The Thorns Prediction Game: MD3 POR v SDW

I don’t know if we’ll ever have another match as purely nutso as last Friday’s Magnificent Nine win over Seattle.

Be that as it may, this week is a brutally short turnaround; Wednesday the Thorns travel to San Diego to play another West Coast sorta-rival, the San Diego Wave.

The two clubs have started spring quite differently.

Portland is 2-0-0, 3GF, 0GA. Third on the table.

San Diego dropped their home opener to a surprisingly good Houston (another top three club, sitting above us on GD, 4/0 +4) but got revenge by going on the road to Utah, where the ever-accommodating Royals rolled over for them.

They scored early (Dudinha, 18′) and late (Godfrey, 87′) after the Royals had equalized in the 67th minute.

At the moment San Diego is lying 7th, 1-0-1, 2GF, 2GA.

Meanwhile…

Our punters have been hard at work, offering predictions in the first game post and – after I was lazy and forgot to do a prediction for Seattle – in the comments of the Washington match report. Here’s where we stand:

Washington: DanXP2 got the result, and Moultrie as the goalscorer. PTFC Dave nicked the 2 points taken for his story of Kang and a fistfull of dollars.

Seattle: Several people got the result. Ken got the score, too, and a point for calling Bogere for the first yellow, but it was PTFC Dave who ran the table; result, and BOTH scorers AND the “assist bonus”, getting both the assisters correct.

Here’s the league table before Matchday 3:

How all this works:
Before the upcoming Thorns match add a comment to this post. As your first line, put your predicted result, for example 1-3 Thorns.

In the body of your comment, start with the goals and assists, like so:
Wilson (Fleming)
Reyes (Free kick)
Moultrie (Unassisted)
Rodman (PK)

Next, name the first yellow card recipient: Sophia Wilson
Then a red card. (NOTE: no points awarded for correctly calling a red-card-free match, so take a guess.) Trinity Rodman for mimicking mooning the referee after getting an undeserved yellow.

Make your fun prediction,and give a “thumbs up” to anybody else’s prediction that tickles your fancy: “Ryan gets the start against her former club. She gets through 70 minutes without fouling her former teammates until she can’t take it anymore. She pushes over Perry, gives Muller a wedgie, gives Arnold a noogie, then flips off the Riveters and runs out of Providence Park, never to be seen again. The ref issues a red card, which she later contests, and loses.” (h/t to ABell4)

Scoring:
· Correct score: 5 points
· Correct result (draw/win/loss): 3 points
· Each clean sheet: 2 points
· Each goal-scorer: 1 point
· Each FK/PK/assist/lack of assist: 1 point
· Goal/assist bonus: 1 point
· Player with the first yellow card of the match: 1 point
· A player with a red card: 1 point
· Most liked/most outrageously accurate prediction: 2 points

Some ground rules and explanations/clarifications (the fine print):
Comments must be posted before kickoff, but you can edit or amend an earlier prediction right up to the starting whistle.

Keep your scoreline predictions realistic. No crazy scores just to pad out your odds of getting goals and assists.

The goal/assist bonus is an additional point if you predict the correct scorer and assistant on the same goal, for example, you say Castellanos scores from a Moultrie assist and that is exactly what happens.

Be clear whether you think a goal will be unassisted, assisted, or from a PK/FK. Unassisted = no assist, run of play; Assisted = player who got the assist; PK/FK = dead ball, not in run of play. FK includes olimpicos from corners. No entry means unassisted.

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John Lawes

Soccer-obsessive. Stats geek. Thorns supporter. Former Slide Rule Pass and Stumptown Footy Thorns beat writer. One of those people who's "often mistaken but never wrong"...

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