OL Reign 1-2 Portland Thorns
TACOMA, WA – The Portland Thorns claimed the Verizon Community Shield Saturday evening, dropping rivals OL Reign 2-1 in their undefeated run in the NWSL Fall Series. The Thorns finished the series with 10 points and leaped past NWSL Challenge Cup champions Houston Dash to claim the one-time prize.
Foregoing traditional end-of-season prizes, the NWSL opted to award grants to small businesses selected by each club. For their first-place finish, the Thorns will send $25,000 to local t-shirt designer, Mimi’s Fresh Tees.
In the latest matchup between the two rivals, Christine Sinclair wreaked havoc again, following up her previous hat-trick performance against OL Reign with two goals from the penalty spot.
In the 43rd minute, the Thorns were awarded their first penalty kick after OL Reign defender Amber Brooks collided with Simone Charley in the box. Sinclair placed her kick from the spot neatly into the bottom-left corner as keeper Casey Murphy went the wrong way on the attempt.
Brooks would temporarily remedy her mistake in the opening minutes of the second half. Midfielder Shirley Cruz found enough space to strike from distance, but it was Brooks who re-directed Cruz’s shot past keeper Britt Eckerstrom to level the score at one.
But it was Brooks once again called for a foul inside the box in the 70th minute. Brooks appeared to get her arms tangled around Lindsey Horan, forcing Horan to ground in the process. Sinclair was quick to grab the ball and march to the penalty spot to put her game-winning second penalty past the keeper in the 73rd minute.
What’s next for Portland? With the 2020 NWSL season in the books, there is still some soccer happening for a select number of Thorns.
On Thursday, U.S. Women’s National Team coach Vlatko Andonovski selected 27 players for an 11-day training camp in Commerce City, CO. Becky Sauerbrunn, Lindsey Horan, and Sophia Smith were all called into action.
Though no games will be played, Andonovski noted, “This opens up the important opportunity for other players to step up and show if they can contribute to the National Team during our run to the Olympics.”
