Thorns open road trip with result against the Spirit

Sitting in first place in the NWSL standings, Thorns FC earned a point on the road with a 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit at Audi Field on Sunday, thanks to Morgan Weaver's fifth goal of the season.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Sitting in first place of the NWSL standings,Portland Thorns FC earned a point on the road with a 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit at Audi Field on Sunday afternoon. Morgan Weaver tallied her fifth goal of the season to put Portland ahead in the match, but the Spirit equalized with a stoppage-time penalty kick to share points. Sam Coffey recorded her league-leading seventh assist of the 2023 campaign on Weaver’s goal. 

• MATCH CENTER | Match Stats & Notes from Audi Field

Top of the Table
Portland (8-4-5, 29pts) sits in first place of the NWSL standings, two points clear of the North Carolina Courage and San Diego Wave FC (27pts). Notably, Thorns FC have a record of 3-1-3 this season against top six teams. With five games remaining in the 2023 campaign, Portland will play three of them at Providence Park, where the team is 5-1-2 this season. 

Weaver’s World
Weaver scored her fifth goal of the 2023 campaign in today’s match. She is now tied with Crystal Dunn for the second-most goals on the team this season, trailing only Sophia Smith (11), while in sole possession of second-most points for Thorns FC (5g, 4a – 14pts). It marked Weaver’s 20^th career goal across all competitions for Portland. Weaver has contributed to 24 goals in all NWSL competitions since the start of last season (16 goals, 8 assists).

Goal-Scoring Plays
POR – Morgan Weaver (Sam Coffey), 64th minute: Coffey and Olivia Moultrie combined with a give-and-go in the center of the field. After entering the final third, Coffey slotted a through ball into the 18-yard box for Weaver, who finished the sequence with the outside of her right foot into the top-right corner of the goal. 

WAS – Ashley Hatch (penalty kick), 90+2 minute: Thorns FC were called for a handball in the box. Ashley Hatch stepped up and converted the penalty kick.

Notes:

• Portland (8-4-5, 29pts) sits in first place of the NWSL standings, two points clear of the North Carolina Courage and San Diego Wave FC (27 pts).
• Thorns FC have scored in their last 21 NWSL away games. 
• Portland has scored in 16 out of 17 games, more often than any other team in the league this season.
• Thorns FC have scored a league-best 37 goals this season, 12 more than the next best team (San Diego – 25).
• Thorns FC are unbeaten in their last seven NWSL matches against the Spirit (W4, D3), dating back to May 2019. 
• Portland has outscored Washington 12-6 during its unbeaten streak.
• Morgan Weaver scored her fifth goal of the 2023 campaign.
• Weaver has scored in three straight matches against the Spirit. 
• It marked Weaver’s 20^th career goal across all competitions for Portland. 
• Weaver is tied with Crystal Dunn for the second-most goals for Portland this season, trailing only Sophia Smith (11).
• Weaver has contributed to 24 goals in all NWSL competitions since the start of last season (16 goals, 8 assists). Only four players (Sophia Smith, Alex Morgan, Debinha, Ashley Hatch) have been involved in more in that time.
• Sam Coffey tallied her league-leading seventh assist of this NWSL season.
• Bella Bixby surpassed 150 career NWSL saves in today’s match. 
• Second half substitutes Dunn and Hina Sugita made their first club appearances since returning from the World Cup.

Next Game
Thorns FC will play the second leg of their two-game road swing against Racing Louisville FC Spirit on Saturday, Sept. 2, at Lynn Family Stadium; kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. (Pacific) on FOX 12 PLUS and Paramount+.

Portland Thorns FC (8-4-5, 29pts) vs Washington Spirit (6-3-8, 26pts)
Aug. 27, 2023 – Audi Field (Washington, D.C.)

Scoring Summary:
POR: Weaver (Coffey), 64
WAS: Hatch (penalty kick), 90+2

Misconduct Summary:
POR: Rodríguez (caution), 41
WAS: Butel (caution), 90+9

Lineups:
POR: GK Bixby, D Klingenberg (Reyes, 72), D Menges, D Nally, D Kuikka, M Rodríguez (Porter, 46), M Coffey, M Sinclair (Sugita, 61), M Moultrie (Dunn, 72), F Weaver, F Smith (Betfort, 45+3)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Hogan, D Sauerbrunn, D Provenzano, F D’Aquila

TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Weaver, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Weaver, 3); FOULS: 9 (three players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 4

WAS: GK Kingsbury, D Carle (Butel, 77), D Staab, D McKeown, D Bailey, M Metayer, M Sullivan, M Sarr (Biegalski, 68), M Sanchez (Ricketts, 68), F Rodman (Silano, 90+10), F Hatch

Substitutes Not Used: GK Barnhart, D Elwell, D Brooks, M Huster, M Sheva

TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Rodman, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Rodman, 3); FOULS: 6 (Hatch, 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 3

Referee: Jeremy Scheer 
Assistant Referees: Amilcar Sicaju, Ben Rigel 
Fourth Official: Stephen Foster
VAR: Robi Hullner
Weather: Partly cloudy, 79 degrees
Attendance: 13,048

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial