Thorns FC: Just Like Watching Brazil

Last Sunday’s 3-4 win in, well, sorta-Boston (apparently…“(s)even of the team’s fifteen home matches will be played at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, due to scheduling conflicts at Gillette Stadium during the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup” per the Legacy Wikipedia page, which doesn’t explain why this one was played in Little Rhodie seeing as how the FIFApalooza was over weeks ago) was a curious mixture of good-news/bad-news.

Let’s take the good news first.

The long road-loss string is over.

Yay. That had to be a stone on the chest of the squad, and hopefully it will lead to more confident play in the return fixture with Gotham in New Jersey at the end of August that’s the next road trip.

And it showcased the Pietra Tordin Hat-Trick Festival. As Carlisle-sensei said;

“Tordin’s creativity and variety of ways to be devastating at attacking the final third made her one of my players to watch this season. She currently leads the league in goal contributions with seven goals and eight assists, and might get herself to the 10g/10a mark that I’ve been expecting Trinity Rodman to claim first. It helps to be able to pass the ball to Sophia Wilson, but Tordin is also finding ways to bag goals directly.”

In particular her third goal (follow the link because it really needs to be seen in video – screenshots don’t do justice to Tordin’s run-and-chip); the flat cold, hard contempt for Boston’s backline and goalkeeping is just soccer poetry. Brava, Tordin. You go get some.

The explosion of goals in the first ten minutes or so drives home – in case the recent run of poor form shoved our understanding of the fact behind the curtain – that this squad has the capability of generating a truly frightening amount of attack, and any opponent whose defending is even slightly suspect will be a risk for shipping a bloody lot of goals from them.

Okay.

Now, the bad news.

That whole “shipping goals” thing works in reverse.

Despite being up three goals in ten minutes, and (after conceding on the half hour) going up three again within forty minutes, the Thorns shipped two more goals by full time and were under the cosh for most of the second half, including a particularly ugly twenty minutes or so between the hour and the 82nd minute Boston goal that included at least one “how the fuck did you not convert that!?!” moment we’ll talk about in a bit more detail.

Here’s Sofascore’s “attack momentum” bar graph:

That pattern – long, dangerous stretches of opposition possession – is not really any different from what we’ve seen over the past string of poor results. The difference here was that 1) Portland built up such a massive lead by halftime that even collapsing into a sketchily-managed defensive crouch after the break didn’t let Boston scrape a point, largely because…

…Boston isn’t really all that dangerous going forward.

Despite the 60-40 possession advantage I tracked Boston with only five genuinely dangerous attacks:
31′ – Against the run of play, Lily Reale squared to Sammy Smith. Smith’s cross was met at the back post by Bianca St. Georges, who had gotten goal-side/ball-side on M.A. Vignola to near-post Mackenzie Arnold and pot the point-blank goal.
42′ – As momentum turned, Boston worked the ball across the top of Portland’s 18. Alba Cano rifled a 24-yard bullet through the legs and past Arnold for #2.
56′ – Jayden Perry gifted Boston a turnover pass in the Thorns’ defensive third, but luckily for Portland Amanda Gutierries was offside on the final pass (though Arnold had made a solid stop before the flag went up).
71′ – This should have been Boston’s third goal, starting with a long pass down Boston’s left flank. Someone (Barbara Olivieri, I think – the Pride rainbow numbers were desperately difficult to read off the screen) blew through both Sam Hiatt and Carolyn Calzada…

..and drove into the Portland eighteen-yard box…

…where she found AïssataTraoré, who had skinned a ballwatching Jayden Perry…

…and Traore’ blasted at Arnold, who sprawled and blocked the ball up in the air…

…where it landed at the feet of a charging Josefine Hasbo. Perry had scrambled to her feet, but too late to prevent Hasbo’s shot…

…which – luckily for Portland – was a weak dribbler that Arnold could pounce on and hold. Yike.
82′ – Boston’s actual third, the product of a long buildup around the Thorns’ 18 that culminated in Aleigh Gambone rounding Cassandra Bogere and dropping a centering pass to an utterly unmarked Gutierres (think “Brecken Mozingo” unmarked…)…

…for the easy finish.

