Clare Polkinghorne of the Dash taps the ball away from Portland’s Christine Sinclair (photo by Dante’y Buitureida).
The temperature was boiling; the Thorns still rolling at a simmer from the previous week’s routing of the Royals. The game started with a bit of mishap. Houston keeper JaneCampbell took out one of her own players in the fourth minute, but she was ultimately fine. Campbell then saved off a fairly soft Horan header in the sixth.
Portland’s Lindsey Horan would not be denied a second time, and in the 16th minute, she would head it into the net, aided by the fact that Campbell came out too far and attempted to punch the ball away too late. Campbell would win back some pride by saving a good chance in the 18th minute, but more was to come.
Horan would strike again in the 30th minute, when Campbell failed to punch away a ball and, after it dropped from the crossbar, she pushed it past her into the net.
Houston’s Rachel Daly protests a push by Franch in the box (photo by Jeff Wong).
Houston’s goal in the 37th minute, scored by O’hai, when Franch pushed away the first attempt and it bounced straight to her feet. Minutes later, on a ball which bounced off Daly’s arm when Franch was attempting to clear, the goal keeper would push the Brit away and off the ball. In a more professionally refereed league, it might have been a penalty.
Campbell almost punched Horan in the head in the dying moments of the first half, falling on top of her in a painful manner for the midfielder. They would both, ultimately be fine and the game would continue.
Portland’s Ana-Maria Crnogorčević got her second goal of the season in the 48th. Raso threaded a ball through to her feet, and she put it home. Raso herself would strike in the 69th minute, but the goal would be determined as offside after a conversation between the linesman and the center referee.
Inconsistent and often inaccurate refereeing remains a large part of the story line in the NWSL. An unrewarded penalty kick or incorrect offside call can determine the outcome of an entire game and with the playoff race so close, the end so near, it is not something either team can afford to suffer from.
There is also a question to be asked about the lack of hydration breaks. Despite the temperature being well above 80 for the majority of the game, none were granted. Whilst nobody appeared to suffer this time, player safety should still be considered.
For match photo gallery click here.
