The Orlando Pride’s bid for regular season perfection was ended Friday night by the slumping Portland Thorns.
The Thorns were winless in seven games going into the match, hurting with both Sophia Smith and Hina Sugita injured. The Pride were on a high, having already clinched the team’s first major trophy, the NWSL Shield. They had a 23-match unbeaten streak this season, and 24-game run dating back to last season.
So what happened? The Pride, apparently satisfied with the Shield and looking forward to a bigger prize in the playoffs, rested its usual starters. And the Thorns? Well, they were just tired of underperforming.
The result was a 2-0 Portland win, which the fans at Providence Park celebrated for a very long time after the final whistle. Just look at Becky’s smile:
“There was something in the air and we felt it before the game. The fans know how important it is and you can just sense it when they know well what’s a stake and on the line. It was just a classic Portland Providence Park night, wasn’t it? And a classic Thorns performance to go with it,” clearly-relieved Thorns coach Rob Gale said afterward.
Smith and Sugita watched from the stands, but before the game Smith chatted with Karina LeBlanc, Lisa Bhathal Merage, and fans who had gathered on the sidelines.
Marta was checking out the competition during warmups.
Later she exchanged jerseys with fellow Brazilian Evander, who plays for the Portland Thorns.
Marta, Barbra Banda and Adriana did not start, but the fans with Marta jerseys did not leave disappointed: All three came stars in as second half subs.
“We decided to make changes. That was justified by the efforts of what other players have done throughout the season, and it was also an opportunity to give players a chance to go out and express themselves and get on the field,” Orlando coach Seb Hines said.
Fuzzy photo of Banda in warmups:
Here’s how it went down: Morgan Weaver scored in the 13th minute, celebrating by enthusiastically gesturing to the crest on her jersey. The Pride, it should be noted, had allowed just two goals in their last 11 matches.
Later she left the game after sitting on the turf and signaling to the trainers. She said in the post-game press conference that she was fine, just being extra careful after missing a chunk of the season with a knee injury.
In the 55th minute, fans got to see some of that Christine Sinclair magic. She took a pass from Sam Coffey and threaded her shot down the middle.
“It hasn’t been the best run for us the last couple of months,” Sinclair told the broadcast team after the match. “We wanted to give them their first loss and we needed to show up as Thorns. And you saw that tonight. If we play like that, I wouldn’t want to play us in the playoffs.”
Sinc’s goal was her 80th for the Thorns across all competitions, putting her second on the league’s all-time list.
The Pride inserted Banda, Marta and Adriana but couldn’t make up their deficit against the determined Thorns. Portland goalkeeper Shelby Hogan recorded her eighth clean sheet of the season.
“Obviously we’re disappointed with the result, but hey, we still keep going,” Pride forward Ally Watt said. “We learn from every game, and we still keep moving forward. We still have playoffs to look forward to, we still have two more games, so we just keep moving forward and we just learn from it.”
About the playoffs: Obviously the Pride have cemented their home-field advantage. The Thorns still remain on shaky ground, despite the signature win.
Portland hasn’t clinched and currently sits in seventh place in the NWSL standings. Bay FC holds the eighth and final playoff spot. The first six berths have already been claimed, with the Red Stars securing their place when the Washington Spirit defeated Racing Louisville 4-1 on Sunday.
Louisville, Utah, Angel City and the Wave still haven’t been eliminated and could still make the playoffs with two games remaining.
In the meantime, the Thorns play in Vancouver on Wednesday night in a CONCACAF W Champions Cup match. Thickets for the match at BC Place have been selling well because of Sinclair’s presence and the chance to see her play once more on home soil before she retires from professional play at the end of this season.
It was announced this week that Sinclair had joined the ownership group for the Vancouver Rise, part of the new Canadian women’s Pro league.
Now, the links:
The Deseret News on the fight for livable wages in women’s pro soccer.
Watford women draw US investment.
ESPN’s NWSL Power Rankings after this weekend’s games.
Angel City’s salary cap violation was revealed because of a player, from The Athletic.
Both the NWSL and MLS are breaking attendance records this season.
Five former employees sue the San Diego Wave
Goal.com with a story on how Zambian fans are rooting for Banda, Kundananji
Christen Press scores in her 100th match.
Temwa Chawinga sets the NWSL single season scoring record, breaking Sam Kerr’s mark.
Yahoo Sports with a nice overview of the Pride’s surprising success this season.
Karina LeBlanc will transition to new role with Thorns/WNBA front office.
Man City’s win over Barcelona shows the growth of women’s soccer in Europe.
Women’s Super League viewership rises after new streaming deal with YouTube.
Here’s the postgame with the Thorns following the win over the Pride.
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