With Christine Sinclair still dealing with an achillies injury, US National Tobin Heath wore the armband in Portland’s home opener Sunday night.
“The armband belongs to Sinc. She’s our captain,” Heath said when asked about her role. “There are so many great leaders on our team and I think that’s what’s so special about it.”
Midfielder Tobin Heath wore the captain’s armband for the Thorns, logging assists on both of Portland’s goals in their 2-1 win over the Orlando Pride. Photo: Jeff Wong.
Heath took the role to heart, logging assists on both Thorns goals, in the 25th minute to Dagny Brynjarsdottir and in the 82nd to Lindsey Horan, and generally bossing any player that came within reach.
“Tobin is an example of incredible work ethic and doing what it takes to be a better player. Her mindset is fantastic and you just want to give her the ball,” coach Mark Parsons said post-match.
But Parsons isn’t going to rely on one player to carry the team. “A thing that’s going to be a strength of ours is how we train, how we prepare…we learn from things that happen and we keep moving forward.”
“You saw periods and you saw ideas and you saw bits of momentum, and then you saw a lot of chaos,” Parsons continued. “What does it look like in a few months? We’re going to be a team people won’t want to play because of our work ethic and the miles we put on the pitch.”
New signing Dagny Brynjarsdottir showed herself to be aggressive on the field, registering a goal in the 25th minute and earning a yellow card in the 46th. Photo: Jeff Wong.
“We want to be in a great position in the beginning of the season and obviously our schedule is tough,” Heath said. “We’re still getting to our full fitness as well, so in that way I think it’s going to be a tough stretch but a stretch that’s going to show what we’re made of.”
Scoring Summary
ORL: Catley,12
POR: Brynjarsdottir (Heath), 25
POR: Horan (Heath), 82
Misconduct Summary
POR: Brynjarsdottir (Caution), 45
ORL: Alleway (Caution), 78
POR: Klingenberg (Caution), 87
ORL: Kyle (Caution), 89
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Betos, D Williamson, D Menges, D Sonnett, D Klingenberg, M Long, M Horan, M Brynjarsdottir, M Shim (Weber, 57), M Heath © (Raso, 90+3), F Nadim (Reynolds, 87)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Franch, D Berryhill, M Boureille
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Horan, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Horan, 4); FOULS: 12 (Heath, 4); OFFSIDES: 7; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 5
ORL: GK Harris, D Belanger, D Alves, D Alleway, D Catley, M Edwards (Sanderson, 61), M Kyle, M Evans (Weatherholt, 70), F Edmonds, F Morgan ©, F Spencer (Hagen, 86)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Bledsoe, D Levin, D Pressley, M/D Witteman
TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Morgan, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Morgan, 3); FOULS: 10 (Kyle, 3); OFFSIDES: 6; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3
Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva
Assistant Referees: Jennifer Garner, J.J. Blodgett
4th Official: Kelsey Harms
Attendance: 16,073
