PISCATAWAY, N.J- Sky Blue FC hosted the Portland Thorns and although the home team had an early lead, the Thorns matched Sky Blue’s goals to result in a 2-2 draw for Week 3 of the NWSL.
The scoring started quickly when in the sixth minute Raquel Rodriguez sent a ball to Sky Blue midfielder Carli Lloyd, who took the ball towards the box and scored after Thorns goalkeeper Adrianna Franch came off the line in an attempt to make the save. Lloyd extended the Sky Blue lead minutes later.
Making a break for the ball among the Thorns passing, Lloyd cut the ball past Franch and secured the 2-0 lead in the 17’ minute.
Just before the first half came to an end, the Thorns made a comeback to even the score. After Thorns midfielder Tobin Heath was fouled, she was given a free kick and sent the ball to Christine Sinclair. Sinclair acted as middleman, passing the ball through the legs of Sky Blue goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan to Emily Sonnett, who finished the ball to bring Portland within one.
Two minutes later, the Thorns scored again. This time it was Caitlin Foord who sent the ball to Heath in the center of the box. Heath then back-heeled the ball to the back right corner of the net to score the equalizer.
Sheridan continued to defend against Portland’s offense, with the Thorns tallying a total of 14 shots on goal.
The second half brought about efforts by both sides to score the winning goal. The first attempt came from Sky Blue. Lloyd followed through on a cross, but the ball was deflected by Franch as both players ran for possession.
The Thorns almost took the lead in the 60’ minute on a free kick from Sinclair, but her shot was blocked with ease by Sheridan. Sky Blue had several more opportunities on goal that came close to giving them the lead, but none saw the back of the net.
“We had some internal goals and we tweaked a little bit in the formation to try and get the best out of our players,” said Head Coach Denise Reddy. “We were very disciplined, we worked all week, and we got results.”
Sky Blue earned their first point of the season and will travel south for their next match as they face the North Carolina Courage, Saturday, May 4 at WakeMed Soccer Park.
SCORING SUMMARY:
NJ-Carli Lloyd, 6’ (Assisted by: Raquel Rodriguez)
NJ-Carli Lloyd, 18’
POR-Emily Sonnett, 32’ (Assisted by: Christine Sinclair)
POR-Tobin Heath, 34’
BOOKING SUMMARY:
NJ-Julie James, 60’ yellow card
SKY BLUE FC: #1-Kailen Sheridan, #3-Caprice Dydasco, #24-Estelle Johnson, #8-Erica Skroski, #4-Paige Monaghan, #28-Imani Dorsey, #16-Sarah Killion, #5-Julie James, #9-Nahomi Kawasumi (#21-Savannah McCaskill, 81’), #10-Carli Lloyd, #11-Raquel Rodriguez
Subs not used: #13-Didi Haracic, #7-Jennifer Hoy, #2-Mckenzie Meehan, #20-Francisca Gabriela Morais Da Rocha, #29-Amandine Pierre-Louis, #14-Kenie Wright
PORTLAND THORNS: #24-Adrianna Franch, #25-Meghan Klingenberg, #2-Katherine Reynolds, #16-Emily Sonnett, #15-Ellie Carpenter, #11-Dagny Bryn Jarsdottir (#35-Gabby Seiler, 78’), #30-Celeste Boureille, #17-Tobin Heath, #12-Christine Sinclair, #7-Ana-Maria Crnogorcevi (#23-Margaret Purce, 68’), #9-Caitlin Foord
Subs not used: #27-Elizabeth Ball, #33-Britt Eckerstrom, #20-Kelli Hubly, #34-Tyler Lussi, #26-Mallory Weber
TOTAL SHOTS: NJ 16-14 POR
SHOTS ON GOAL: NJ 5-5 POR
FOULS: NJ 12-9 POR
OFFSIDES: NJ 4-4 POR
Sky Blue FC
