PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Thorns FC defeated the Houston Dash on penalties in the semifinals of the Women's International Championship Cup Wednesday night at Providence Park.
Powered by second-half goals from Natalia Kuikka and Olivia Moultrie – her first as a professional – Portland came from behind to even the score at 2-2 at the end of regulation.
Thorns goalkeeper Shelby Hogan then made three saves in the shootout while Meghan Klingenberg, Moultrie and Simone Charley all scored on their attempts to earn Portland the win and a spot in the championship final Saturday against Olympique Lyonnais (7pm PT, TICKETS, ESPN2).
Match Moments
9' - CHANCE (POR) - Portland forward Raisa Strom-Okimoto played a nice ball forward to Sophia Smith in the box. Her direct shot was saved by Houston goalkeeper Amanda Dennis.
17' - GOAL (HOU) - In the 17th minute, Houston's Shea Groom got around her defender and hit a shot inside the far post to put the Thorns down 1-0.
22' - CHANCE (POR) - Portland's Olivia Moultrie curled in a free kick from the far sideline that midfielder Rocky RodrÃguez headed towards goal only for it to be saved off the line by Houston forward Rachel Daly.
39' - SAVE (POR) - Thorns goalkeeper Shelby Hogan made a finger-tip save to tap a headed shot off the crossbar.
41' - GOAL (HOU) - The Dash scored their second goal with some quick combination passing with Groom finishing the play off to put Portland down 2-0.
51' - GOAL (POR) - In the second half, the Thorns cut the lead in half on a corner kick from Moultrie that found defender Natalia Kuikka at the penalty spot to smash a header into the back of the net.
53' - CHANCE (POR) - Two minutes later, Moultrie snapped a header of her own off the Dash crossbar.
58' - GOAL (POR) - The Thorns tied it up at 2-2 in the 58th minute when Moultrie curled a perfect free kick around the Houston wall in into the lower left corner of the net. It was Moultrie's first ever goal in a Portland uniform.
–Tied at the end of regulation at 2-2, Portland and Houston went to penalties.
PENALTIES
HOU – Nairn – SAVE (by Hogan diving to her right)
POR – Klingenberg – GOAL (right side)
HOU – Schmidt – SAVE (by Hogan diving to her left)
POR – Kuikka – SAVE (by Dennis)
HOU – Daly – GOAL (left side)
POR – Moultrie – GOAL (left side)
HOU – Abam – SAVE (by Hogan diving to her left)
POR – Charley – GOAL (left side)
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Portland will next play Olympique Lyonnais Saturday in the final of the Women's International Champions Cup at 7pm PT (TICKETS, ESPN2).
Full boxscore to follow.
Portland Thorns FC vs. Houston Dash – 2021 Women’s International Champions Cup
Aug. 18, 2021 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Scoring Summary:Â
HOU: Groom (Daly), 17
HOU: Groom (Daly), 41
POR: Kuikka (Moultrie), 51
POR: Moultrie, 58
Shootout Summary:
1 HOU: Nairn – Save
1 POR: Klingenberg – Goal
2 HOU: Smith – Save
2 POR: Kuikka – Save
3 HOU: Daly – Goal
3 POR: Moultrie – Goal
4 HOU: Abam – Save
4 POR: Charley – Goal
Misconduct Summary:
HOU: Oyster (caution), 45+3
HOU: Latsko (caution), 64
POR: Westphal (caution), 70
POR: Pogarch (caution), 90+4
Lineups:
POR: GK Hogan, D Westphal, D Nally, D Hubly (Menges, 46), D Pogarch, M RodrÃguez (Porter, 37), M Kuikka, M Moultrie, M Everett (Klingenberg 83), F Strom-Okimoto (Betfort, 46), F Smith (Charley, 46)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Bixby, M SalemÂ
TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Moultrie, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (six players tied, 1); FOULS: 14 (Pogarch, 6); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3
HOU: GK Dennis, D Spencer (Rosa, 92), D Oyster, D Naughton, D Fields, M Visalli (Gomera-Stevens, 57), M Schmidt, M Seiler (Nairn, 92), M Groom, F Latsko (Abam, 72), F Daly ©
Substitutes Not Used: GK Harris, M Diaz, M Ogle, M Schmidt, M Hauksdottir, F Alozie
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Daly, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Groom, 2); FOULS: 14 (Daly, 3); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3
Referee: Adorae Monroy
Assistant Referees: Deleana Quan, Melissa Beck
4th Official: Dion Coxe
Weather: Partly cloudy, 75 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
Notes:
- Natalia Kuikka scored her first career goal with Thorns FC.Â
- Olivia Moultrie recorded her first professional goal.Â
- Moultrie tallied her second career assist for Portland.
- Shelby Hogan made her professional debut in the match.Â
- Hogan saved three penalty kick attempts, and was named player of the match.Â
- Meaghan Nally and Raisa Strom-Okimoto earned their first starts for Thorns FC.
- Defender Kelli Hubly started the match for Portland and wore the captain’s armband for the first half.
- Tonight’s shootout was just the second in Thorns FC history. Their first occurred in the NWSL Challenge Cup final on May 8, 2021.
