BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Hina Sugita and Sophia Smith each found the back of the net as the Portland Thorns twice came from behind in a 2-2 draw against the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday night.
- MATCHCENTER: Stats and Boxscore
Down 2-1 after a high intensity opening 20 minutes, the Thorns found a scrappy goal from Smith right after halftime and didn't concede again to take a point from their first road game of the 2022 regular season.
Match Moments
5' - GOAL (CHI) - The Red Stars opened the scoring early in the game through a goal from Mallory Pugh. Breaking down the left side, Kelli Hubly lost a step on the winger and watched as she slotted the ball past Bella Bixby.
7' - GOAL (POR) - It didn't take the Thorns long to recover from the host's opening blow. With their first corner kick of the game, Sam Coffey sent a ball to the back post that found the feet of Sugita, whose shot across goal nestled into the far corner of the net.
18' - SAVE (POR) - Looking straight at a charging Ava Cook, Bixby needed to make a diving save to prevent Cook's powerful, curving shot from reaching the back of the net.
20' - GOAL (CHI) - Not long after Cook's chance, Rachel Hill found herself behind Portland's back line and took advantage of the opportunity. Once again coming down the left side, Hill received the ball and took several touches before confidently passing the ball past an onrushing Bixby and into the goal.
27' - CHANCE (POR) - With no defenders closing her down, Yazmeen Ryan unleashed a shot from distance that flew just over the top post.
37' - CHANCE (POR) - Smith nearly found herself on the end of Ryan's central pass into the box, but couldn't manage to put the shot on frame. Ryan created the chance, beating a defender down the right sideline before sending making the pass, but Chicago's center backs did just enough to prevent Smith from getting a solid shot off.
47' - GOAL (POR) - Smith leveled the scoreline minutes into the second half. Once again off a set piece, Smith got her foot to a deflected ball in the box and managed to lob it past a surprised Alyssa Naeher for her third goal of the regular season.
57' - SAVE (POR) - With Pugh isolated against Meaghan Nally down the right, Bixby had her near post covered and pushed Pugh's shot from a tight angle out for a corner kick.
70' - CHANCE (POR) - Smith generated another opportunity for herself right after the 70 minute mark. After beating Tatumn Milazzo, Smith's shot was saved and smothered at the near post by Naeher.
79' - SAVE (POR) - Faced with a looping header at the near post, Bixby leapt up to grab the ball and keep the score level at two.
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After returning from its first road trip of the regular season with a point, Portland returns to Providence Park for a Friday night showdown against Angel City FC. (7:30 pm PT, TICKETS, FOX 12 Plus/Paramount+)
Portland Thorns FC (1-1-3, 6pts) vs. Chicago Red Stars (2-1-1, 7pts)
May 28, 2022 – SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, Ill.)
Scoring Summary:
CHI: Pugh (Cook), 5POR: Sugita (Ryan), 7CHI: Hill (Cook), 20POR: S. Smith, 47
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Beckie (caution), 59
POR: Coffey (caution), 84
Lineups:
POR: GK Bixby, D Hubly, D Nally, D Sauerbrunn (Klingenberg, 64) , M Beckie, M Coffey, M Kuikka (Pogarch, 90+1), M Ryan (Moultrie, 79), M Sugita, F S. Smith, F Weaver (Sinclair, 64)
Substitutes Not Used: GK A. Smith, D Provenzano, M Porter, M Rodriguez, F Betfort
TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (S. Smith, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (S. Smith, 3); FOULS: 13 (Sugita, 3); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 3
CHI: GK Naeher, D Milazzo, D Sharples, D Morse, M St. Georges (Aguilera, 46), M Colaprico, M DiBernardo ©, M Hill (Kowalski, 89), F Nagasato (Fisher, 89), F Cook (Stevens, 77), F Pugh (Griffith, 68)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Boyd, X Dawber, X McManus, X Foster
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Pugh, Cook, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Pugh, 2); FOULS: 7 (Hill, 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 2
Referee: Samantha Martinez
Assistant Referees: Ethan Buege, Eric Burton
4th Official: Kaitlyn Trowbridge
Weather: Partly cloudy, 76 degrees
Attendance: 3,268_
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial_
Notes
- Hina Sugita tallied her first NWSL regular season goal in the match.
- Yazmeen Ryan recorded her first professional assist.
- Sophia Smith scored her team-leading third goal of the season.
- Smith is tied for second-most goals in the NWSL in 2022.
- Smith has tallied six goals across 10 games in all competitions this year.
- Smith has scored three goals in three career regular-season matches against the Red Stars.
- Smith recorded her 10th career NWSL regular season goal. She is the eighth player in club history to reach the double-digit goal mark.
- Portland is unbeaten in its last three regular-season road matches, dating back to 2021. Thorns FC have posted a record of 1-0-2 in those matches.
- Portland is 5-0-1 in matches across all competitions when Sophia Smith scores a goal.
- Thorns FC and the Red Stars played to a draw for the 10th time in the all-time series with seven of those draws coming on the road.
