Rumors had her linked with a move to Portland all offseason, and on Friday night, Christen Press will have finally arrived. In Utah Royals FC blue and yellow, she’ll be making her first appearance of the season at Providence Park, looking to keep the Royals ahead of Thorns FC in an ever-tightening NWSL playoff picture.
That picture currently has the Royals in fourth, holding down the league’s last playoff spot, one point ahead of Portland – information that is practically overkill with one-third of the season to go. A better way to look at the league’s landscape is in broad, blurring hues, given how uncertain all status still are. From that alternate lens, we see a league where the second- through seventh-placed teams are only six points apart, with various obstacles and runways separating them from the 2018 postseason.
The Thorns find themselves near the bottom of that picture, for now – in sixth place and, among playoff contenders, only above Houston – which makes this meeting with Utah all the more important. Win on Friday (8pm PT, go90.com / NWSLSoccer.com, TICKETS) and the team will leap into third place. Lose, and they will lose ground to Utah, stay in sixth, and be two points out of a playoff spot.
Into that comes Press, one of the most prolific scorers in NWSL history and an established U.S. international attacking talent. Across four seasons with the Chicago Red Stars, the 29-year-old forward scored 36 goals in 63 regular-season appearances, leading her team to the playoffs three times before an offseason trade, a brief move to Sweden, then an in-season trade landed her in Utah.
We’ve talked about that trade before, one that improved three teams (Chicago, Houston and Utah) the Thorns will fight for playoff spots. And in Friday’s game in Goose Hollow, Portland will get to see the third of those teams, having already faced the Red Stars (1-1 win, June 16) and Dash (3-1 win, June 22) before. This time, though, the Thorns will see the focal point of the deal – a player that stands to take Utah from fringe contention to a legitimate playoff threat.
Before Press’ arrival, Utah had scored 10 times in 12 games, and while the team’s shutout at the hands of Seattle didn’t augur well in her June 27 debut, Press broke through for a goal and an assist this weekend in a 3-1 win against Sky Blue. On one hand, that performance came against the worst team in the league, one that had given up 20 goals in 12 games before arriving at Rio Tinto Stadium. For another point of view, though, the result was worthy of note. It was the first time in franchise history the Royals had scored more than two goals in a game and only the fourth time ever they’d put more than one score on the board.
To the eye, Press’ addition, along with the mid-spring arrival of Australian international Katrina Gorry, dramatically ups the skill level and creativity in the Royals’ midfield, joining Canadian international Diana Matheson as players who need to be taken off the ball. While her natural striker’s role in coach Laura Harvey’s 4-3-3 may be occupied by fellow U.S. international Amy Rodriguez, her ability to play wide-to-in – start in a winger’s role but come inside to both threaten goal and connect play – makes her a natural fit with Utah’s personnel, especially when Kelley O’Hara returns from injury to get forward from a fullback’s spot. For a team that has only conceded 11 times in 14 games, even the smallest attacking addition can play a disproportionate part.
That’s why, despite taking four points from Utah in two previous meetings this season, the Thorns can’t read anything into Friday’s opponent. Theirs is going to be a vastly different team than the one which went down 2-0 at Providence Park on May 25. It will have more experience, more time together, and a new tactical approach. It will also have a player who, given the team’s limitations, before, might be the perfect addition to their squad.
What to watch for on Friday:
- Lest you think Utah is all about one player and a few midfielders, know a.) forward Katie Stengel is coming off a two-goal game Saturday against Sky Blue; b.) defender Becky Sauerbrunn just finished third in the voting for NWSL Player of the Month for June, c.) goalkeeper Abby Smith is recently coming off her second senior national team call-up, and d.) midfielder Gunnhildur Jonsdottir continues playing at the high level that made her one of the league's early-season standouts. They're not just Christen and the Press-tidigitators, here to slip three points beneath their gloves.
- Early Thursday, Portland found out that starting left back Meghan Klingenberg will be suspended for Friday’s match as a result of an incident that took place Saturday in Seattle. Likewise, midfielder Andressinha is listed as out, having come back from Memorial Stadium with an ankle injury. Striker Caitlin Foord remains sidelined but on track to return from her foot injury, soon, while defender Katherine Reynolds will miss the game with a excused, pre-planned absence.
- On the other side of the injury coin, all of midfielder Tobin Heath, defender Emily Menges and fullback Midge Purce are expected to play, with none listed on the team’s official injury report. Purce returned from an ankle injury on Saturday to finish the game in Seattle, while Heath is set to come back from an ankle problem of her own. Menges has been sidelined the two preceding games with a hip in injury.
- In the teams’ last meeting, both Christine Sinclair and Lindsey Horan recorded first-half goals. On Friday, the duo go into the match first and third in the league in goals, respectively, having scored seven and six times, each, this season.
- In Portland’s last home game – a Wednesday night kickoff against Sky Blue – a season-high 18,237 were in the stands at Providence Park. Only one NWSL game has outdrawn that this season: Utah’s inaugural game at Rio Tinto on April 18 against Chicago (19,203).
