So is Portland the Epicenter of Women’s Sports? At least on Saturday, it was.
The day began with a beautiful Pride tifo at Providence Park ahead of the match between Portland and the Royals, and it ended with Meg Gustafson in tears in the postgame press conference at the Moda Center over finally finding a home.
Although the “Epicenter of Women’s Sports” moniker that the Thorns and the Fire are trying to cultivate has been chided at times as hyperbole, on Saturday, it rang true.
The day was billed as something of a doubleheader: A Thorns match followed by the Fire’s game. And it turned out that both games were attention-worthy. The Thorns and the Royals played for the top spot in the NWSL standings before the summer break, and Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever were in town to face the Fire.
A ticket package for both games was sold for $80. Special “Portland Loves Women’s Sports” T-shirts were sold at both venues.
The Thorns pulled into a 2-2 draw with the surprising Royals (See: last week’s Soccer Insider) on Sophia Wilson’s late penalty kick. But it wasn’t quite enough to push Portland ahead of Utah on the table because of goal differential. On Sunday, the San Diego Wave displaced both teams at the top with a victory over the Chicago Stars.
Olivia Moultrie also scored for the Thorns before heading to the Fire match.
“Obviously, this city and women’s sports, like, that’s a match made in heaven,” Moultrie said. “Honestly, I think it’s just really cool to be able to support our own team now, with the Fire, awesome.”
The crowd for the match was announced at 20,053. Many of those fans left Providence Park and headed across downtown to the Moda Center, which was evident because of the jammed light rail stops along the way.
It could be argued that many in the Moda Center crowd were there because of Clark, and certainly, there were many, many Clark T-shirts and jerseys. The Fire announced a sellout crowd of 19,347.
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In the end, Clark was largely ineffective against the Fire, scoring just 6 points in 22 minutes and collecting five fouls. Afterward, a viral moment between Clark and coach Stephanie White — and it’s unclear what exactly the heated exchange was about — unfortunately sucked a lot of attention away from what was a statement win for the Fire.
Megan Gustafson was the star of the night, with 22 points. Carla Leite added 18 points and 12 assists, while Emily Engstler had 16 points and 10 rebounds, the first double-doubles for the expansion Fire.
Afterward, Gustafson, who is playing for her fifth team since joining the W in 2019, got emotional.
“I mean, we’re a bunch of overlooked players, and I think we all have a chip on our shoulder. You know. I’ve really never been respected as a basketball player until I’ve gotten here. So, I’m really thankful for this team, this organization. They really believe in me. Why am I crying? So, just belief in each other, and they really try to play to each other’s strengths. The coaches see everybody’s strengths, and they see what we can each improve on every single day in practice,” she said.
This certainly won’t be the only collaboration between the two teams going forward. They share the same ownership and will share a new joint performance center, set to open Aug. 22.
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LINKS:
It’s finally happening: the Fire-Thorns performance center is set to open
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How Kenza Dali became one of the league’s most important players
Nice story from The Athletic on what it’s like to be an NWSL mom
Chelsea defeated Manchester United for the latest World Sevens title
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Outsports on Leon and Engen playing against each other in the Champions League final
Mondays: Soccer
By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
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Wednesdays: Basketball
By: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
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