OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -
Midfielder Lauren Cheney tallied a strike from distance in the 10
th
minute and second-half substitute Merritt Mathias added a goal in the 71
st
minute as FC Kansas City defeated Portland Thorns FC 2-0 before 4,774 fans at Verizon Wireless Field at Shawnee Mission District Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Suffering their first road loss this season, Thorns FC goalkeeper
Karina LeBlanc
made four saves while forward
Christine Sinclair
attempted a team-high four shots on goal.
The home side jumped out to an early lead when defender Leigh Ann Robinson, who finished the match with two assists, picked out Cheney with a pass from the defensive third in the 10
th
minute. Cheney collected the ball near the halfway line and dribbled 25 yards down the middle of the field before unleashing a well-struck right-footed shot to the upper right corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead. Cheney’s goal was her league-leading eighth of the season and provided FC Kansas City with early momentum.
FC Kansas City (7-4-2, 23pts) doubled its lead in the 71
st
minute when a pass from Robinson was deflected into the penalty box by Thorns FC midfielder
Angie Kerr
. The ball looped over the Portland defense and Mathias was able to flick it into the goal past LeBlanc, who was rushing off her line to stop the threat.
LeBlanc, a Canadian international, kept Cheney from scoring her second goal of the match in the 60
th
minute. The FC Kansas City midfielder picked up a through pass inside the box and tried to chip LeBlanc, but the Portland goalkeeper made a nice reaction save to deny the opportunity. The rebound fell to Cheney, but LeBlanc was able to get a foot on it, pushing the shot just wide of the goal as defender
Kathryn Williamson
assisted in clearing the ball out of the box.
Cheney, who has scored three goals in three games against Thorns FC this season, finished the match with a team-high four shots (3 on goal) for FC Kansas City.
Thorns FC (8-3-2, 26pts) registered four shots over the final 20 minutes, including two close chances from Sinclair and one from second-half substitute
Danielle Foxhoven
.
Sinclair fired an open header toward the near post in the 76
th
minute, but FC Kansas City goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart was in position to make the save. Barnhart, a U.S. Women’s National Team member, made five saves in the win for FC Kansas City. Just two minutes later, Sinclair made a run into the box and attempted an off-balance shot from close range, but Barnhart made the initial stop and an FC Kansas City defender helped corral the rebound.
Foxhoven, who entered the match at halftime, saw a strike from distance drift just high of the crossbar in the 88
th
minute.
Near the start of second-half stoppage time, Kerr delivered a cross deep into the FC Kansas City box for forward Alex Morgan. Morgan was unable to get a clean strike on the ball as Barnhart came off her line to make the stop, preserving the clean sheet.
Portland had to play the final 10 minutes of the match with 10 players after defender
Marian Dougherty
went off with an apparent knee injury. Thorns FC had already used all three of their substitutes before Dougherty’s injury.
Thorns FC return home to the Rose City for back-to-back home matches starting Saturday, July 6, against the Boston Breakers at JELD-WEN Field; kickoff is 7:30 p.m. (Pacific). Thorns FC then square off against the Western New York Flash on Sunday, July 14, at JELD-WEN Field; kickoff is 2 p.m. (Pacific). Both matches will be broadcast live on Freedom 970AM with a live high-definition web stream available on
www.portlandthornsfc.com
.
Notes:
- The team’s road shutout streak also ended at 284 consecutive minutes with Cheney’s goal in the 10th minute.
- Thorns FC have recorded five or more shots on goal in four straight games.
- Defender Kathryn Williamson is the only Thorns FC player to have played every minute of all 13 games (1,170 minutes).
- Goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc leads the NWSL with a 0.75 goals-against average.
- Williamson, midfielder Allie Long and defender Nikki Marshall are the only three players to have started all 13 games for Thorns FC this season.
- Portland has conceded only four goals in seven matches on the road this season.
- Thorns FC have conceded 11 goals in 13 games overall, the lowest total in the NWSL.
- FC Kansas City defender Leigh Ann Robinson has recorded four of her five assists against Thorns FC this season.
- Midfielder Courtney Wetzel has started five straight games for Portland.
- Forward/midfielder Tiffany Weimer made her second straight start for Portland since being acquired on June 18.
Portland Thorns FC (8-3-2, 26pts) at FC Kansas City (7-4-2, 23pts)
June 30, 2013 – Verizon Wireless Field (Overland Park, Kan.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
POR 0 0 0
KC 1 1 2
Scoring Summary
KC: Cheney (Robinson), 10
KC: Mathias (Robinson), 71
Misconduct Summary
None
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Karina LeBlanc; D Marian Dougherty, D Kathryn Williamson, D Rachel Buehler, D Nikki Marshall, M Nikki Washington (Kerr, 62), M Tiffany Weimer (Foxhoven, 46), M Courtney Wetzel (Shim, 72), M Allie Long, F Christine Sinclair (capt.), F Alex Morgan
Substitutes Not Used: GK Adelaide Gay, D Emilee O’Neil
TOTAL SHOTS: 8 (Sinclair, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Sinclair, 4); FOULS: 5 (Dougherty, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 4
KC: GK Nicole Barnhart; D Kristie Mewis, D Lauren Sesselmann, D Becky Sauerbrunn, D Leigh Ann Robinson, M Erika Tymrak, M Jen Buczkowski, M Desiree Scott, M Lauren Cheney, F Courtney Jones (Mathias, 46), F Melissa Henderson (Cuellar, 83)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Bianca Henninger, D Nia Williams, M Sinead Farrelly, M Katie Kelly, F Tiffany Cameron
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Cheney, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Cheney, 3); FOULS: 6 (Two players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 5
Referee: Christina Unkel
Assistant Referees: Jennifer Jones, Adrienne McDonald
Fourth Official: Kyle Atkins
Attendance: 4,774
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 79 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
