PORTLAND, Ore. – As part of today’s announcement of U.S. Women’s National Team allocated players for the 2017 season by the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan, Meghan Klingenberg and Emily Sonnett were named as returning federation players for Portland Thorns FC, while Allie Long was named as a newly allocated federation player.
The 2017 season marks Heath and Long’s fifth with the club, while Horan, Klingenberg and Sonnett begin their second season with Thorns FC. All five players featured in 2016, guiding Portland to their first-ever NWSL Shield. Klingenberg and Sonnett helped anchor a defense that conceded the fewest goals in the league (19) in 2016, while Heath, Horan and Long led a Portland attack that finished ranked second in the NWSL in goals scored (35) and tied for second in assists (23), with both Heath and Long earning NWSL Best XI honors.
Portland opens its fifth season in the NWSL at Providence Park on Saturday, April 15, playing host to the Orlando Pride; kickoff is set for 12 noon (Pacific) with a national television broadcast on Lifetime.
