Thorns FC NWSL Preview | Washington Spirit present the right amount of danger, opportunity for Portland

Talents like Mallory Pugh and Andi Sullivan, both U.S. internationals, had many high on the Washington Spirit’s hopes coming into 2018, but the reality of a young team in a highly competitive league has hit home early this NWSL season. Through seven games, Jim Gabarra’s team has one win, losing four times as they’ve fallen to eighth place in the nine-team circuit.

It’s two spots higher than the Spirit finished a year ago, when their 10th-place season ensured they’d get Sullivan in this January’s NWSL College Draft. But within this year’s schedule you see why Washington’s early returns may be painting a deceiving picture. Through their season’s first seven outings, the Spirit have yet to face either the Houston Dash or Sky Blue FC, meaning the entirety of their first two months’ games has been against teams who were expected to compete for playoff spots.

After Saturday’s match against Thorns FC in Boyds, Maryland (4pm PT, NWSLsoccer.com/go90), Washington will have played half their schedule against the 2017 league finalists, Portland and the North Carolina Courage, a fact that casts their 1-4-2 start in a different light. Devoid of context, five points in seven games is a disappointment, but against the power of Washington’s schedule, they may have the results we should have expected from a young, growing squad.

The growing part is what should give the Thorns pause. As we discussed the last time Portland played Washington, most of the Spirits’ regulars are still approaching their playing prime.

Given how few professional games college products have by the time they’re 23, 24 years old, each NWSL shift represents a chance to leap forward. For physically mature, intelligent players – players hungry to establish themselves at the professional level – the lessons can catch on quickly, provided you have the right group.

Hence, the Thorns’ challenge. Portland already knows the Spirit are capable of snaring a result. Washington did so in their 1-1 draw on April 20 at Providence Park. And with this Saturday’s game shifting to the Maryland SoccerPlex, threats like Pugh, Ashley Hatch (eight goals in 29 career appearances) and Francisca Ordega (a goal every 165.7 minutes, this season) pose enough danger to push the Spirit over the top.

But these are also the types of challenges a struggling Portland needs. Winless in five, the Thorns continuously find themselves on the cusp of victory only to see mistakes – aberrational, if reoccurring – undermine their results. They don’t need to go up against teams that won’t test them. They don’t need that empty boost of confidence. Instead, they need to keep facing their challenges if they’re ever to overcome them.

In that way, the Spirit may be the right team at the right time. The cross-country trip gives the Thorns a chance to eject from their day-to-day lives, jump into their road trip’s bubble, and focus on their much-needed turnaround. But that turnaround won’t come against an easy opponent, no matter what Washington’s record says, and given the learning curve the Spirit are on, a win in Maryland will have to be a well-earned one.

What to watch for on Saturday:

• A number of questions loom about Mark Parsons’ potential starting lineup, beginning with the team’s formation. Although the Thorns have been frequently switching to a 4-2-3-1 in recent games (from their base 3-4-1-2 approach), they did so extremely early against the Orlando Pride last week, doing so in the 22nd minute, right after going down 2-0. After the match, Parsons lamented not making the move sooner, saying the Pride took advantage of his team’s openness through the middle in the match’s opening moments. Will Parsons solve that probably even earlier, from the opening whistle, on Saturday in Maryland?
  
• The other questions focus on personnel, the biggest of which is at the top of the formation. Coming off a full 90-minute shift mid-week in Houston, forward Ana Crnogočević stayed on the bench against Orlando, with Portland’s newest Thorn, Ellie Carpenter, earning her first start up top. Will the Switzerland international resume her place in the starting lineup?
  
• No doubt, Emily Menges will be in the XI, having played 45 minutes in her season debut against the Pride. According to Parsons, Menges will be back in the team on Saturday, though she isn’t ready to play a full 90. Sixty minutes was the loose target the Thorns boss gave to the assembled media.
  
• Meghan Klingenberg will also be back in the team this week. The team’s left back practiced fully with the Thorns upon her return, having missed Saturday’s game for personal reasons. No matter the formation, expect “Kling” to be on the left side of Portland’s defense.
  
• For Washington, the biggest lineup question is at the back, something that could also influence how the Spirit set up in midfield. Central defender Estelle Johnson, the team’s standout performer in Portland, has recently missed time with a hamstring strain. Should she miss Saturday’s game (she’s listed as questionable on the league’s injury report), rookie Rebecca Quinn will drop back from midfield and assume her normal Canadian national team position, slotting in to the left of Whitney Church.
  
• The main effect that has on the team’s midfield hits Sullivan. The 10-time U.S. international has been splitting her time between Washington’s No. 6 and No. 8 positions, often making the swap mid-game. Although she has the ability to play either role, her range of distribution seems to fit more naturally into a deeper spot. If Quinn plays in defense this week, Sullivan will have that six’s job all to herself.
  
• After finally, every trip to Washington is a homecoming, of sorts, for Parsons, who started his NWSL head-coaching career with the Spirit. After April’s draw, he is 3-1-2 all-time against his former team, with the Thorns outscoring them 11-4 over that time.