With the return of the NWSL Challenge Cup, Portland Thorns FC find themselves preparing for the same team they opened their preseason tournament against nearly two weeks ago: the OL Reign.
Friday, the team will travel north to face the Cascadia rival at Lumen Field (7pm PT, Paramount+), having played to a scoreless draw in preseason play at Providence Park back on Mar. 5. That match was the first of three games condensed into a week and included matches against the U.S. U23s Women’s National Team and the Chicago Red Stars.
Thorns head coach Rhian Wilkinson valued that preseason run but is now making sure the team is recovered and ready for a busy Challenge Cup run.
“I think the team was obviously fatigued from our preseason tournament,” she said. “What we've done this week, is just make sure [the players] are rested, recovered. We've worked on a few little details as we prepare for, obviously, a huge rivalry coming up on Friday.”
First begun in 2020 as a special league tournament in response to the COVID-affected 2020 season, the Challenge Cup is now in its third year with Portland the defending title holders, the Thorns having captured the cup in 2021. This year, the cup has grown to include 12 NWSL teams, spread across three division groups – East, Central and West. Portland finds itself in the West Division with rival Reign and expansion sides Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC. Each team will play six games in a double round-robin home and away format with the winner of each division plus the highest-ranked division runner-up advancing to tournament knockout semifinals.
But Friday’s match will also bring with it a little of the classic Pacific Northwest rivalry with both teams having had numerous battles since the pair entered the league together in 2013. Thorns defender Natalia Kuikka relishes the extra energy.
“I think every year we play [them], it's always going to be intense,” she said. “I think it's going to be a good game.”
Plus, while the recent match against the Reign was still “only” a preseason game, both Wilkinson and Kuikka believe that there were lessons from that match that can be applied to the Challenge Cup showdown.
“The preseason tournament game was a wonderful example of what I probably expect on Friday,” said Wilkinson. “It was a fantastic game in terms of intensity and in terms of commitment from all the players. I expect nothing less, if not a lot, lot more come Friday, so I'm really looking forward to it."
Added Kuikka, “We had a good game during preseason against them and we’re going to bring some new things from that game to the new game and things that we learned.
"We're just going to play hard as a team, so we can get that win.”
