A week after winning the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup, Portland Thorns FC kicked off the regular season in style with a 5-0 victory over the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday at Providence Park. Here are three key #StatMan takeaways from the match.
15 With her penalty, Christine Sinclair has now scored 15 goals against the Chicago Red Stars in her NWSL career. Sinclair's goal was her 50th regular season goal for Thorns FC, becoming the third NWSL player to reach the 50-goal plateau.
2 Sophia Smith delivered the first brace of the 2021 NWSL regular season while also forcing an own goal. It was the first regular season brace for Thorns FC since Aug. 25, 2019 when Midge Purce accomplished the feat, also against the Red Stars.
4 Thorns FC scored four goals in the first 30 minutes of the match. Since 2017, it was the second time an NWSL team has scored four goals in the first half with Portland also doing so on July 24, 2019 against the Houston Dash.
Everything from Portland's Sunday win over Chicago:
