Turning Point?

(in which the Thorns pull off a huge win against long odds) The Thorns hosted the league-leading North Carolina Courage on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s semi-final playoff match. On the back of an outstanding defensive effort and a Hayley Raso headed goal, they won 1-0. The win moved the team back into […]

Golazo!

(in which the Thorns are fortunate to earn a point, but unhappy not to have three) The Houston Dash hosted the Thorns in a weather-delayed match and snatched a draw from the jaws of victory. A stoppage time golazo by Lindsey Horan saved the Thorns from an ignominious defeat. The final score of 1-1 reflects […]

Not Again!

(In which the Curse of Memorial Stadium continues) This is a short match report for this last of three games in eight days. The Thorns visited the Seattle Reign and once again came home with nothing, losing 2-0. All-time, Portland has taken one point from a possible fifteen there and been outscored 14-2 in the […]

Bouncing

(in which the Thorns bounce back and the house bounces with them) This is a short match report for this busy week of three games in eight days. FC Kansas City came to town in a matchup of the two best defenses in the league. The game was not the grinding affair everyone expected as […]

Where Did We Leave Our Keys?

(In which the Thorns cannot find the key, so Washington locks up three points) This is the first brief match report in this busy period of three games in eight days. For only the second time ever, the Washington Spirit defeated the Portland Thorns. The final score was 1-0 on a Francisca Ordega goal in […]

Providence Park Power Ratings

The Thorns may have lost to Sky Blue, but it wasn’t due to a lack of quality play or effort. My WOTM was (yet again) Lindsey Horan. Her “beast mode” may be permanent, as she was both controlling the midfield and leading much of the attack. By the numbers, her positive-to-negative meaningful touch count was […]

Piscataway Power Rankings

My Woman-Of-The-Match award goes to Adrianna Franch for her outstanding performance. Start with her meaningful positive-to-negative touch ratio of 36:7. Five of those 7 negative touches were long balls not recovered by Portland – she only made two “mistakes” in the 90 minutes. Next, consider saving the penalty kick. This is AD’s second PK faced […]

Can We Play You Every Week?

It’s tempting to give Amandine WOTM for her efforts, but my gimlet-eyed appraisal hands the award to Hayley Raso. She had the run of the entire Boston defense, created great chances for her teammates (and fluffed a couple herself), and was still pushing hard in stoppage time. By the numbers, in addition to the eight […]