PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Thorns FC today announced that the club has loaned midfielder Celeste Boureille (Brisbane Roar), defender Ellie Carpenter(Canberra United), goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom (Newcastle Jets) and forwards Caitlin Foord (Sydney FC) and Hayley Raso (Brisbane Roar) to W-League clubs in Australia for the 2018-19 season.
All five players will return to Portland before the start of the 2019 NWSL season.
In her third season with Thorns FC in 2018, Boureille, 24, appeared in a career-best 21 games (18 starts), logging 1,586 minutes. In 2017-18 with Brisbane, Boureille started and played all 12 regular-season matches and tallied her first career professional goal, helping the Roar to the W-League Premiership title.
Carpenter, 18, returns to Canberra United for a second straight season after appearing in 12 games (10 starts), tallying two goals and two assists during the 2017-18 W-League season. In her first season with Thorns FC in 2018, Carpenter played in 17 games (14 starts), becoming the youngest player to score a goal in NWSL history.
Eckerstrom, 25, returns to Newcastle for a second season after helping the Jets to a berth in the W-League playoffs during the 2017-18 campaign. In her first season in Australia, Eckerstrom started all 13 matches, including Newcastle’s semifinal match against Sydney FC. In her second season with Portland in 2018, Eckerstrom made 10 starts, logging 33 saves and a pair of shutouts.
Foord, 23, appeared in six matches (2 starts) in her first season with Portland in 2018. The Australian international returns to Sydney FC for a second straight season after playing in six matches (4 starts), recording two goals and three assists during the 2017-18 season. Foord helped guide her team to the W-League playoffs and scored a goal in the semifinal match before suffering an injury.
Raso, 24, appeared in 12 games (9 starts) in her third season with Portland in 2018, tallying two goals and two assists before suffering a season-ending injury. The Australian international started and played in 11 regular-season matches for Brisbane during the 2017-18 season, recording four goals.