Notice where Hiatt and Perry are? Both marking something between “space” and “Nichelle Prince” but in either case completely useless to do anything about Gutierres. Centerbacks! How do they work?

So. Don’t get me wrong. A road win, no matter how, is good. Four goals-for is outstanding. A hattie, especially for Pietra Tordin, who is utterly lit and having a terrific season, is great. The “good news” clearly outweighs the “bad news” from this one.

But the defensive bad news was still there.

And, although individual issues were visible in back, that the backline and keeper as a unit repeatedly fell short suggests that the fundamental issues are systemic, not individual. Meaning that, short of a Girma-grade genius/field general purchase and possibly even then, the solution needs to come from inside the technical box, not the 18-yard box.

Short Passes

The usual, given possession; Boston 81% completion of 456 attempts, Portland 76% of 304, so same shit different day.

Carlisle’s passing plots, first Portland:

I’m going to call this the “No one talks about BrunoCaiya Hanks” problem. WTF is going on at “left wing”? Here’s what this was supposed to look like:

As we’ve discussed repeatedly, though, Tordin is a natural center-forward (just like Turner and Wilson and several now-vanished forwards such as Spaanstra) and Castellanos is some sort of ACM/#10, so to find them sharing the same central space isn’t surprising.

But what that is, is lack of coaching. Someone on the technical staff (and ultimately the responsibility is Robert Vilahamn – as we say in the Army; you can delegate authority but not responsibility) needs to be 1) directing these attackers to play their supposed roles of #9, winger, #10, whatever, or, if they can’t be relied on to stay in their lanes, 2) finding players who can play those roles.

I get it, Hanks is still out. But why not Weaver at LW/LM? Tordin as withdrawn forward/false 9 instead of Castellanos? Find a place to fit Renee Lyles, or Maddie Padelski instead of using your fullback as a winger?

I mean, Tordin and Wilson made it work this time. But a better opponent might not have given them that opportunity.

And speaking of opportunity, here’s Boston:

Gee. Y’think? That’s the most carioca thing ever. You score four? Fine! We’ll score five. Defending? Nah. We’ll just bomb in behind you and score more than you can. Defending is boring. Besides, it’s fascist. Let’s just score lots of goals! Oba!!!

Turnover and over.

Here’s how things are going;

Opponent – Venue (Result)	Turnovers
Washington – Away (W)	26
Seattle – Home (W)	11
San Diego – Away (L)	29
Kansas City – Home (W)	23
North Carolina – Away (D)	25
Angel City – Away (W)	22
San Diego – Home (W)	17
Chicago – Away (W)	32
Louisville – Away (L)	25
Angel City – Home (D)	No data
Bay FC – Home (W)	33
Kansas City – Away (L)	29
Utah – Home (D)	23
Louisville – Home (W)	21
Seattle – Away (L)	33
Denver – Away (L)	33
Gotham – Home (D)	23
Utah – Away (L)	17
Boston – Away (W)	17

Another notionally “tidy” turnover match, but probably more due to lack of Portland possession (so limited opportunities to give the ball away).

Jayden Perry was far and away the Biggest Loser with five-and-a-half. A couple others with two, but Perry also had the worst of the giveaways, including the 56th minute one we’ve mentioned, and another equally scary “pass-to-the-opponent-right-in-front-of-your-own-goal” mistake in the 17th minute that required Nina Nijstad to bail her teammate out with a tackle.

Press!

Eighteenth match tracking the 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”.

I counted a total of 83 Portland presses. Forty-three (23 wins (53.5%) though with only 6 ball-winning presses) before halftime, 40 (21 wins (52.5%) and 7 takeaways) afterwards.

