moultrie. The Thorns had so many great moments.

As I said over at Stumptown:

“Turner’s blazing run to the byline and hard turn inside that forced Bugg into the desperation shove. Fleming’s dime to Turner, and Turner’s sweet juggling touch and volley. Hina-san‘s sleek through ball and Tordin’s silky run and thumping finish.
This team isn’t always as good as they were today. But for now? That’s okay; it’s enough to bathe in the sweet nectar of Seattle tears. Today was a damn fine day.”

This squad has been up and down all season and some of the “downs” have been fucking ugly (see: “Washington away”…).

But this “up”?

Was a very, very good “up”.

Part of that was the squad realizing early what they’d got for a center referee

The opening minutes saw some real hockey-game moments. Full body checks, hacking tackles, studs-up leg breakers. I didn’t look at the PRO assignment list, but I should have, because the style was pretty obvious:

Ekaterina “Forty Stitches or a Gunshot” Koroleva.

I’ve seen Thorns squads intimidated by getting koroleva’d before, so it was refreshing to see this…

…in the fifth minute. That’s Moultrie (can you tell that Livvy was fucking everywhere last Sunday..?) going straight through the back of Maddie Dahlien. Clear and obvious foul.

No call.

The Thorns had totally figured it out and got all up in that. Yes, it led to some ugly-ass soccer. But it also leveled the pitch. Seattle – and this is Fishlock’s team, no mistake, so physical? Yes, please! – couldn’t use force to knock Portland on their heels.

Sam Coffey and Jessie Fleming and Moultrie were the muscle, Hina Sugita and Pietra Tordin the stilettos, and between them Seattle was the one that felt like they were running uphill all afternoon.

Nice.

Short Passes

Here’s Sofascore’s “momentum” plot:

Lots of green, and the blue was pretty sparse despite the blocks late in both halves. Instead of the Portland scarcity I tracked in Washington, here’s Seattle in my match notes:
3′ – Portland’s backline falls asleep (Obaze!!!!WTF???) and lets Adames break through and score, 0-1.”
14-15′ – “Couple of good ideas; 14′ Adames cross just misses Huitema, 15′ Hiatt forced to make good tackle on Huitema after good Fishlock run through midfield
35-45′ – “Seattle w possession but no purpose. Good Thorns team defense, nothing really”
64′ – “Coffey (?!?!%$@!) loses Fishlock who runs under Kerr cross, easy finish, 3-2.”
73′ – “Another good Kerr cross. McKenzie heads short to Adames but her shot is right at Arnold”
79′ – “Scary scuffle in Portland box. Castellanos BAD giveaway, Reyes tangles Mondesir’s legs, blocked shot, finally cleared out thanks Coffey”
83′ – “Adames long shot just high.”

Two defensive breakdowns. A scary couple of flurries in the seventies. But that was it, and running wild at the other end.

The xG races show how it went. First Henderson:

Let me note here that 1) I don’t think I’ve EVER seen a Thorns squad put up a post-shot xG over four this season, and 2) Pietra Tordin (per FBref) accounts for almost half of that (xG 1.7, PSxG 2.05).

Then Carlisle-sensei:

Yep.

Here’s Carlisle-sensei’s passing charts: first Portland:

Seattle:

I don’t have much to add here other than that Biyendolo had a half hour, Fishel 24 minutes, Mondesir and Ji nearly a quarter hour, but when you go back up and look at the xG race plots? I don’t see anything there.

Not going to argue about braaaaains. But it looks to me like – I hate to even say this, but – Galeball was working on Sufferball and winning. So I’m not sure if more Biyendolo, Fishel, or Ji would have made things any better. Closer, maybe. But maybe not.

Turnover and over.

Here’s how things are going;

Opponent (Result) – 2025	Turnovers
Kansas City – Away (L)	38
Angel City – Home (D)	38
North Carolina – Home (D)	32
Utah – Away (W)	25
Seattle – Away (L)	34
Gotham – Home (W)	26
Louisville – Home (D)	16
Orlando – Home (W)	18
San Diego – Away (D)	32
Houston – Away (W)	21
Bay FC – Away (L)	No data
Washington – Home (W)	16
Chicago – Home (W)	22
Washington – Away (L)	27
Seattle – Home (W)	20

Good numbers, and mostly not unforced errors but press-adjacent. Twelve in the first half, eight in the second. Seattle was slightly worse; 23, ten first half, thirteen second.

The Biggest Loser competition was “won” by Mallie McKenzie and Hina-san, but with only three turnovers each, followed by Moultrie with two-and-a-half. Nobody else with more than two.

And, better, nothing really scary. Arnold short-legged a goal kick in the second minute, but Seattle couldn’t really respond, and nobody else coughed up a real hairball.

Press!

Eleventh match tracking the effect of each side’s press. I counted either a 1) turnover (either from a tackle-for-loss or a mishit forced pass), or a 2) forced retreat or drop-pass that killed off a progressive action, as a pressing “win”. If two players were involved in a press each received a half mark (for attempts) and a half credit for successes.

