Portland Thorns locked in for semifinal matchup with Gotham FC: ‘This is it’

Portland Thorns soccer

Portland Thorns players celebrate after a goal by Hina Sugita in the 54th minute during an NWSL match against NJ/NY Gotham FC at Providence Park on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

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The Portland Thorns needed a hard reset after a confounding 5-1 loss to Angel City FC in the regular-season finale. Losing out on the NWSL shield will sting for a while, but they had three weeks to set that aside and turn their focus to a playoff semifinal.

NJ/NY Gotham FC comes to town riding high after its victory in the quarterfinals over the North Carolina Courage. They are a formidable side with plenty of attacking talent, but even with the typical amount of scouting and film sessions, the Thorns have been more focused on looking inward.

Relaxed team bonding events and productive, intense training sessions have Portland confident again, players and coaches say.

“It’s really hard for teams to lose the way we did, lose the shield, and all those disappointing things, and to bounce back the way we have,” midfielder Sam Coffey said. “Now that we do have the group back together, the energy has been unbelievable. We’re in the best spot we could possibly be in, and I think it’s a testament to the character of our team that we’re able to come together over something that was really hard and not what we wanted.”

When the Thorns are at their best over the last two years, they are a juggernaut. They don’t have two MVP candidates in Sophia Smith and Coffey, along with several players in contention for the NWSL Best XI first and second teams, by accident. But finding consistency match to match has been a challenge in a season that included a World Cup disruption, ill-timed international breaks, and key injuries.

Smith is increasing her workload following an MCL sprain that kept her out of several games in the regular season. She played a full half for the U.S. women’s national team in its last game, and Thorns coach Mike Norris said to expect more than that from her on Sunday against Gotham. Whether that ends up being a full 90 or not remains to be seen, but Smith emphasized that the team’s overall outlook is one of leaving it all on the pitch and not looking ahead.

“People are just focused on the task at hand, and that’s to win this first game,” Smith said. “We’ve been through a lot this season and had our ups and downs, and that’s normal, that’s what comes with a long NWSL season.

“But we’re at the point right now where we’ve all agreed that this is it. This is when we need to just give everything we have, and save nothing, because we have nothing to save it for. We just want to come out in this game on the front foot and give everything we have and play together as a team.”

Portland played Gotham relatively recently: a 1-0 win on Oct. 7 that guaranteed the Thorns a first-round bye and this home semifinal. It was as complete a performance as the Thorns have had down the stretch, locking down Gotham defensively even if Portland would have liked another goal or two of insurance. Attacking players like Yazmeen Ryan, Midge Purce and Lynn Williams threatened but never quite broke through as the Thorns were organized and disciplined.

Norris said returning to that form after the Angel City performance will require a focus on the basics. He expressed confidence that his veteran-laden team will do just that Sunday. One of its biggest points of emphasis, he said, has been defending in wide areas — something the team did well against Gotham last time out but struggled mightily with against Angel City.

“The biggest puzzle for us was from the Gotham game to Angel City, where the approach from the get-go wasn’t that different, but two very different executions and outcomes,” Norris said. “We felt like we had a plan that worked against Gotham, and we felt like we had a great plan against Angel City, didn’t work. Whether it was the right plan, wrong plan, or execution.

“I think we’ll just carry through what we did last time (vs. Gotham). All tactics and approach aside, it’s just about getting back to doing the basics well and doing them well across 90 minutes.”

Portland vs. Gotham kicks off at 4 p.m. Sunday at Providence Park, with a live broadcast on CBS Sports Network. Those traveling to the game on public transit need to be aware of a MAX disruption for the eastbound Blue and Red lines coming from the west side.

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