Boston pressed 84 times, 48 (27 wins (56.2%) and 9 takeaways) before the break, 36 (28 wins (77.7%) and 11 takeaways) after.

Match time	Boston presses (wins)(%)	Thorns presses (wins)(%)
0-45+6′	48(27) (56.2%)	43(23) (53.5%)
45-90+7′	36(28) (77.7%)	40(21) (52.5%)
Match Total	84(55) (65.4%)	83(44) (53%)

My thoughts:
1) While the raw numbers are fairly even, I see significant differences between the two clubs that emerged in a) the press triggers and b) before-and-after halftime.
2) Boston’s triggers were really higher than Portland’s. Of their 84 presses, Boston’s line of confrontation was in Portland’s defensive third (or the deep Portland side of midfield) in roughly half – about 40 or 41 – while Portland sat mostly in a mid-block, pressing high in only 30 to 31 of their 83 attempts.
3) This really kicked up in the second half, where Boston’s pressure effectively pinned Portland in their own half; I counted a total of only three Thorns forays that actually reached Boston’s 18-yard box. None of the three produced a shot, only one, in the 90th minute, was even slightly dangerous.

Here’s the running tally:

Match (Result)	Opponent Press (Success)	Thorns Press (Success)
Washington Away (W)	40(27) (67.5%)	69(41) (59.4%)
Seattle Home (W)	61(30) (49.1%)	35(20) (57.1%)
San Diego Away (L)	33(22) (66.6%)	88(40) (45.4%)
Kansas City Home (W)	26(15) (57.6%)	43(23) (53.4%)
North Carolina Away (D)	35(22) (62.8%)	56(26) (46.4%)
Angel City Away (W)	52(37) (71.1%)	61(32) (52.4%)
San Diego Home (W)	45(71) (63.3%)	45(80) (56.2%)
Chicago Away (W)	68(34) (50%)	97(51) (52.2%)
Louisville Away (L)	101(70) (69.5%)	62(35) (56.4%)
Angel City Home (D)	No data	No data
Bay FC Home (W)	59(34) (57.6%)	59(37) (62.7%)
Kansas City Away (L)	52(29) (55.7%)	34(20) (58.8%)
Utah Home (D)	99(55) (55.5%)	60(31) (51.6%)
Louisville Home (W)	55(31) (56.3%)	28(13) (46.4%)
Seattle Away (L)	67(46) (68.6%)	66(35) (53.0%)
Denver Away (L)	46(24) (52.1%)	53(27) (50.9%)
Gotham Home (D)	60(32) (53.3%)	58(86) (67.4%)
Utah Away (L)	86(61) (70.9%)	70(38) (54.2%)
Boston Away (W)	84(55) (65.4%)	83(44) (53%)

Corner Kicks

Two. Both in the first half, both long.

Time	Taker	Short/Long?	Result
29′	Castellanos	Long	Kind of a line drive to the near post, quickly booted away.
39′	Castellanos	Long	Same again but the clearance went right back to Castellanos. She fed Wilson, who shot tamely right at Casey Murphy.

Castellanos’ service was poor (I’m not sure why she took these – Fleming usually takes corners when Moultrie is out) and unsurprisingly the outcomes were, too.

Player Ratings and Comments

Wilson (+13/-1 : +5/-3 : +18/-4) Just another day at the office for the Amazing Sophia Wilson:

“Our Sophia’s a wizard,
She wears a magic hat.
She could have gone to Denver
But she said “No, fuck that!”
She scores ’em with her left foot,
She scores ’em with her right.
And when we win the League again
We’ll sing this song all night!”

Tordin (+8/-1 : +9/-0 : +17/-1) Hard to notch the hat trick without being Woman of the Match, so, yeah. What Carlisle-sensei said.

Castellanos (56′ – +3/-5 : +1/-0 : +4/-5) Why?