Both sides came out pressing high and hard. As Portland piled up goals the Thorns backed off the press, preferring to keep Seattle in front of them. The Reign, OTOH, kept trying, hoping to turn Portland over, with increasing desperation as the clock ran down.

Match time	Reign presses (wins)(%)	Thorns presses (wins)(%)
0-15′	16(12) (75%)	16(13) (81.2%)
15-30′	10(3) (30%)	6(2) (33.3%)
30-45+4′	7(3) (42.8%)	6(4) (86.4%)
First half	33(18) (54.4%)	22(19) (38.4%)
45-60′	4(3) (75%)	8(5) (62.5%)
60-75′	8(3) (37.5%)	5(4) (80%)
75-90+6′	6(3) (50%)	7(5) (71.4%)
Second half	18(9) (50%)	20(14) (70%)
Match Total	51(27) (52.8%)	42(33) (78.5%)

My thoughts:
1) I get that both sides wanted to go in hard and disrupt the other’s buildup. Sunday’s heat meant that both realized that their opening quarter hour was unsustainable and backed off.
2) Then “goals change games” and Portland’s hat trick meant that the Thorns could do just fine sitting up in front of Seattle and jamming them up in midfield, and did.
3) Jessie Fleming was her usual bestial self – 13 presses, 8 wins – the most ferocious of the Portland midfield that, as Carlisle-sensei noted, was highly effective at stymieing Seattle.
4) Both Hina-san and Moultrie were right behind – each with eight presses and five wins. Sam Coffey was perfect four-for-four, including the huge tackle for gain that what should have been Portland’s fifth goal, a Tordin header that barely missed wide in the 72nd minute.
5) On the ‘receiving” end Seattle hammered futilely on Coffey (eight presses, only three Seattle wins) and Reyes (eight presses, four Seattle wins). Surprisingly the Reign did better against Sugita (four presses, three Seattle wins) and Fleming (five presses, three Seattle wins).

Here’s the running tally:

Match (Result)	Opponent Press (Success)	Thorns Press (Success)
Utah Away (W)	28/12 (42.8%)	27/15 (55.5%)
Seattle Away (L)	32/23 (71.8%)	21/15 (71.4%)
Gotham Home (W)	28/20 (71.4%)	19(15) (78.9%)
Louisville Home (D)	34/25 (73.5%)	14/8 (57.1%)
Orlando Home (W)	28/17 (60.7%)	43/24 (55.8%)
San Diego Away (D)	18/18 (100%)	100/36 (36%)
Houston Away (W)	27/17 (62.9%)	42/23 (54.7%)
Bay FC Away (L)	No data	No data
Washington Home (W)	31(15) (48.3%)	61(48) (78.6%)
Chicago Home (W)	31(21) (67.7%)	51(39) (76.4%)
Washington Away (L)	18(17) (94.4%)	25(12) (48%)
Seattle Home (W)	51(27) (52.8%)	42(33) (78.5%)

Did what was needed to win.

Corner Kicks

Four, all long, three first half, one second half

Time	Taker	Short/Long?	Result
8′	Moultrie	Long	Cleared out to Sugita, who shot weakly with a Thorn offside.
25′	Moultrie	Long	Onto Reyes’ head; her shot was blocked out to Fleming, who lobbed onto Turner’s boot, 2-1 Portland.
44′	Moultrie	Long	Into the scrum, cleared, recycled, but nothing there.
62′	Moultrie	Long	Onto Obaze’s head but the header was well over.

If you count the Turner goal (and I do) three shots, one goal; 75% shot production and 25% conversion is a damn fine corner kick outcome

Player Ratings and Comments

Turner (84′ – +6/-0 : +5/-0 : +11/-0) You’re going to notice a trend here; lots of high pluses, but in particular very few minuses and lots of “-0” numbers. That’s not because the Thorns squad was flawless, but because the individuals did a lot of damage control – mistakes tended to either happen away from the most dangerous Seattle actions – and the squad played as a well-organized and disciplined group.

Meaning that players had each others’ backs. So if one missed a tackle, or hit a poor pass, a teammate was there to clean up; take on the opponent and win, cut off the resulting pass, back up the mistake and shut down the opportunity, so the mistake didn’t end up a “minus”.

I’ve given Koroleva stick for her tolerance of thuggery, but I’ll give her and her linesperson credit for this:

That’s Tordin in an offside position as Fleming tees up to deliver the service on Turner’s goal. I’ve seen referees call that despite the rule. Fortunately Koroleva swallowed her whistle for that one, too, because it was a pretty goal.

Tough call on Woman of the Match for this one. I’m inclined to go with Fleming, but Turner contributed to two goals (drew the PK foul, scored) so she’s got to be in there.

Daiane (6′ – +2/-1) Saw out the win, so good enough.

Tordin (75′ – +7/-0 : +6/-0 : +13/-0) Another WotM candidate; sweetly finished goal, and as noted, should have had another but for the location of the post. Everything we’ve wanted to see; intelligent runs, good positioning, only this time with the finish. FBref has her as top xG on the squad (1.7) and we’ve noted how much better her actual shooting was. Might have been her best match to date.

