Episode 15: Oh Referee, Oh Referee…

So here’s the thing: I got some new recording equipment and tried it out to record this podcast. It’s always a bad idea to not do a test run first, and so unfortunately we have the result: the sound quality is pretty iffy. I apologize for that, and promise it will be perfect for the […]

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 […]

Tons of Pride

Providence Park was rocking all night! A crowd of 16,736 was on hand and it was Pride Night. The stands were filled with color. The early goal conceded did not dampen spirits as the fans sang and danced until the final whistle. Governor Kate Brown, wearing an old-school Thorns jersey, oversaw the coin toss. One […]

Still All Even

(In which the Thorns lose at home for the first time in a long time) The second leg of the Thorns’ home and home series versus Sky Blue took place at Providence Park during Pride Night on Saturday. The first leg held two weeks ago was a 2-0 win for Portland, so given the Thorns […]

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 […]

Sky Blue, International Break and Pride Night (Among Other Things)

On a beautiful blue sky day, the Sky Blue match drew 2,418 spectators. At least eight of them were Riveters as the few crowd shots from the broadcast revealed. A contingent of four members of the East Coast Platoon regional sub-group were also planning to attend. The broadcast did not pick up much noise from Cloud […]

Episode 14: A Very Special Doubleheader Episode

Just in time for your morning commute, we have a new episode of Riveting! It’s a special double game, double Hamje edition, where we talk about the victories over the Boston Breakers and the, uh… Piscataway Township Sky Blue FC(?) That can’t be right. Anyway, Patrick is joined by Richard and Jeanette Hamje for […]

WE ♥ NJ

(in which Sky Blue prove to be generous hosts as the Thorns leave with their spoons and tea set) Things continue to come to the Thorns in pairs, as the team posted a 2-0 win on the road versus Sky Blue FC. Lindsey Horan got her first two goals of the year. A penalty kick […]

Can We Play You Every Week?

Attendance was 18,367 which was the high for the season so far and 7th highest all-time. For comparison, this fixture last season occurred later in the year as the playoffs loomed; Portland won 5-1 in front of 17,152. The Riveters were in fine voice all night, obviously aided by the early lead. But the possible […]

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 […]