In a season filled with ups, downs, injuries and big questions, the Portland Thorns came up short of both of their stated goals: winning a NWSL shield, and winning a second straight NWSL championship.
The latter slipped away with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of NJ/NY Gotham FC in an NWSL playoff semifinal Sunday night at Providence Park. Amid heavy rain and a grueling match that went to extra time, Portland simply couldn’t put the pieces together.
“I think it was the tight contest we thought it would be,” Thorns coach Mike Norris said. “Really proud of the performance we put out there. We didn’t think we’d have a ton of chances, but we did think the chances we’d have would be good ones, just based on how we thought they’d approach the game. Obviously disappointing that the journey is ending here for this season and for this group.”
The 2022 NWSL champion Thorns enter an uncertain offseason with the potential for roster shakeup and a forthcoming ownership change hanging over the next few months. An expansion draft with two new teams joining NWSL and a looming free agency period could have this Portland side looking different all over the field come next spring.
“The women in this locker room, it will never be the same after this year,” defender Becky Sauerbrunn — one of Portland’s impending free agents — said. “To appreciate every single moment we have together, I think we did do that this season. Through the ups and the downs, really appreciating one another, wanting the best for one another, and working for one another. We did that this year, and it’s just a sad fact of being professional athletes.”
Norris made several major changes to the lineup prior to Sunday’s match, sending typical starters Bella Bixby, Hina Sugita and Natalia Kuikka to the bench in favor of Shelby Hogan, Rocky Rodríguez, and Reyna Reyes. Club legend Christine Sinclair came off the bench as well, with Olivia Moultrie starting in the midfield for Portland.
The first half was competitive, if a bit ugly. The Thorns made strong runs and earned a pair of corners, but they weren’t able to find the final punch necessary to get out to a lead in front of a rain-soaked home crowd.
Moultrie’s corner in the 16th minute reached the head of Reyes, but it took an odd bounce and was saved.
In the 26th minute, after a lull, Morgan Weaver announced her presence with a thundering shot that landed firmly in the keeper’s chest.
On the other end, Gotham kept up the fight and was able to cobble together six total shots in the first half. A corner in the 30th minute ended with a header that sailed high by Lynn Williams.
Gotham’s most dangerous moment of the half came in the 32nd minute, as a ball played in to Esther González in close was pounced on by Hogan and cleared away by Sauerbrunn.
In the 40th, Sophia Smith blew by Nealy Martin and forced Martin into earning a yellow card. A few more bursts but no real threats led into the halftime break for Portland, and the Thorns hadn’t quite been able to shake off the rust after three weeks off.
Sauerbrunn maintained her strong play at the back in the early moments of the second half, interrupting multiple Gotham runs with timeliness and fortitude.
In the 56th minute, Smith played a ball ahead to a sprinting Meghan Klingenberg, whose shot was saved away.
Portland, seeking new life in what was becoming a stale match, brought on Sugita for Rodríguez and Kuikka for Klingenberg in the 59th minute.
A run into the box by Moultrie, met with what appeared to be some contact, did not receive a whistle in the 70th minute — much to the chagrin of the Providence Park crowd.
In the 71st, Jenna Nighswonger earned a yellow card for Gotham, and the ensuing free kick by Sam Coffey reached Sauerbrunn’s head but glanced away.
Smith got out on a dangerous run in the 79th minute with Dunn, hungry for a goal, but Gotham goalkeeper Mandy Haught came off her line and was able to cut it off before Smith made her move.
Moultrie earned a free kick in the 84th minute, but in the end, a shot by Smith deflected out of bounds for the corner.
Smith and Weaver combined for a near-lethal counterattack in the 90th minute, but in the end, Weaver mis-hit a shot from point-blank range in the box. After five minutes of stoppage time, the match remained knotted, 0-0, and headed to extra time.
In the 96th minute, with a ball played ahead, Gotham defender Ali Krieger wrapped up Smith and would not allow her to run toward the ball. Krieger earned an immediate yellow card, but there was no review by the Video Assistant Referee to determine whether it was a denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, which would have upgraded the foul to a red card.
In stoppage time of the first period of extra time, a sliding shot by Williams scooted just wide of goal, and the teams remained tied, 0-0, heading into the second and final 15-minute period.
The Thorns brought on Kelli Hubly to replace Sauerbrunn for the second period of extra time.
In the 107th minute, Gotham finally broke through. A goal on a curling take by Katie Stengel made it 1-0 in favor of the road side, and Portland’s season was in peril with 13 extra time minutes remaining.
“It felt very much like a battle down there,” Sauerbrunn said. “Both sides had their chances, and I thought both sides defended well. Both sides had chances and they just happened to finish one, and we didn’t. That’s sometimes how soccer goes. It’s a little cruel, it feels cruel right now.”
The Thorns brought on a trio of substitutes in the 116th minute: Hannah Betfort, Sinclair, and Michele Vasconcelos. Off the field were Weaver, Moultrie, and Dunn.
Portland did not threaten down a painful final stretch, and Gotham stormed the field in elation as it advanced to the NWSL championship game in San Diego on Saturday.
“Our team has been through a lot this season,” Smith said. “We’ve had a lot of ups and a lot of downs. Through it all we stuck together and still kept that goal in mind, and that was to win and be the best team we could possibly be. And to learn from every game we played, whether it was a win or a loss, and always take something from it. I’m really proud of the fact that I think we did that all season. This stuff sucks, and we will definitely remember this feeling, for sure.”
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