The Portland Thorns took to the pitch on Sunday for a showdown with the Chicago Red Stars in the first installment of a three-game homestand. The game was broadcast on Fox Soccer and the Rose City Riveters were out in full force among the crowd of 12,534, eager to give a national television audience a taste of Portland’s passion for the sport.
Thorns foiled down the stretch by Chicago
The Portland Thorns took to the pitch on Sunday for a showdown with the Chicago Red Stars in the first installment of a three-game homestand. The game was broadcast on Fox Soccer and the Rose City Riveters were out in full force among the crowd of 12,534, eager to give a national television audience a taste of Portland’s passion for the sport.
Though the Red Stars are currently out of playoff contention, the regular season series between Chicago and Portland has been a close one, with the Thorns coming into the most recent matchup with a 2-1 edge. The last time they met, the Red Stars rocked the Thorns with a 2-0 victory in front of Portland’s home fans. Looking to prevent a similar fate, the Thorns came out attacking and built a 3-1 lead—but Chicago stormed back, scoring two clutch goals in the last 15 minutes to earn a draw.
The Thorns made their way into the Red Stars’ box early and often, getting a free kick and a corner kick in the opening minutes, while the Red Stars struggled to make progress in Portland territory throughout the first half. Portland struck first in the 23rd minute by way of a brilliant collaboration between Tobin Heath and Christine Sinclair.
“I asked [Sinclair] if she wanted to shoot it and she said no,” Heath explained after the game. “She said, ‘How about you put it over the wall?’ I said OK. She snuck behind, I put it over, and we scored.”
The Red Stars’ frustrations were audible all the way up in the press box as Portland tallied 11 crosses, six shots and two attempts on goal in the first half. Thorns midfielder Meleana Shim kept the team’s momentum going after halftime, finding the net in the 55th minute when Alex
Morgan drove down the right side of the Chicago box and sent a shot on goal that was deflected right into her path for an easy volley. It was the National Women’s Soccer League rookie’s third straight game with a goal. In the postgame press conference, Portland head coach Cindy Parlow Cone expressed her satisfaction with Shim’s progress.
“She’s been fantastic,” Cone said. “She is scoring goals for us but she is also defending well…I couldn’t be happier about her play in the midfield.”
Down but not out, the Red Stars were reinvigorated by Portland’s second goal. Alyssa Mautz finally got Chicago on the board in the 60th minute, losing several Thorns defenders at the top of the box to blast a deep shot past Thorns goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc and cut the lead to one. Portland responded right away as Heath found Sinclair again in the 63rd minute on a cross into the box. Sinclair scooped the ball up, used her first touch to move around Red Stars keeper Erin McLeod and then booted a shot home to put the Thorns up 3-1.
The Chicago squad was deflated, but Mautz’s second goal of the game in the 75th minute was exactly the motivation they needed build some energy. The surging Red Stars then added another goal in the 86th minute as midfielder Julianne Sitch volleyed a deflected ball into the net to even the score.
Portland launched an all-out attack to try and tally the go-ahead goal, but their efforts were in vain as the final seconds ticked off the clock and the Red Stars left the field with a hard-fought draw. A win against Chicago would have propelled the Thorns into first place in the NWSL standings. Instead, Portland finds themselves tied for second place with Sky Blue FC as their season moves into its final five games. The Thorns will get a chance to break that tie tonight when they take on Sky Blue FC in a 7:30 p.m. matchup at Jeld-Wen Field.
