Portland Thorns Open a Pathway to the Playoffs With a 2-0 Win Over Orlando Pride

Christine Sinclair celebrates Portland’s second goal  with Olivia Moultrie  (photo by Diego G Diaz).

The Portland Thorns finally got a win after a streak of six losses and one tie in the last 7 NWSL regular season matches. The win nearly secures them a spot in the Postseason. Morgan Weaver and Christine Sinclair gave Portland the edge to the locals in a much needed result over this season’s leader, Orlando Pride.

Orlando Pride had arrived to the Rose City undefeated having mathematically won the NWSL Shield with three matches left in the season, and leading Gotham City by 10 points. A NWSL shield doesn’t just mean they are the team with the most points in regular season, it also means that as the top seeded team and will enjoy home advantage for as far as they go in this 2024 postseason. 

Orlando’s league dominance have earned them the right to start thinking about the playoffs. Team manager Seb Hines seems to have shifted his priorities to rest players and avoid injuries after the long season filled with double weekly headers. Still, he presented a very competitive squad to defend their 2024 unbeaten record. 

The Portland Thorns sat in a very different predicament. They have come to this regular season finale on one of the worst streaks in club history, having earned just one point out of the last possible 21 (seven games). They were missing an injured Sophia Smith, with an ankle injury sustained against San Diego Weaver during a Concacaf Champions match, and Hina Sugita still recovering from an ugly head collision that had her out of activity for about a month.

There were many questions about whether the Thorns had the capacity to handle Orlando on Friday night, The Florida team holds an impressive balance sheet with 17 wins, 42 goals in their favor against just 15 against them. Rotations in their squad and the difference in hunger played a critical role, and the Portland Thorns conscious of their weakness in the table put out a fierce display, taking the initiative from the first minutes.

Unbiased observers may point that the Thorns were facing an Orlando second squad. Fair enough, even as they presented a heavily rotated squad, Orlando is a team with a very deep bench, and competed with Portland toe to toe. They pressed up, and brought plenty of danger to the goal defended by Shelby Hogan.

Portland fueled by the fans and an urgency to win after a litany of bad results, was however, one gear above. It was first Morgan Weaver, in minute 12, who got her first goal since she overcame her own injury that left her out of the pitch for a chunk of the season. Weaver, one of the most beloved players by fans had Providence Park roaring with her name. This was a very important goal scored the way the great forwards do, flooding the goal box, anticipating Orlando defense on a tame header from Reyna Reyes to the left post. 

With the season in the line, the Thorns didn’t conform to just that one goal, the rapid back and forth dynamic went past half time and into the second half. Opportunities flowed on both ends of the goal, with the Thorns looking cleaner on its transitions and a bit more dangerous.

This time, luck swayed in Portland’s side, and if the stadium was exalted with Weaver’s goal, in the 54th minute,, the public exploded when Christine Sinclair scored from a shot from the center of the penalty box, completing a pass from Sam Coffey. Sinclair’s goal had a special taste as she is playing some of her last home matches in her last season of her career.

Sinclair ran to celebrate with the bench with the entire team piled up in the sidelines. “This was for the team!” Sinclair said afterwards.

Young midfielder Olivia Moultrie had a notable performance and played one of her best matches of the season, she had multiple goal chances, and even as she looked a bit selfish, she showed ambition they way that top players do, and the 19-year old seems to be walking on that direction.  

Down by two goals, Orlando tried to react, and in a few separate substitution windows they started bringing their A-listers to the pitch, like the Brazilians Adriana in the 65th minute, and the legendary Martha in the 75th. Portland this time looked stronger in defense and didn’t let Orlando back in the game, keeping a rare clean sheet for Shelby Hogan who was busy all game, but resolved any danger that got came her way. 

At the end, finally a victory for the locals, this time against the best, and a needed turn of the tide for the fans, who might be starting to think about travel plans for this postseason. 

The Thorns are positioned in the table with a cluster of teams separated by 7 points. Chicago Red Stars ahead in 6th place with 32 and already qualified,. The Thorns just below with 31, followed by Bay City with 28 owning the last ticket to the playoffs. Closing the list with Racing Louisville currently out with 25, and Utah Royals with 24, still with chances should Bay City and Louisville falter in their efforts in these last two games.

Above them, North Carolina Courage is already out of reach sitting 5th place with 39 points, and bellow in 10th place the troubled Angel City with 23 points and already polishing their resumes for 2025.

Thorns needs to secure just 1 of the 6 points left to secure postseason spot, and they still have chances to pass the Red Stars in 6th place.. Ahead of them is a do or die match against Racing Louisville on Saturday, October 19th. The Thorns then will close the season against Angel City on November 1st back at Providence Park in what it will be an emotive homage to Christine Sinclair’s career.