PORTLAND, Ore. – Squaring off against the Orlando Pride in their home and season opener for a second straight season, Portland Thorns FC received goals from forwards Nadia Nadim and Christine Sinclair, registering a 2-0 win in front of 16,145 fans on Saturday afternoon at Providence Park.
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With the win, Portland (1-0-0, 3pts) is unbeaten in its last five regular-season matches (5-0-0), dating back to the 2016 season, and improved to 5-0-0 all-time in home openers, while outscoring its opponents 13-4 in those matches.
Nadim opened the scoring for Thorns FC, converting from the penalty spot after Orlando defender Alanna Kennedy was whistled for a handball in the box. The goal was Nadim’s 10th goal since joining Portland ahead of the 2016 season. With the goal, Nadim claimed the fifth spot on Thorns FC’s all-time scoring list. Sinclair’s goal was her 24th career goal for the club, moving into a tie sixth place on the NWSL’s all-time scoring list, while Nadim moved into a tie for eighth place (23 goals) on the league’s career goal-scoring list.
Sinclair doubled Portland’s lead in the 67th minute. After taking the ball away from an Orlando player near midfield, Allie Long made a surging run down the field before splitting a pair of defenders with a perfectly weighted pass for Sinclair, who tucked her shot into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Thorns FC created several scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes of the match. In the 16th minute, Sinclair collected a long pass from Adrianna Franch outside the box. Sinclair squeezed between two defenders and fired a shot from close range on the right side of the box, but Orlando goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris came off her line quickly to make the save. Less than five minutes later, defender Meghan Klingenberg and midfielder Lindsey Horan combined near the edge of the box. Horan slotted a pass down the middle to Klingenberg making a run, but Klingenberg’s shot skipped wide of the left post.
Goalkeeper Adrianna Franch recorded nine saves in the match, earning the 11th clean sheet of her NWSL career. Franch made several critical saves in the contest, including a diving stop to deny Pride defender Steph Catley’s left-footed shot from close range after quick restart on a free kick near the left side of the box. Additionally, Franch is now unbeaten in her last 14 regular-season NWSL matches.
Next up, Portland heads to North Carolina for its first road match of the season against the Courage on Saturday, April 22. The match kicks off at 4:30 p.m. (Pacific) and can be viewed on the go90 app.
Portland Thorns FC (1-0-0, 3pts) vs. Orlando Pride (0-1-0, 0pts)
April 15, 2017 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Orlando Pride 0 0 0
Portland Thorns FC 1 1 2
Scoring Summary
POR: Nadim (penalty kick), 32
POR: Sinclair (Long), 67
Misconduct Summary
None
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Franch, D Boureille, D Sonnett, D Menges, D Klingenberg, M Henry, M Long, M Horan (Shim, 69), F Nadim (Morris, 79), F Sinclair ©, F Weber (Raso, 61)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Eckerstrom, D Cox, D Johnson
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Nadim, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Nadim, Sinclair, 2); FOULS: 10 (Three players, 2); OFFSIDES: 6; CORNER KICKS: 0; SAVES: 9
ORL: GK Harris ©, D Fields (D. Evans, 72), D Krieger, D Kennedy, D Catley, M Edmonds, M Monica (Pressley, 78), M Weatherholt (M. Evans, 63), F Spencer, F Ubogagu, F Camila
Substitutes Not Used: GK Bledsoe, D Levin, D Alleway, F Burkenroad
TOTAL SHOTS: 19 (Ubogagu, 7); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Catley, Ubogagu, 3); FOULS: 11 (Kennedy, 3); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3
Referee: Danielle Chesky
Assistant Referees: Deleana Quan, JJ Blodgett
4th Official: Jason Perlewitz
Attendance: 16,145
Weather: Sunny, 52 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
