Thorns FC fall, 2-0, to San Diego Wave FC at Providence Park

Portland Thorns FC dropped a 2-0 result to San Diego Wave FC at Providence Park on Saturday night. After their match against San Diego, Thorns FC (9-6-5, 32pts) are second in the NWSL standings.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Thorns FC dropped a 2-0 result to San Diego Wave FC at Providence Park on Saturday night. After their match against San Diego, Thorns FC (9-6-5, 32pts) are second in the NWSL standings. Portland can drop no lower than third place in the table after NJ/NY Gotham FC (30pts) plays host to the Houston Dash to conclude Week 20 of NWSL action.

Looking Ahead
Thorns FC have two matches remaining in the 2023 NWSL campaign, one at home and one on the road. Portland will host Gotham FC (8-5-6, 30pts) for its final home match of the season at Providence Park on Oct. 7. Playing their regular-season finale on the road, Thorns FC will face Angel City FC (6-6-7, 25pts) on Oct. 15.

Goal-Scoring Plays
SD – Kyra Carusa (Jaedyn Shaw), 20th minute: Jaedyn Shaw received the ball on the right side of the 18-yard box and played a square pass centrally to the top of the box. Kyra Carusa finished the goal with a low-driven shot into the bottom-right corner of the net. 

SD – Alex Morgan (Christen Westphal), 38th minute: Christen Westphal played a long ball into the penalty area. With her back to goal, Alex Morgan flicked the ball with her head into the net.  

Notes:

• Thorns have two matches remaining this season with one at home (Oct. 7 vs. Gotham FC) and one on the road (Oct. 15 vs. Angel City).
• Portland was shut out for just the second time this season. 
• Thorns FC outshot San Diego 15-12 tonight. 
• Meghan Klingenberg created five chances in the match, a personal best for her since July 2021.
• Rocky Rodríguez led the match with four interceptions made. 
• Michele Vasconcelos led Thorns FC in duels won (7) as a second-half substitute. 
• Sam Coffey and Morgan Weaver are the only two players to start every game for Portland this season.
• Kelli Hubly made her 75th regular-season appearance for the Thorns. She is the sixth Portland player to feature in 75 games in club history.
• Rodríguez became the 18th player to feature in 50 regular-season games for the club.

Next Game
Thorns FC will host NJ/NY Gotham FC for their home finale at Providence Park on Saturday, Oct. 7; click here for tickets. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (Pacific) with a local television broadcast on FOX 12 PLUS and streaming available on Paramount+.

Portland Thorns FC (9-6-5, 32pts) vs. San Diego Wave FC (10-7-3, 33pts)
Sept. 30, 2023 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Scoring Summary:
SD: Carusa (Shaw), 20
SD: Morgan (Westphal), 38

Misconduct Summary:
SD: Pogarch (caution), 77
SD: van Egmond (caution), 87

Lineups:
POR: GK Bixby, D Klingenberg, D Menges, D Sauerbrunn © (Hubly, 64), D Kuikka (Reyes, 74), M Coffey, M Rodríguez (Vasconcelos, 74), M Dunn (Moultrie, 64), F Weaver, F Betfort (Sinclair, 84), F Sugita

Substitutes Not Used: GK Hogan, D Nally, M Porter, F D’Aquila

TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Weaver, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Dunn, 3); FOULS: 8 (Dunn, Sugita, 2); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 3

SD: GK Sheridan, D Pogarch, D Dahlkemper, D Girma, D Westphal, M Colaprico (Dougherty Howard, 83), M van Egmond, M Shaw (Kornieck, 72), F Morgan © (Doniak, 62), F Carusa (Ali, 72), F Hill (Jakobsson, 83)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Yañez, D Riehl, M Enge, F Barcenas 

TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Carusa, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Shaw, 2); FOULS: 12 (Hill, 4); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 5

Referee: Calin Radosav 
Assistant Referees: Ricardo Ocampo, Ryan Jung 
Fourth Official: Mike Hohnholz
VAR: Robi Hullner
Weather: Sunny, 66 degrees
Attendance: 19,947

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.