NWSL CHALLENGE CUP MATCH RECAP | OL Reign 0, Portland Thorns FC 0

HERRIMAN, Utah – Portland Thorns FC earned their third draw in a row playing to a 0-0 result against OL Reign in the NWSL Challenge Cup presented by P&G and Secret. Portland goalkeeper Bella Bixby made three saves and the Thorns picked up their second clean sheet of the tournament.

With the result, the Thorns will be the eighth seed in the tournament and play no. 1 seed North Carolina Courage in the quarterfinals on Friday, July 17 at 9:30am PT on CBS all Access

• MATCHCENTER: Stats

Match Moments

3' - CHANCE (POR) - Thorns forward Simone Charley alertly pounced on a bad Reign backpass to race in towards goal but goalkeeper Michelle Betos came off her line to cut off the angle.

23' - CHANCE (POR) - Portland, continuing their forward attack, had striker Morgan Weaver run down the left side. She cut a ball back to Christine Sinclair near the top of the box who curled her shot on frame but Betos made the save.

41' - CHANCE (POR) - Sinclair, pushing forward down the middle, pushed a ball to her left for an onrushing Celeste Boureille but Boureille's shot went narrowly over the crossbar.

45+2' - SAVE (POR) - Reign's Sophia Huerta found herself with some space along the edge of the Portland 18-yard box and hit a hard shot that Thorns goalkeeper Bella Bixby dove to her right to save.

45+4' - SAVE (POR) - Reign again threatened late in the first half as Taylor Smith threaded a shot that Bixby dove to push just wide of the right post.

45' - CHANCE (POR) - Portland came out from after the break with Sinclair and Boureille combining on the left side of the Seattle box. Boureille's cross for the back post found Charley but her header went wide of the post.

61' - CHANCE (OLR) - A missed Portland clearance on the backline found the ball fall for the Reign's Smith but she pushed her shot just past the right post.

70' - CHANCE (POR) - Weaver, sprung down the left channel, cut the ball back to the top of the box for Rocky Rodríguez. Rodriguez lost her defender and fired a left-footed shot that Betos went to her right to block away before the Reign defense cleared the rebound.

89' - CHANCE (POR) - Rodríguez barreled down the center of the pitch, and, left with space, hit a hard shot on goal forcing a save from Betos.

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Portland will next play North Carolina in the NWSL Challenge Cup quarterfinals on July 17 at 9:30am PT on CBS All Access.

Notes:

• Christine Sinclair was named Budweiser Woman of the Match, concluding the match with four shots and two chances created.
• Bella Bixby registered her second shutout in the Challenge Cup, recording three saves against OL Reign
• Morgan Weaver finished tied for the most chances created (3) in the match. Weaver has created two or more chances in each of the last three matches.
• Bixby, Meghan Klingenberg and Sinclair have each started the first four matches for Portland.
• Katherine Reynolds made her first start for Portland in the Challenge Cup.
• Through four matches, 20 players have made an appearance for Portland in the Challenge Cup.

Portland Thorns FC vs. OL Reign - 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup
July 13, 2020 – Zions Bank Stadium (Herriman, Utah)

Goals by Half                1          2          F
OL Reign                      0          0          0
Portland Thorns FC       0          0          0                  

Scoring Summary:
None

Misconduct Summary:
None

Lineups:
POR: GK Bixby, D Westphal (Pogarch, 90+1), D Reynolds (Smithers, 79), D Hubly, D Klingenberg, M Salem (Seiler, 79), M Rodríguez, M Boureille, F Charley (Lussi, 65), F Weaver (Everett, 90+1), F Sinclair ©

Substitutes Not Used: GK Eckerstrom, D Nally, M Ogle, F A. Rodriguez

TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Sinclair, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Rodríguez, 2); FOULS: 8 (Rodríguez, 6); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3

OLR: GK Betos, D Jiménez (Jordan, 73), D Brooks, D Barnes, D Cox, M Long (Momiki, 58), M Huerta (Jenkins, 58), M Weatherholt, M Quinn, M Balcer (Smith, 40), F Taylor (Fishlock, 72)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Murphy, GK Nelson, D Cook, D George, D Hammond, D McNabb, M Cruz, M White, F Lee, F Spencer

TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Smith, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Three players tied, 1); FOULS: 6 (Weatherholt, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 4

Referee: Tori Penso
Assistant Referees: Deleana Quan, Jennifer Garner
4th Official: Lukasz Szpala
Weather: Sunny, 85 degrees 

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial