KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Playing the first of back-to-back road games, Portland Thorns FC registered their third clean sheet of the campaign, earning a point on the road in a scoreless draw against FC Kansas City in front of 1,796 fans at Children’s Mercy Victory Field on Saturday afternoon.
With the draw, Thorns FC (2-1-2, 8pts) now have earned at least a point in nine of their last 12 road contests. Additionally, Adrianna Franch earned her third clean sheet of the season, recording her 13th career NWSL shutout, which included a critical stop on a one-on-one with Sydney Leroux in the 65th minute, deflecting a close-range attempt out of bounds for a corner kick to preserve the scoreless draw.
Controlling 60.2 percent of the possession in the first half, Portland created several quality scoring opportunities and limited FC Kansas City (1-2-2, 5pts) to zero shots on target in the first half. Allie Long made a run down the right side of the box and collected a short pass in stride from Hayley Raso, spinning quickly after receiving the pass and firing a shot from a tight angle at the near post to force a save from FC Kansas City goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart in the 28th minute.
Just over five minutes later, Thorns FC created consecutive chances through Raso and Christine Sinclair. In the 34th minute, Lindsey Horan directed a corner kick from Nadia Nadim with a header back across the face of goal. Raso was able to get free in front of the goal, sending a side-footed flick on the goal line just over the bar. Three minutes later, Sinclair hit the inside of the right post after winning the ball near the edge of the box and delivering a well-placed shot towards the right corner.
Portland generated several additional scoring chances in the second half and nearly tallied the game-winner in the 90th minute off a set-piece opportunity. After winning a free kick near the left sideline, Amandine Henry whipped in a cross to the back post. Long fought off her defender and put a header on frame, but Barnhart dove back across the face of goal at the last second to knock the ball away and FC Kansas City defender Yael Averbuch quickly cleared the ball off the goal line.
Thorns FC continue their two-game road trip, traveling to Allston, Mass., for a match against the Boston Breakers on Friday, May 19, at Jordan Field; kickoff is set for 4 p.m. (Pacific) with a live, high-definition web stream at www.go90.com.
Notes:
- Thorns FC have earned at least a point in nine of their last 12 road matches.
- Portland earned its third clean sheet in its first five games this season, marking the first time in club history the team has earned three clean sheets in its first five matches.
- Saturday’s match marked the 12th all-time meeting in regular-season play between Portland and FC Kansas City. Portland has at least a point in its last two matches on the road against FC Kansas City.
- Goalkeeper Adrianna Franch registered her 13th career clean sheet in NWSL, moving her into a tie for third place all-time with Karina LeBlanc.
- Hayley Raso was the only player in the match to finish with a passing accuracy of above 90 percent, completing 93.8 percent of her passes.
- Emily Menges appeared in her 65th career match and now has played 90 minutes in 25 consecutive regular-season matches, dating back to the 2016 season.
Portland Thorns FC (2-1-2, 8pts) at FC Kansas City (1-2-2, 5pts)
May 13, 2017 – Children’s Mercy Victory Field (Kansas City, Mo.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Portland Thorns FC 0 0 0
FC Kansas City 0 0 0
Scoring Summary
none
Misconduct Summary
KC: Moros (Caution), 74
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Franch, D Boureille, D Sonnett, D Menges, D Klingenberg, M Henry, M Long (Cox, 90+3), M Horan, F Nadim (Weber, 69), F Sinclair ©, F Raso
Substitutes Not Used: GK Eckerstrom, D Johnson
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Long, Sinclair, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Long, Sinclair, 2); FOULS: 10 (Henry, 5); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 2
KC: GK Barnhart, D Taylor, D Sauerbrunn ©, D Averbuch, D Gibbons, M LaBonta, M Moros, M Newfield (Bowen, 72), F Groom (Kelly, 82), F Ratcliffe (Tymrak, 63), F Leroux
Substitutes Not Used: GK Parkhill, M Scott, D Reed, M Flynn
TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (LaBonta, Leroux, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (LaBonta, Leroux, 1); FOULS: 13 (Leroux, 3); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 2
Referee: Karen Abt
Assistant Referees: Amanda Ross, Ben Pilgrim
4th Official: Emily Fletcher
Attendance: 1,796
Weather: Mostly sunny, 80 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
