The improvement Seattle Reign FC have shown since the end of the 2017 NWSL season was on display when they took full points from Thorns FC at Providence Park on May 5. It was one of the most entertaining NWSL games we’ve ever seen in Goose Hollow, one that saw the Thorns pull back two Seattle leads before finally falling, 3-2. The game was open, full of a record number of Portland shots, but ultimately showed how much stronger the Reign had become.
Ahead of the teams’ second meeting of the season Saturday (7:30 p.m. PT, Go90 and NWSLSoccer.com), it would make sense to go through the Reign’s squad and ask how they’ve continued to grow under their new coach, Vlatko Andonovski, and identify what threats they pose to the Thorns’ playoff hopes. Seattle is, after all, tied on points with Portland in the standings, with the two rivals holding the league’s final playoff spots.
After Portland's Wednesday result, though, the focus around the Thorns is firmly on the league’s defending champions: themselves. For the third time this year, the team suffered a setback a home, landing them in a similar place of doubt they occupied after losses to Orlando (May 12) and North Carolina (May 30). While this most recent setback wasn’t a loss, a 1-1 draw against the league’s winless cellar dwellers, Sky Blue, left the Thorns feeling defeated.
There was plenty to like about the team’s performance. Head coach Mark Parsons was right to say that, over the game’s first 75 minutes, there was a feeling of home dominance that was so familiar during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. But in late a whistle that went against Portland, and the motion to the spot that followed, the sense of deja vu wasn’t attached to those halcyon-laden, trophy-winning seasons. It was anchored to the same problems the Thorns have been facing all season.
Part of that feeling comes down to the final score, one that falls in line with results like the draw in Houston (May 9) or the home tie with the Spirit (April 20) in carrying a sense of opportunity lost. But in the absences of Tobin Heath and Emily Menges (late scratches) and the early departure of Emily Sonnett (rested with a halftime substitution), the feeling of a perverse fate started to reemerge. In a season where the team’s been unable to overcome injuries and randomness, more injuries and randomness were shining through.
That’s why, for now, the opponents Portland face feel irrelevant. That’s not about disrespect to the Reign – they’ve continuously shown, this season, that they’re certainly relevant. It’s about cutting out all the excuses. At some point, if the Thorns are to reach the heights that defined last season, that means embracing last season’s approach. That means no excuses, no cowering to any obstacles. Even when it’s not pretty or a plan has to change course, Portland has to accept they have the talent to get things done.
You saw that late, on Wednesday, in the moments after Sky Blue’s equalizing goal. When the ball was kicked off and passed by to Lindsey Horan, her face showed the same determination that’s saved the Thorns so many times before. And when her pass was swung out wide and landed at the feet of Meghan Klingenberg, you saw the passion of a player who’s become part of the team’s heart. They, along with players like Christine Sinclair, among others, have proven able to deal with adversity, but even then, they can only do so much.
There have been too many times, this year, when the Thorns have looked up at the clock, seen time winding down, and know they’ve given their biggest stars too small a window to turn losses into draws, draws into victories. Thankfully, the window on the season is still wide open. With 11 games left, the Thorns are still in the league’s top four, knowing that improved health and a renewed focus will likely see them back into the postseason.
At some point, though, the setbacks have to stop, and the focus that defined the last two seasons has to emerge. And just as last year’s convincing 2-1 win at Memorial Stadium served as a catalyst for the team’s end-of-season run, so too would a strong Saturday performance propel Portland past the obstacles that have, thus far, defined their season.
What to watch for on Saturday:
- So, those injuries. You’ve been asking about them since Wednesday, which is understandable. Unfortunately, still a day out from the game, there is only so much to know. Emily Menges is certainly out, listed as such on the league’s injury report with “hip pain,” but Tobin Heath and Midge Purce could yet play, having been handed a questionable status on this morning’s report. The only other players who are surely out are two who have yet to appear this season: Caitlin Foord and Meg Morris.
- If things break right for the Thorns, though, their injury situation could prove very similar to Seattle’s: one major contributor out; another major part still experiencing a prolonged absence. Along those parallels, that would cast midfielder Jessica Fishlock as the Reign’s Menges, having already been ruled out of Saturday’s derby with a right quad strain. Through Kiersten Dallstream and Jaycie Johnson are also sure to miss the game, Yael Averbuch would be Seattle’s Caitlin Foord, in this scenario - the offseason acquisition who, out for this weekend’s game, has missed the bulk of the 2018 season.
- Among the Reign players who will be on the field, there is no one more important than University of Portland product Megan Rapinoe. The U.S. international’s 44 shots and 27 on target lead the NWSL, even though she has only played nine of Seattle’s 13 games this season. With five goals in that span, her goal rate is still among the league’s best, and over a given 90 minutes, she can be the most imposing attacking force in the NWSL.
- Saturday’s game will be the second in a Seattle-Portland doubleheader, one that will begin at CenturyLink Field at 1:30 p.m. PT with a match between the Sounders and Timbers. For the day’s second match, tickets will be available on a walk-up basis or can be purchased here, if you haven’t already gotten your tickets through the Rose City Riveters. As Memorial Stadium (located a short trip north of CenturyLink) is largely general admission, you should be able to sit near your fellow traveling supporters, should you make a late-second decision to go.
