PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers were named one of the Top Trending MLS teams in Google’s Year in Search in 2016, with the Timbers ranked third among MLS teams. Additionally, Thorns FC midfielders Allie Long and Lindsey Horan were among Google's top ten trendings women's soccer players for the year coming in at no. 4 and no. 6 respectively. Based on trillions of searches, the 16th annual Year in Search provides a peek into the people, moments and brands that captured people's attention in 2016.
- READ: Google.com/2016
Portland entered 2016 after lifting its first-ever MLS Cup title in the club’s fifth MLS season in 2015, becoming the 10th different team in league history and third expansion team to win MLS Cup.
In 2016, 16 of the Timbers’ 34 regular-season matches were featured on national television, with Portland becoming the first MLS club to host “SportsCenter on the Road,” live from Providence Park, ahead of its marquee home match against the LA Galaxy on July 23.
Additionally, Portland’s match against the Colorado Rapids on Oct. 16 marked the 102nd consecutive regular-season sellout for the Timbers, who have sold out each of their regular-season matches since entering MLS in 2011.
On the Thorns FC side, Long was named to the 2016 NWSL Best XI while racking up six goals (tied for second on the team) and two assists to go along with her first major U.S. Women's National Team tournament appearance at this past summer's Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
Horan, who had five goals for the Thorns, was also a member of the USWNT at the Olympics and the duo helped propel Portland to their first-ever NWSL Shield trophy with the league's best regular-season record of 12-3-5.
Long and Horan are also part of what many consider to be the best supported professional women's sports team in the world. The club led the NWSL in attendance with 169,449 people coming to matches at Providence Park in 2016 for an average of 16,945 per game.