Castellanos (15′ – +2/-1) Ken had a damn good day last Sunday, but this sub was still a headscratcher. Deyna Castellanos can’t defend worth a lick. You’re sitting on a late lead…why? Even one of the backbenchers like Boeckman would have made more sense.

Moultrie (84′ – +6/-2 : +5/-0 : +11/-2) Deserved all the roses just for that step-over, but was everywhere else, too, so get some, Livvy.

Linnehan (6′ – +3/-1) See the Daiane comment, plus had a couple of nice goes at goal.

Sugita (+8/-2 : +6/-1 : +14/-3) Silken assist on the Tordin goal plus all her usual hard work in midfield and the clever ballwork – her 19th minute chest-pass to Tordin in what felt like a phonebooth was amazing – but I’d like to see her be a bit more clinical with her shooting.

FBref has Hina-san with five shots (xG 1.12) – second on the squad – but two were off-target and one was blocked (PSxG 0.0), and two were right at Dickey (PSxG 0.84), one point-blank in the 19th minute, the other in the 50th minute, same thing – easy save for Dickey.

Scoring isn’t really her brief, but Sugita has a deft touch, and you’d think she could apply that to her shooting.

Coffey (+6/-0 : +9/-1 : +15/-1) Just another good day in the office for Captain Coffey.

That said…

…Fishlock was your mark on her goal. I know it was hot, and you’d worked your ass off all afternoon. But getting caught waving to your backline “watch out here comes Fishlock!” don’t cut it. You of all people know you get stuck in from kickoff to final whistle.

We good?

Because before we go I just can’t not include this; it’s in the 93th minute. You’ve just flattened someone (Huitema, I think…) and looked over at Koroleva with your hands in the air signalling “who, me?”.

Koroleva just smiled and whistled you up. At which point you became Sam-sensei the Zen Master.

Wakarimasu, Coffey-sama.

You’re made of 100% awesome.

Fleming (84′ – +9/-0 : +5/-0 : +14/-0) Woman of the Match. Fight me.

Alidou (6′ – +2/-1) see the Daiane comment.

McKenzie (75′ – +7/-2 : +4/-1 : +11/-3) This match makes it difficult to understand starting Kaitlyn Torpey, despite her international c.v., over McKenzie. Given a tough assignment (Huitema, Dahlien) McKenzie was solid (the concessions were mostly on Obaze and Coffey). If she’s like this all the time? Well, Ken..?

Torpey (15′ – +1/-1) See above.

Hiatt (+3/-0 : +2/-1 : +5/-1) The nice thing about having a midfield boss is that the backs can loaf about picking flowers. Did what they needed to, but didn’t need to do mad defending because Coffey & Co. were all over it.

Obaze (+2/-1 : +4/-0 : +6/-1) Luckily you can only get one minus for a fuckup, because you were the goat on the Adames goal; asleep on the through-ball then skinned on Adames’ run. Ouch.

After that? Fine. But that was kind of “one awshit…” territory. In the reverse fixture an early defensive fuckup cost all three points, so you better be buying the beers for your midfield and forwards all week, girlfriend.

Reyes (+4/-0 : +10/-0 : +14/-0) Another WotM candidate. Monster at both ends of the pitch.

Arnold (+1/-1 : +0/-0 : +1/-1) There’s something about the Arnold/Bixby dynamic that brings out the Arnold haters.

I get it. Bixby is the cuddly homegirl. Mommy with adorable tiny baby. Local. Came up through the ranks. Heartwarming overcoming-adversity-story.

Arnold is the imported mercenary. Whose issues with being thrown in cold are visible,

That said…at this point their metrics are nearly identical, and before that Arnold’s were significantly better.

I don’t have strong feelings either way, but Arnold is clearly ahead on the depth chart, and her coaches see both players way more than we do.

Coach Ken: I gotta hand it to you; this one was kick ass. Seeing your squad out-game Laura Harvey? NOT on my bingo card.

Now though…we’ve reveled in the funeral pyre of fucking Seattle. Mmmmm, nice. Three of August’s 12 points in the can.

Time to go back to work.

Carolina away this coming weekend. Carolina is kind of a hot mess, but Cary has always been trouble for this team.

Then..?

Kansas City here. Fucking Galactus. Running away with the Shield. Death Star of Matchday One.

You beat those people..?

Dear CBS: (a streaming rant)

I’m kinda okay with you showing your whole ass and tongue-bathing Fucking Trump to get all snuggly with fucking fascism. Craven corporate whores gotta do what craven corporate whores gotta do.

But this shit..?

That’s totally fucking unacceptable.

You’re supposed to be a “big network”. You’re supposed to have all the expensive network tech. But if your stream is glitchy and pixellated like the Bad Old Days of YouTube streams from fucking Sahlen Stadium in Rochester.

No. Fuck no. Just fuuuuuuck no.

Be better, CBS.

Oh, and some free advice:?

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

That’s Ben Franklin, BTW. Dude knew something about liberty and autocracy.

Just sayin’.