PORTLAND, OR – After an impressive run in 2021, the Thorns season officially came to end on Sunday. Winners of the Challenge Cup, WICC Tournament, and NWSL Shield, the Thorns were unable to breakdown the Chicago Red Stars at home to advance to the NWSL Championship game.
Both teams entered the match lacking their usual star power. Chicago’s Mallory Pugh and Kayla Sharples were sidelined due to Covid-19 protocols, while Portland was without Crystal Dunn (pregnancy) and Lindsey Horan (eye injury).
The Thorns held a significant possession advantage and managed 21 total shots (7 on target), but it was the Red Stars who made the most out of their opportunities.
In the 37th minute the Red Stars struck first as Katie Johnson found the back of the net from the near-post and a near-impossible angle of the upper 90. Thorns keeper Bella Bixby managed to get a hand on it, but the pace proved too much to keep out.
In the 59th minute, the Red Stars would again strike gold in the upper corner of Bixby’s net, this time courtesy of a blast from distance from Sarah Woldmoe.
Two shots on target with two goals to show perfectly encapsulates the discipline and efficiency of the Red Stars performance against the Thorns.
With a less than full-strength midfield available, Thorns rookie Yazmeen Ryan slid into the starting lineup and had some bright spots throughout the match. But it was a frustrating matchup for the Thorns offense who were constantly pushed wide and repelled by an organized Red Stars defense in the final third.
Thorns coach Mark Parsons had high praise for the Red Stars defense:
“They’ve turned up into probably the hardest place to play, against probably the hardest team to play. Very stingy, very disciplined, very organized performance and they’ve got a result for them. So, congrats to them – their players and their staff.”
The loss tonight also means the end of Mark Parsons’ tenure in the NWSL as he moves on to coach the Netherlands women’s national team. Parsons has high hopes for the club in 2022 and beyond:
“There’s so much leadership throughout this club, on this team, within the staff. We have amazing staff coming in that’s going to continue to push the culture. So what’s my message? People first. People second. People third. And then there’s a bit of soccer there. I’ll take that wherever I go, and I didn’t learn that on my own. There’s a lot of great people here who constantly, together we’ve grown and reminded ourselves to take care of people and you’ll probably end up with some great soccer players.”
So what’s next for the Thorns?
New Thorns GM Karina LeBlanc has a busy offseason ahead of her. It appears likely Rhian Wilkinson will take over head coaching duties for the Thorns, but LeBlanc also has not one, but two expansion drafts to navigate in December.
Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC will join the league in 2022 which means the Thorns will have to submit a list of protected and unprotected players by December 10th. The draft takes places Thursday, December 16th.
Portland Thorns
Chicago Red Stars
