A preseason crowd of just over 5,000 people were on hand at Providence Park to see the Thorns drop 2-0 to I-5 rivals, the Seattle Reign. Photo courtesy of Ray Terrill.
Sometimes a preseason game isn’t just a preseason game.
“It’s painful to lose to Seattle. I’m not going to hide that,” Thorns head coach Mark Parsons said after the Portland side lost 2-0 at Providence Park Sunday evening. “That’s been with me for three years and it’s been with this club for three years.”
The Thorns were solid, if not dominant, in the first 20 minutes of the game, but as the clocked ticked, it was clear that fitness was an issue. By the time Seattle’s Havana Solaun scored in the 75th minute on a cross from Kim Little, the Thorns had begun to drift, creating open spaces that the Reign couldn’t help but exploit. Just two minutes later, Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock scored a stunning header and the Thorns just never recovered.
But Parsons was quick to look at the positives. “While my expectation and standards are very high, I don’t think I could have pictured it looking as good and clean as it did the first 20, 25 minutes. I think defensively and offensively, we had a bit more control of it in the early stages.”
“The lessons we can now grab from this this early is a huge benefit. My last two years of preparing for the season, this normally happens game one or game two in the league so it’s very cool and refreshing that it’s happened now, especially with those two games coming up,” Parsons said.
Parsons also didn’t shy away from the clear contrast between the two sides. “They’ve been together three years, we’ve been together three minutes. I don’t think the game looked like that. I don’t think you would have guessed we had eleven brand new individuals that hadn’t played together in our system. They had one brand new player. Everyone else has been a core part of that club for many years. The game didn’t reflect that.”
“I think we created more today against a good defensive team than I could have been imagined,” Parsons continued. “We’d like to be a bit cleaner, but we’re weeks away from that.”
Several sequences saw interplay between Thorns Christine Sinclair, Tobin Heath and newcomer Dagny Brynjarsdottir fall just shy of scoring, but Thorns fans should be looking forward to seeing that combination gel. Paired with Nadia Nadim’s no fear style, the Thorns might finally have the offensive power they’ve been looking for since winning the championship in their inaugural season.
“I think the Thorns organization has assembled a great team with a really good coaching staff with a really good plan for how they want these players to play,” new Thorns defender Meghan Klingenberg “As we build on that and keep getting comfortable with each other and keep getting fitter, we’re going to put in some good performances. I think, honestly, the sky’s the limit.”
Scoring Summary
SEA: Solaun (Little), 75
SEA: Fishlock (Barnes), 77
Misconduct Summary
SEA: Mathias (Caution), 59
POR: Horan (Caution), 59
POR: Nadim (Caution), 90
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Betos, D Klingenberg, D Sonnett, D Menges, D Williamson (Reynolds, 46), M Horan, M Long, M Brynjarsdottir (Boureille*, 79), M Heath, F Nadim, F Sinclair © (Pratt*, 63)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Franch, D Berryhill, M Zadrazil*
* – indicates non-roster invitee
TOTAL SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 1; FOULS: 13; OFFSIDES: 5; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 2
SEA: GK Solo, D Barnes, D Corsie, D Reed (Cruz, 78), D Fletcher (Pickett, 46), M Little, M Fishlock, M Winters © (Dallstream, 63), F Yanez (Foxhoven, 79), F Melis (Solaun, 72), F Mathias (Elston, 63)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Hopmeyer, GK Tostanoski, D Nielsen, M Bennett
TOTAL SHOTS: 14; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 7 SAVES: 1