Unless Weaver is still on strictly limited minutes or the whole squad is on short rest, why even bother starting Castellanos? She’s soft as melting ice cream, so she’s 1) useless as a defender, and 2) backing away from every challenge, plus she can’t shoot worth a lick, so she’s not much more useful as an attacker. Every so often her skill will show up in a clever pass. But one key pass a match? Sorry, that’s not a good reason to see her for more than garbage minutes.

What makes this worse is we now know why; Olivia Moultrie is the latest victim of the ACL Killer and will be out for the season.

But still…fuck.

McKenzie (34′ – +3/-2) Came on just as the Thorns parked the bus, so pretty much nothing to do. Didn’t do anything particularly awful, which is a way-too-low-bar, but that’s all I got.

Muller (78′ – +10/-5 : +2/-2 : +12/-7) Our Prussian Guard has had some rocky outings lately. This was one of her better appearances, though, especially in the first half where Muller was useful on both sides of the ball, so, good work.

Her low numbers after the break suggest that Muller might have been fading, that and the need for defensive steel would explain the substitution…except that…

Reyes (12′ – +2/-3) didn’t really provide that much sturdiness. I get the idea, but the effect suggests that it wasn’t a particularly brilliant idea.

Fleming (+2/-2 : +4/-3 : +6/-5) Jessie Fleming had another “Hello! Are you out there?” game. Not awful (other than failing to close down Cano as the swan maiden teed up Boston’s second goal) but barely impacting the match and her PMR reflects that.

The recent run of form is frustrating as much because of where it looked like Fleming was going earlier this season; becoming a solid defensive midfield piece for this squad. She wasn’t Sam Coffey or Hina Sugita, but, then, who is? But she looked like playing quite well. Until she wasn’t. I wish I knew what happened and why.

Nijstad (78′ – +7/-1 : +3/-0 : +10/-1) Her double-pivot partner did play quite well – both passing and defending/pressing – until subbed off with injury, about which, given the state of the roster, we should all be sacrificing to Genua, Goddess of Knees, in hopes that it’s trivial.

Bogere (12′ – +3/-4) Because Bogere was, as she has been and appears to be generally, neither particularly skilled nor especially unskilled. For a squad with a fearsome backline a replacement-grade DM would be acceptable if not desirable. For this roster? The backs need all the help the FO can throw at them, and my growing sense is that Bogere is not that. Decent squad player, but no more, and this group needs more.

Vignola (78′ – +4/-2 : +4/-2 : +8/-4) Like Muller, Vignola has thrown out some real ugly performances lately. Given that a defender in a unit that ships three goals (especially when up three goals, which should make sitting on that lead a fairly simple business) can’t and shouldn’t be swaggering about anything, still…Vignola had a mostly-decent match (outside letting the Double Bird sneak past her to pot the first concession, which was a pretty “WTF M.A.!?” moment, but Vignola wasn’t the only sleeper in the 31st minute; Muller and Calzada had issues with tracking Reale and Smith, respectively, on that play…).

As we discussed here as well as after the Utah loss, though, the issues in back look increasingly collective more than individual, meaning that the solution is likely to be in tactics/training/formations rather than yeeting individual players. Doesn’t mean I’d like to see fewer of those mistakes. But I don’t see the solution as “wholesale roster change”.

Weaver (12′ – +3/-1) Frankly, if Weaver is on limits. why throw her into a match where the game state is “defend a lead”? That’s not her skillset.

Weaver’s not terrible tracking back – she’s not an Anna-maria Crnogorcevic or a Castellanos – but she gives you speed up the touchline and provides service (and drives) into the box. If you don’t need that, and with a two-goal lead going into the final quarter-hour, the Thorns didn’t, why even? This is as much a head-scratcher as the Castellanos start.

Perry (+0/-2 : +3/-5 : +3/-7) Remember those halcyon times when golden mornings were illuminated by the rising of the young centerback’s sun? When she was “Ice Cold” Perry, The PK Assassin, feared by goalkeepers and the scourge of her 18-yard box? Remember that idyllic era?

