In the 2016 season opener for Portland Thorns FC, the club squared off with the expansion Orlando Pride. The April 17th match was the debut of Mark Parsons as Portland's head coach and the team delivered a 2-1 win over the Pride in front of 16,073 fans at Providence Park.
The match is this week's PTFC: From the Archives, presented by Providence Health & Services, special rebroadcast. Tune in to ThornsFC.com on June 6, 2020 to watch this historic match. Here are five numbers to know ahead of the game.
2History Books –Tobin Heath delivered the assists on both Thorns goals in the match. Heath would also have two assists on Sept.7, 2016 against Houston and is the only Thorns player ever to have multiple games with multiple assists in a single season.
25Looking Ahead – The game-winning goal was scored by Lindsey Horan, who was making her Thorns debut in the match. Horan has gone on to score 25 goals for the club in all competitions while also being named league MVP and earning Best XI recognition on two separate occasions.
1Remember your first – In her first match for the Thorns, Dagný Brynjarsdóttir scored 25 minutes into the match to tie things up at one goal apiece. It was the Icelandic international's first NWSL goal, who went on to play 53 games with Portland, scoring six times.
9Rivalry? The Thorns have beaten the Pride nine times in 11 matches all-time between the two clubs including playoffs. Since Orlando debuted in NWSL in 2016, Portland has more victories over the Pride than any other NWSL club.
7Looking Ahead – The Thorns have won every single home opener in club history with a record of 7-0-0 in those matches. In home openers, Portland has only trailed for 21 minutes total with 13 of those minutes occurring in this match.
