SANDY, Utah – Portland Thorns FC saw their run in the NWSL Challenge Cup presented by P&G and Secret come to an end Wednesday when they fell 1-0 to the Houston Dash at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.
- MATCHCENTER: Stats
34' - TACKLE (POR) - Portland's defense continued their strong tournament play as Houston's Nichelle Prince broke free down the right channel. Thorns defender Emily Menges pursued and placed a perfect tackle to dispossess Prince and knock the ball out of play.
41' - CHANCE (POR) - Menges spied Thorns forward Christine Sinclair sneaking through the Houston backline and sent a ball over the top. The Canadian international sprinted in and hit a shot that went just over the Houston crossbar.
55' - CHANCE (POR) - The Thorns made a nice run after some good build up that saw midfielder Emily Ogle loft a ball towards forward Simone Charley on the back post. Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell came off her line and blocked Charley's attempt.
57' - CHANCE (POR) - Two minutes later, Ogle and Charley again connected as the midfielder whipped in a cross that the forward headed on frame but right at Campbell.
62' - SAVE (POR) - A Houston ball over the top found Prince who went in on goal and hit a low shot that Portland goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom deflected away. Quickly getting back up to her feet, Eckerstrom followed up with another save on the rebound attempt.
69' - GOAL (HOU) - The Dash went out to a 1-0 lead following a corner kick. The ball was served in to the back post where midfielder Sophie Schmidt headed it off the crossbar. On the loose ball, forward Rachel Daly headed the rebound into the net for a goal.
90+3' - CHANCE (POR) - The Thorns had a late chance as Meghan Klingenberg sent a cross into the mixer that Tyler Lussi headed towards goal but Campbell collected.
90+4' - CHANCE (POR) - Lussi poked forward a loose ball in the Houston back for striker Morgan Weaver on a sprint. Weaver took the ball off the Dash defender and knocked it forward but Campbell deflected it away.
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Notes:
- Thorns FC allowed just four goals in six games, posting three shutouts in the competition.
- Simone Charley and Morgan Weaver tallied their first career goals for Portland in the tournament.
- Rocky RodrÃguez recorded her first assist for Thorns FC in the Challenge Cup.
- In total, six players made their club debuts in the tournament: Bella Bixby, RodrÃguez, Becky Sauerbrunn, Autumn Smithers, Weaver and Christen Westphal.
- In total, 21 players featured for Thorns FC in the tournament.
- Meghan Klingenberg and Christine Sinclair started every match of the Challenge Cup for Portland.
- Charley, Klingenberg, Tyler Lussi, RodrÃguez, Angela Salem, Sinclair, Weaver and Westphal played in every match for Portland in the tournament.
Portland Thorns FC vs. Houston Dash
2020 NWSL Challenge Cup – Semifinals
July 22, 2020 – Rio Tinto Stadium (Sandy, Utah)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Houston Dash 0 1 1
Portland Thorns FC 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
HOU: Daly, 69
Misconduct Summary:
HOU: Daly, 90
Lineups:
POR: GK Eckerstrom, D Westphal, D Menges, D Hubly, D Klingenberg, M Boureille (Ogle, 45), M Salem (Seiler, 45), M RodrÃguez, M Sinclair ©, F Charley (Lussi, 66), F Weaver
Substitutes Not Used: GK Angerer, D Nally, D Pogarch, D Smithers, F Everett, F A. Rodriguez
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Lussi, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Charley, 2); FOULS: 6 (Weaver, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 3
HOU: GK Campbell, D Hanson, D Prisock (Kelly, 90+6), D Naughton, D Chapman, M Groom, M Mewis (Kizer, 87), M Schmidt, F Visalli, F Daly, F Prince (Latsko, 90+1)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Dennis, GK Harris, D Simon, M Privett, F Andrzejewski, F Fields, F Latsko, F McCoy, F Stengel
TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Daly, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Daly, 2); FOULS: 5 (Visalli, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3
Referee: Tori Penso
Assistant Referees: Jennifer Garner, Tiffini Turpin
4th Official: Karen Abt
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 75 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