Wait. You’re telling me that was only a season ago??

Christ. It feels like forever.

The Sophomore Slump has hit poor Perry like a runaway dump truck. It feels like she’s been learning all the wrong lessons; poor passing, slack marking, dumb decision-making…ugh. That her promise seemed so bright in 2025 makes her 2026 all that more troubling.

Possibly the single most embarrassing moment of the entire Thorns squad in the entire match was Perry’s. In the 51st minute Arnold tapped a goal kick out to Perry. No pressure, no nothing, simple slow roller from seven yards away and Perry was…I have no idea. Dreaming of the hotel spa pool after the match? Searching for someone in the stands? Napping?

But whatever, there she was, standing there looking off in a brown study as the ball rolled past her into the middle distance.

Perry scampered after it, no blood no harm, but…Jesus wept, woman! What the fuck was that? Don’t be doin’ that shit. It scares the normies and worries the ultras.

Obaze (45′ – +1/-2) and Hiatt (45′ – +3/-2) We’ve picked on Hiatt for the 82nd minute mess, but neither centerback – shit, none of the backs, period – looked terrific in Rhode Island. We’ve also discussed the most likely “why”, and what I’d like to see is some recognition of that at the managerial-ownership levels.

I mean, soccer is a fundamentally simple sport. You score more – or concede less – than your opponent and you win. This squad can score like a…well, like that. If it will stop conceding multiple goals a match it has a legitimate shot at silverware.

If.

Calzada (+4/-3 : +4/-5 : +8/-8) Yes, hung on for the win, but the same problems as all her backline sisters; lack of discipline and organization as a group, slack marking, ball-watching, and sloppy passing. But we’ve hammered on all this enough. It’s just time for the backline to start getting it’s act together.

Arnold (+3/-2 : +6/-1 : +6/-3) I know I keep saying that distribution is a second-tier keeper skill, but there’s nothing so much fun as a goalkeeper assist, and Arnold dimed Tordin like a boss for the hattie, so wotcha, mate!

Also had some pretty huge saves in the 56th and 71st minutes (as well as the big block/kick-out right before that 71st minute scare) that go a long way to redeem what I’d consider poor work on the Cano goal, though I can’t really tell how much (or if) that shot was screened by legs.

So while I wouldn’t call this a blinder, Arnold looked better against Boston than she has for several matches. Hopefully that will stoke some confidence within her, because with this defense? She needs all she can get.

Coach Vilahamn: I thought that Sophia (then) Smith was served the most ridiculous red card I’d ever seen for hiding-the-ball-shenanigans while on the bench.

Until last Sunday, when the Swedish Chef got tossed for (I think) some sort of thing where the ball went through his legs and he deflected it with the inside of one foot so it ran back under his team’s bench and he got run for delay of game.

So he’s gonna be in the stands this coming weekend, whatever that means.

As for this one, well. He broke the road-loss duck, so good, and his attackers ran amok through Boston’s backline (as well as their keeper; Casey Murphy’s flap at the Tordin free kick was ridiculously weak and I was kind of surprised that, as good as that setpiece delivery was, the announcers didn’t say anything more about that).

The XI we’ve discussed (Castellanos, Weaver) as well as the continuing defensive problems.

I’m not sure, honestly, whether this guy is just Rob Gale with lingonberry sauce – just a replacement-level/meh-sort of NWSL head coach – or has the potential to be better. If the latter?

That means his squad needs to start showing “better”.

Better defending, most critically. Better organized, better disciplined, better coordinated, as well as better individually at cutting down on the silly, simple errors like getting caught out of position or ball-watching.

Better in transition, and better in cutting off opponent passes and runs through midfield.

Up front? Even there some better understanding would help; wingers who’ll wing so the center-forward can center-forward.

Doesn’t hurt to have Tordin and Wilson tearin’ it up, mind. Still…

We got Orlando coming here on Saturday. They’re only a game better than Boston.

Making them look like that? It’d be a good start.