The Portland Thorns FC Academy teams packed up and hit the road for its first away matches of the 2017-18 season with a visit to Ogden, Utah, to take on La Roca Futbol Club on Nov. 4. The Thorns U-19s and U-14s each earned their first road results.
Midfielder Peyton Fendrich scored her first goal of the season to help the Thorns U-19s (2-2-2, 8pts) record a comeback, 1-1 draw against La Roca. The home side found the opening goal in the 21st minute, but the Thorns responded quickly with the equalizer just three minutes later.
The Thorns U-14s (2-4-0, 6pts) captured a 2-1 victory over La Roca on a last-minute goal from midfielder Ava Weisenfluh. The back-and-forth affair opened in the 16th minute when Portland’s PaytonLawson tallied her fourth goal of the season. La Roca then leveled the score in the 32nd minute. Weisenfluh provided the winner in the 80th minute, scoring her first goal of the season to help the team return the favor from a season-opening loss to La Roca on Sept. 2.
Lawson’s four goals on the season is tied for the team lead with Fatima Brotherson-Erriche.
A 3-1 loss to La Roca snapped a four-game unbeaten run for the Thorns U-17s (3-2-1, 10pts). Midfielder Ava Benedetti scored in a second straight match, as her 53rd-minute tally cut a two-goal deficit in half. The home side then sealed the win with a goal in the 90th minute, handing Portland just its second loss of the season and first since Sept. 2.
The Thorns U-15s (1-5-0, 3pts) were minutes away from a road result, but La Roca found the winner in the 80th minute to hand Portland a 3-2 loss. Twice the Thorns battled back to even the score during the contest, with goals from forward Gabriella Warta and midfielder Kylah Williams in the 57th and 64th minutes, respectively.
