BRIDGEVIEW, IL—Always a typical battle when the Portland Thorns and the Chicago Red Stars meet up on the pitch. Even though the National Team players are missing for the opening of the 2021 Challenge Cup Tournament, there’s still some pretty good competition against one another.
The Thorns’ Morgan Weaver goal in the second half was more than enough for a Portland 1-0 victory on the road at SeatGeek Stadium on Thursday night.
“In the first half coming off the field, we were not happy with ourselves and wanted more energy,” Weaver said. “Second half, we went out there, proved to everyone that we had the energy and we were going to win this game.
Weaver scored the only goal Portland (2-0-0, 6 points) needed in the 66th minute, as she scored off an assist from Celeste Boureille.
“I had my head up and ran on the shoulder of Cassie (Miller) and ended up getting the goal,” Weaver said. “The ball that was played in was amazing. I was able to get the ball in to finish.”
Trying to get Weaver into the right spots was a big difference for Portland in setting up for the the goal.
Meghan Klingenberg of Portland goes up for a header. (Photo: Leslie Smith)
“It was more of a threat that Morgan Weaver caused problems in that second half,” Portland assistant coach Rich Gunney said. “Which we didn’t manage to achieve in the first half. We didn’t manage to get in control of the game in those areas in the first half. We got stuck in our own defensive third and didn’t solve (Chicago’s) pressure effectively as we hoped. That’s where were at and trying to regress. We just want to make the smart decisions. We wanted to get our forwards to cause a problem, I thought Morgan (Weaver) had a few occasions against a high-profile defender and it caused a lot of problems. It was a big momentum shift for us.”
Chicago (0-1-1, 1 point) had Tatumn Milazzo and Sarah Woldmoe make their first professional starts. The Red Stars were trying to place the right players in the right spots.
“We’re still trying different combinations,” Chicago head coach Rory Dames said. “It’s still a work in progress and that’s what your need these games for to try to see different combinations from different players. Not just from our front line, but from our midfield line. Just different ways to line them up and play on the field.”
The Red Stars caused some problems of their own at times, but couldn’t find the back of the net. It’s the second match in a row that Chicago hasn’t found the back of the net. Portland keeper Adrianna Franch made 5 saves. On the other side, the Red Stars defense has been pretty good in both of its contests limiting chances.
“Once (Portland) got the goal, they got some energy,” Dames said. “So, they pressed a little bit higher. We felt they would hit balls beyond the line and run on them. We made a mistake on one and they hit on it.”
As for the standings on the West side, Chicago will need to get things going over its next two matches.
“I thought this game (against Portland) would decide the group,” Dames said. “We put ourselves in a bad spot. We get some players back, we’ll rotate those players back in. We really didn’t many games in the preseason and we have to use these games for that. But, that not an excuse for what we did in this one.”
The Red Stars return to SeatGeek Stadium to take on Kansas City on Tuesday, April 20th at 7:30 p.m. CT. While Portland play on Wednesday, April 21st as they host OL Reign at Providence Park.
SCORING SUMMARY:
POR-Morgan Weaver (Boureille) 66
BOOKING SUMMARY:
POR-Christine Westphal (caution, tactical foul) 45
CHI-Ella Stevens (caution, reckless tackle) 85
CHICAGO RED STARS (4-4-2): #38-Cassie Miller; #11-Sarah Gorden, #3-Arin Wright, #23-Tatumn Milazzo (#33-Katie Johnson 70), #6-Casey Krueger; #10-Vanessa DiBernardo (#18-Ella Stevens 80), #24-Danielle Colaparico (#7-Nikki Stanton 80), #13-Morgan Gautrat, #16-Sarah Woldmoe (#5-Rachel Hill 70); #15-Makenzy Doniak (#19-Sarah Luebbert 57), #2-Kealia Watt
Subs not used: #12-Melissa Lowder, #32-Zoey Goralski, #14-Zoe Morse, #9-Mallory Pugh
PORTLAND THORNS (4-3-3): #24-Adriana Franch; #14-Natalia Kuikka, #18-Christen Westphal (#5-Emily Menges 70), #15-Madison Pogarch, #20-Kelli Hubly; #11-Rocky Rodriguez (#36-Angela Salem 46), #30-Celeste Boureille, #25-Meghan Klingenberg; #34-Tyler Lussi, #40-Marissa Everett (#39-Meaghan Nally 83), #22-Morgan Weaver
Subs not used: #31-Bella Bixby, #46-Nadine Angerer, #47-Maureen Fitzgerald, #43-Shelby Hogan, #39-Meaghan Nally
TOTAL SHOTS: CHI 8-9 POR
SHOTS ON GOAL: CHI 5-1 POR
FOULS: CHI 10-9 POR
OFFSIDES: CHI 1-1 POR
CORNER KICKS: CHI 8-4 POR
SAVES: CHI 0-5 POR
Referee: Karen Callado
Assistant Referees: Laura Chambers Waliski, Art Arustamyan
Fourth Official: Lukasz Szpala
Weather: Cloudy and 48º
Woman of the Match: Morgan Weaver (POR)
