MATCH INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015
Kickoff: 4 p.m. (Pacific)
Location: Yurcak Field (Piscataway, N.J.)
Forecast: Chance of rain, 83 degrees
Referee: Fardhad Dadkho
Assistant Referees: Ryan Cook, Logan Brown
Fourth Official: Ernie Constantine
Webstream: PortlandThornsFC.com
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
Portland Thorns FC close out the 2015 regular season playing two of their final three matches on the road. Portland visits Yurcak Field for a match against Sky Blue FC on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 4 p.m. (Pacific) in Piscataway, N.J. Despite a loss on the road to FC Kansas City that snapped the team’s three game winning streak, Thorns FC have been in good form winning three of their last four matches, including a game on the road against the Western New York Flash on July 29. Portland scored two more more goals in three of those matches, while five different players scored goals and eight different players tallied a point during the team’s winning streak.
AGAINST SKY BLUE FC
Saturday’s match marks the third, and final, meeting of the 2015 regular season between Portland and Sky Blue FC. Thorns FC travel to Yurcak Field for the fourth time in three seasons. Each team claimed wins in their previous home matches this season. Squaring off in back-to-back matches on July 3 and July 11, Portland earned a 2-1 win against Sky Blue FC on July 3 at Providence Park, receiving goals from Allie Long and the game-winning goal from midfielder Sinead Farrelly. Sky Blue FC registered a 1-0 win as forward Sam Kerr tallied a second-half goal on July 11 at Yurcak Field.
SCOUTING SKY BLUE FC
Sky Blue FC enter Saturday’s match following a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Red Stars on Aug. 12 at Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex in Lisle, Ill. Goalkeeper Brittany Cameron has played more minutes (1,522) than any other goalkeeper in the NWSL, while tallying a league-best 78 saves. Four players have produced three or more goals this season for Sky Blue FC. Midfielder Katy Freels leads the team this year with five goals and two assists, while forward Sam Kerr has four goals and two assists in six games played and forward Kelley O’Hara has tallied three goals and three assists in eight appearances this season. Additionally, forward Nadia Nadim has tallied four goals. Sky Blue FC has won two of its last three matches at home.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
With three games remaining on the regular season schedule, Portland (22pts) sits three points behind FC Kansas City (25pts) for the fourth, and final, playoff spot and just six points off the pace off Washington and Chicago, which are both tied for second with 28 points. The first tiebreaker for the playoffs is head-to-head record and the second is overall goal differential. Thorns FC does not hold the tiebreaker with Kansas City, but would hold the tiebreaker with Chicago and would need to beat Washington and make up goal differential to hold the tiebreaker with the Spirit. The race is tight for the final playoff spot as currently eight of the nine teams in the league are mathematically in the playoff race and just seven points separate eighth and fourth place in the NWSL standings. In the case of a three-way tie in the standings, the first tiebreaker is points per game against the other two teams followed by overall goal differential. A Thorns FC win on Saturday coupled with a Washington loss on Aug. 27 could result in a significant shake up in the standings, setting up for a pivotal home match for Portland on Aug. 30 against the Spirit.
LONG ON FIRE
Midfielder Allie Long has continued her impressive goal-scoring pace, registering a goal in three of Portland’s last four matches. Long tallied a brace in a 2-1 win against the Chicago Red Stars on Aug. 9. The brace was Long’s second of the 2015 season - and the third of her career - bringing her season total to nine goals and four assists. Long ranks tied for second in the NWSL in goals (9) and tied for third in assists (4). She is one of just two players (Kim Little) in the league that ranks in the top five in the league in both goals and assists. Portland is 15-0-3 all-time when Long scores in a match and 6-0-1 in 2015.
NOTABLE STATS
Portland is 21-2-5 all-time when scoring first in a match, including a record of 4-1-0 this season. Thorns FC are 14-0-5 all-time when leading at the half and 26-6-10 when leading or tied at half. Thorns FC are 19-9-10 all-time when outshooting their opponents in a match. Also, Portland is 12- 6-5 when limiting its opponent to single-digit shot attempts in a match. When scoring two or more goals in a match, Portland has a record of 21-1-4 all-time.
HEATH 100 CAPS, MORGAN SCORES FOR U.S.
Midfielder Tobin Heath earned her 100th cap with the U.S. Women’s National Team in a 7-2 win against Costa Rica on Aug. 19, becoming the 33rd player to reach this milestone. In addition, forward Alex Morgan saw action as a second half substitute in the win, tallying a goal in the 81st minute. The goal was the 53rd of her career, moving her into a tie for 9th place on USWNT’s all time scoring list.
MILESTONES
Midfielder Allie Long has 21 goals for her career, which is tied for second most in NWSL history and is just one behind all-time leading goal scorer. Seattle Reign FC’s Kim Little (22). In addition, Long is one of five NWSL players with 20 or more career goals in the NWSL (Carli Lloyd, Jessica McDonald, Lauren Holiday, Little).
Defender Kat Williamson made her 60th career NWSL appearance on Aug. 12, while defender Emily Menges became the sixth player to reach 40 career appearances for Portland. Additionally, Midfielder Mana Shim became the seventh player in club history to surpass 3,000 career minutes. On Saturday, Long could reach 60 career starts for Thorns FC, while forward Christine Sinclair could potentially start her 50th career match for Thorns FC.
Sinclair is tied for first place all-time with five game-winning goals with Alex Morgan, and is just one point away from 40 career points. Morgan is also one assist shy of double-digit career assists and would join Long as the only Thorns FC player with double-digit goals and assists if she tallies another assist this season. Shim is also one goal away from reaching double-digits for her career.
