PORTLAND, OR – In the latest edition of NWSL after dark, the Thorns held onto a 2-1 lead to finish off the Orlando Pride Sunday evening in front of 14,000+ at Providence Park.
Both starting lineups had a number of notable absences due to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, however, two of the most impactful plays of the match came from players left off the Olympic roster: Portland’s Sophia Smith and Orlando’s Ashlyn Harris.
Smith struck first for Portland, scoring in the 26th minute. Showing off an amazing sequence of balance, speed, and power, Smith ran through and glided past several Orlando defenders before launching the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the 18-yard box. It was the kind of goal Smith will happily add to her quickly growing highlight reel for the Thorns.
“I think in rankings, it’s probably the top goal of my career just because it was in front of this crowd, in front of the Riveters, and it’s just really a surreal experience.” Smith said.
Harris may have been helpless in preventing the first Portland goal, but she came up big in denying Portland their second. After defender Meghan Klingenberg drew a penalty in the 38th minute, it was Harris who blocked Rocky Rodriguez’ attempt from the spot.
Portland would eventually find their second goal in the second half. In the 59th minute Klingenberg lobbed in a dangerous pass from the top of the box toward a perfectly timed run from Marissa Everett. Everett’s flicked-on header found an unimpeded path to goal and it was all Thorns the first thirty minutes or so of the second half.
“When we pick you off centrally and get Marissa on the ball, I think you’re in trouble. She consistently, with quality, hurts the opponent with the right pass at the right time into the right space. It’s so good to see her get her goal tonight.” Coach Parsons said of Everett’s performance against Orlando.
In what would end up being a case of too little, too late the Pride did pull one back in the waning minutes of second half stoppage time. Marisa Viggiano, left alone with too much time and space inside the box, blasted a shot past Bella Bixby.
Prior to the Pride goal, Bixby had just set the record for most shutout minutes to start an NWSL regular season career.
“Really proud of this group. Such a controlling and dominating performance… They’ve come a long way in just a week after a performance we weren’t too happy with. So really proud.” Parsons said of his team’s complete performance.
Next up, the Thorns travel to Houston to take on the Dash Saturday, July 24th at 5:30 PM PST (FOX 12 PLUS, Paramount+).
