BOYDS, Md. – Surrendering a first-half goal, Portland Thorns FC were unable to rally to find an equalizer, falling 1-0 to the Washington Spirit in front of 4,319 fans at Maureen Hendricks Field at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday evening.
The match marked the beginning of a stretch of three games in an eight-day span for Thorns FC (4-3-3, 15pts). Portland faces a quick turnaround, playing host to FC Kansas City on June 28 before traveling to Seattle for a match against Seattle Reign FC on July 1.
Washington (3-5-2, 11pts) tallied the lone goal of the match in the 19th minute, scoring on a quick counter attack as forward Francisca Ordega finished on the break to put the Spirit in front.
Portland concluded the match with 62.7 percent of the possession, including 65.1 percent in the second half. Pushing for an equalizer in the second half, Thorns FC recorded eight shots, including a pair of chances from forward Nadia Nadim, who entered the match in the 46th minute.
Dribbling at the Washington backline, Nadim weaved her way through two defenders, firing a powerful shot from just inside the box that was blocked out for a Portland corner kick in the 56th minute. Remaining on the attack, midfielder Lindsey Horan served a driven ball from the right wing towards the penalty spot for Allie Long, who flicked a header just wide of the right post in the 61st minute.
Nadim came close to leveling in the match in the 84th minute. Making a run in behind the Spirit defense, Horan played a quick one-touch pass to Nadim in on goal with Washington goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe, but Labbe came off her line to stop the attempt.
Goalkeeper Adrianna Franch registered five saves in the match, including a pair of point-blank stops to deny close-range shot attempts by forward Cheyna Williams in the ninth and 62nd minute of the match.
Next up, Thorns FC return to the Rose City for a midweek match against FC Kansas City on Wednesday, June 28, at Providence Park. The June 28 match kicks off at 7 p.m. (Pacific) with a live, high-definition web stream at www.go90.com.
Notes:
- There was a moment of silence before the match to honor legendary women’s soccer coach Tony DiCicco, who passed away earlier this week. Additionally, all players and staff from both Portland and Washington wore black armbands with the initials “TD”.
- Forward Ashleigh Sykes earned her first career start in her second appearance for Portland on Saturday.
- Forward Christine Sinclair made her 70th career start with Thorns FC in the match.
- Goalkeeper Adrianna Franch finished with five saves in the match, marking the fourth time this season she has registered five or more saves in a match.
Portland Thorns FC (4-3-3, 15pts) at Washington Spirit (3-5-2, 11pts)
June 24, 2017 – Maureen Hendricks Field at Maryland SoccerPlex (Boyds, Md.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Portland Thorns FC 0 0 0
Washington Spirit 1 0 1
Scoring Summary
WAS: Ordega, 19
Misconduct Summary
None
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Franch, D Boureille (Shim, 82), D Sonnett, D Menges, D Klingenberg, M Long, M Henry (Brynjarsdottir, 64), M Horan, F Sykes (Nadim, 46), F Sinclair ©, F Raso
Substitutes Not Used: GK Eckerstrom, D Cox, D Johnson
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Horan, Sinclair, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Sinclair, 2); FOULS: 6 (Henry, Raso, 2); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 5
WAS: GK Labbe, D Johnson, D Church, D Zadorsky ©, D Kallman, M Mewis (Dydasco, 61), M Huster, M Dougherty Howard, F Williams (Stengel, 76), F Solaun (Kleiner, 87), F Ordega
Substitutes Not Used: GK Haracic, F Ship, M Jensen, F Agnew
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Three players tied, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Mewis, Ordega, 2); FOULS: 13 (Ordega, 5); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 3
Referee: Danielle Chesky
Assistant Referees: Cory Richardson, Jeffrey Skinker
4th Official: Jorge Ramirez
Attendance: 4,319
Weather: Partly cloudy, 83 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
