Portland Thorns FC were 8-4-2 last year in games following wins. The year before, they were 6-3-3. In the team’s first two years under head coach Mark Parsons, the Thorns have had little problem building on their successes, part of the reason why they’ve been able to ride strong runs to trophies each season.
That could still happen this year. After all, there is still one-third of the season to go. But to this point in the 2018 campaign, the NWSL’s defending champions have yet to build any significant momentum. For each step forward, there’s been a step back, leaving team 6-5-5 with eight games to go. Although the 2-1-2 record they’ve accumulated after wins this year looks fine in the abstract, it also means on three of five occasions, Portland has failed to build on the previous game’s result.
Sunday, however, gives the Thorns a golden opportunity to return to their previous years’ selves. But when the Houston Dash make their season’s first appearance at Providence Park (8 pm PT, Go90.com and NWSLSoccer.com), they’ll also do so as the last contender in a playoff race poised to go down to the league’s final week. And if the Thorns carve out their third two-game winning streak of the season, they’ll have dealt a major blow to a rival along their postseason road.
Where you at, Houston?
Coming into Sunday’s game, the Dash sit seventh in the league, but their 20 points are only three behind the Thorns. With a win, Portland can vault from fifth to third, depending on how the rest of the coming weekend shakes out, while an upset at Providence Park tempts chaos. Houston will not only move even with the Thorns on points but will have also evened teams’ head-to-head record this season, preventing Portland from clinching what could be a crucial, end-of-season tiebreaker. A slip on Sunday against Houston would be a missed opportunity on multiple fronts.
Coming off the Thorns’ 4-0 win over Utah, though, dwelling on Portland’s worst-case scenarios seems slightly off. That result combined with Portland’s last showing against Houston – a 3-1 win at BBVA Compass Stadium four weeks ago – should inspire a number of different, more positive questions. What if the team can build on Friday’s performance? What if getting the Dash at home (on short rest, since Houston played Wednesday) will lead to an even better result? Are we seeing a landscape where the Thorns could go on yet another late-season run?
Yes, to answer that last question. Absolutely. Just looking at the talent on the Thorns, alone, tells you they can win their next game. And the next one. And the next one, after that. When you have players like Parsons has at his disposal, you’ve got a chance to win every game, whether it’s at home against the Dash or on the road against North Carolina, the challenge that looms three games from now. Past performance does not guarantee future results, but getting Christine Sinclair, Lindsey Horan, Tobin Heath and company playing at their peaks does assure a certain quality of product.
That quality came through early and often against Utah, handing the Royals their franchise’s worst loss while posting the Portland's most-lopsided win of the season. It came through during the team’s last trip to Houston, too, where for the first time in team history, the Thorns put up multiple goals over 90 minutes.
If that quality shines through on Sunday, the Thorns will have their third set of back-to-back wins this season. The Dash may have improved over the last month, adding both U.S. international Sofia Huerta and Australian international (and ex-Thorn) Claire Polkinghorne, but Portland has dealt with them, before, and in the players beyond the Thorns’ international stars – the Adrianna Franches, Emily Mengeses and Katherine Reynoldses that adorn the roster – you have capacity that separates Portland from much of the NWSL.
You have quality that can make a win at home over Houston, and the momentum that comes with it, more of an expectation than a hope.
What to watch for on Sunday:
- The Dash are far more than just Huerta and Polkinghorne. During the team’s 3-1 victory Wednesday over Orlando, Rachel Daly continued flashing her newfound goal-scoring form. After finishing last season with five goals in 23 games (2025 minutes), the England international is up to six this season (16 appearances) after her brace against the Pride. Although best known for her relentless effort, Daly’s scoring touch may be coming to the forefront of her profile.
- Elsewhere, former Thorn Amber Brooks has become a linchpin of the Dash defense, while captain Kealia Ohai and Kyah Simon help give Houston four viable attacking options. This isn’t the same team that was exclusively trying to hit teams in transition this preseason at Merlo Field. The Dash have built beyond their former selves.
- As for the Thorns, fullback/winger Midge Purce is expected to miss a month with an ankle injury picked up against Utah. She’ll be joined on the sidelines by Andressinha (ankle) and Caitlin Foord (recovering from foot surgery), according to Parsons.
- In terms of returning players, Meghan Klingenberg should be back in the lineup, returning to the team’s XI after serving a one-game suspension last week. Katherine Reynolds, too, will be available, having missed last week’s match with a planned absence.
- With Andressinha out, midfielder Celeste Boureille looks likely to get her fifth straight start in midfield, a stretch of games through which Portland has only given up three goals. Having been a regular in Portland’s starting XI to begin the year, Boureille slid to the bench briefly while the team rebounded from its early injury woes. Now appearing in five straight games, the third-year pro has clawed her way back into contention for meaningful minutes.
- The Dash have not been to Portland since Aug. 17, 2017, a game where Andressinha was starting for Houston, players like Amandine Henry, Dagny Brynjarsdottir and Ashleigh Sykes were in the Thorns’ starting lineup, and 19,672 turned out at Providence Park. The crowd that witnessed that 2-0 win was the team’s second-largest of the season.
