Portland’s Hayley Raso determined to gain back possession from the Washington Spirit (Photo Credit Jeff Wong).
Portland, OR – Lining up outside the stadium almost an hour early, 14 year old Malia Yang waited patiently for the doors of Providence Park to open. They were running a little late to let fans in but the extra time in line didn’t seem to bother her. The Portland Thorns had been Malia’s favorite team since the first season of the NWSL. Although she moved to Colorado she returned to Providence Park to catch games whenever she was back in town. “This is my hometown team,” she said proudly. Her Aunt Jen stood next to her in line making small talk with her and another family friend while they waited.
Jen was mainly there to be with Malia, and while she liked the fact that she’s supporting the local team, she admitted she didn’t know much about soccer. “I do like the attire that I can wear, it’s always fun to dress up.” Jen added showing off her Thorns scarf.
Making their way into the stadium and finding a seat in the Riveter section Malia laughed a little while trying to explain to her Aunt the different chants the Riveters would lead. Jen listened intently and repeated a few to make sure she got it.
Portland Thorn Lindsey Horan goes up against the Washington Spirit’s Tori Huster (Photo credit: Jeff Wong)
Today the Portland Thorns were playing the Washington Spirit, two teams that were on opposite ends of the standings. The Spirit were fighting to salvage their season while the Thorns were fighting to edge closer to first. However, while the Spirit rest at the bottom of the standings, they were not about to roll over for the Thorns, especially not in front of the crowd of over 18,000.
The Spirit started off strong early, hammering the Thorns’ back-line, making several attempts on goal within the first nine minutes. They would also get the first yellow card of the night, going to Arielle Ship in the 12th for a rough foul.
While the first half saw possession almost breaking even, the Spirit seemed to have the advantage, frustrating Portland’s attack. The first half ended tied 0-0 with Portland also evening out the yellow card count, with the second of the night going to the Thorns’ Ashleigh Sykes in the 30th.
With the start of the second half, possession was clearly in the favor of the Spirit, with the first goal of the night coming from Washington’s Havana Solaun in the 58th. However, after the one major defensive lapse, Portland adjusted and did not allow Washington to break through for the rest of the match.
Allie Long making trouble for the Spirit back-line (Photo Credit: Jeff Wong).
For Portland the second half saw the Thorns catching the Spirit back-line off guard as they made the most of each of their possessions. Portland midfielder Allie Long, consistently in the thick of the action and getting dragged to the pitch more than once, created the foul that led to a free kick taken by Emily Sonnett. The first goal for Portland would come from the kick after a ricochet header by Tyler Lussi was redirected by Long and put past Spirit keeper Stephanie Labbé in the 62nd.
Portland would break through again in the 80th when Ashleigh Sykes came up the right wing sending it into the box despite a charging Spirit defender. Mallory Weber, who had just entered the game, was ready on the other end, tapping it past Labbé, to score the winning goal for Portland. In the post-game interview Weber talked about her goal and the assist from Sykes, “Yeah, (Ashleigh) Sykes gets that ball in practice all the time. She beats her player and she always gets the cross off, so I just had that confidence. I knew she was going to get there, so if I beat my player I was pretty confident she would get it to my foot.”
This win puts Portland third in the standings, with one more home game to come.
After the game I got final thoughts on the match from Malia and her Aunt. Jen nodded enthusiastically saying, “It was great! I think I’m catching on to this game!” Malia laughed and simply said, “Yah, that was really good! I’m glad I came.”
While she returned to Colorado the day after the Thorn win, she looks forward to following the Thorns’ next game that will be aired on Lifetime August 5th, with kickoff at 12:30 pm Pacific Standard Time.
Click here to view the Photo Gallery of the match.
Portland Thorns
