June 18, 2023 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Portland Thorns FC News Release
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Portland Thorns FC concluded a three-game road swing with a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Red Stars at SeatGeek Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Sophia Smith opened the scoring in the first half with her team-leading seventh goal of the season, while Christine Sinclair and Hina Sugita both tallied second-half goals to help Portland earn three points on the road. Thorns FC will return home to host the Washington Spirit at Providence Park on Friday, June 23. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific) on Paramount+.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Thorns FC (6-2-4, 22pts) closed out a three-game road swing where they picked up six of a possible nine points (2-1-0). They now sit in second place of the league with today’s victory. Portland has scored in 19 straight regular season matches on the road, the longest such streak in NWSL history. Thorns FC are the only team in the NWSL to score in all of their regular season matches this year, tallying a league-best 29 goals. They have also scored 16 first-half goals in 12 games this season, more than any other team in the NWSL.
Goal Scorers
Smith scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season. She has the second most goals in the league in 2023, trailing only Kerolin (8). Smith has scored a goal in three straight matches for Thorns FC, notably all on the road (CHI, ORL, OLR). Six of Smith’s seven goals this season have come in road matches. Christine Sinclair recorded her third goal of 2023 and the 62nd of her NWSL career, which is third best in league history. Notably, Sinclair has scored 17 goals against the Red Stars across all NWSL competitions, four more than any other player against any single opponent in league history. Hina Sugita registered her third goal of the 2023 campaign. Portland has five players with three or more goals this season (Smith – 7, Dunn – 5, Sinclair – 3, Weaver – 3, Sugita – 3), more than any other team in the league.
Playmakers
Natalia Kuikka and Crystal Dunn both registered their second assists of the 2023 campaign, becoming the seventh and eighth players to register multiple assists for Portland this season. Thorns FC’s eight players with multiple assists is the most of any team in the NWSL this season. Morgan Weaver recorded her third assist of the season, tallying all three in Portland’s last three matches on the road (CHI, ORL, OLR). Weaver has recorded three assists in each of her three seasons with Portland (2023, 2022, 2021).
Goal-Scoring Plays
POR – Sophia Smith (Natalia Kuikka), 43rd minute: Natalia Kuikka played a central ball for Sophia Smith, who turned and dribbled towards the top of the box before curling a shot inside of the post.
POR – Hina Sugita (Morgan Weaver), 63rd minute: Morgan Weaver took a touch towards the endline and played the ball back towards the six-yard box. Hina Sugita made a darting run in and sent a one-time shot into the back of the net.
CHI – Ella Stevens (penalty kick), 72nd minute: Chicago won a penalty kick and Ella Stevens converted the attempt.
POR – Christine Sinclair (Crystal Dunn), 74th minute: From the right corner of the 18-yard box, Crystal Dunn served an aerial ball across the box. Falling to the feet of Christine Sinclair, she settled the ball out of the air and took a touch onto her right to fire a shot into the corner of the far post.
CHI – Ally Schlegel (Julia Bianchi), 82nd minute: Julia Bianchi delivered a Chicago corner kick onto the top of the six-yard box. Ally Schlegel headed it into the goal near the back post.
Notes:
With today’s victory, Portland (6-2-4, 22pts) sits in second place in the NWSL standings.
Thorns FC closed out a three-game road swing where they picked up six of nine points (2-1-0).
Sophia Smith scored her seventh goal of the season and the 28th of her NWSL career.
Smith has the second most goals in the league this season, trailing only Kerolin (8).
Smith has scored a goal in three straight matches for Thorns FC, notably all on the road (CHI, ORL, OLR).
Six of Smith’s seven goals have come in road matches in 2023. Over the last three seasons, Smith has the most road goals with 15 during that span.
It marks the third time Smith has scored in at least three straight matches since the start of 2022. No other player in the league has more than one streak of three or more games with a goal in that time.
Hina Sugita registered her third goal of the 2023 campaign.
Christine Sinclair scored her third goal of the season.
It marked the 62nd goal of Sinclair’s NWSL career.
Sinclair has scored 17 goals against the Red Stars across all NWSL competitions, four more than any other player against any single opponent in league history.
Natalia Kuikka tallied her second assist of the season.
Crystal Dunn registered her second assist of the 2023 campaign.
It marked Dunn’s 24th NWSL career assist.
Morgan Weaver recorded her third assist of the season.
Weaver has tallied an assist in three straight games (CHI, ORL, OLR).
Weaver has recorded three assists in each of her three seasons with Portland (2023, 2022, 2021).
Emily Menges made her 150th NWSL regular season appearance for Thorns FC today.
Menges is the 23rd player in league history to reach 150 matches, and just the sixth to do so all with one team.
Portland has five players with three or more goals this season (Smith – 7, Dunn – 5, Sinclair – 3, Weaver – 3, Sugita – 3), more than any other team in the league.
Notably, all five of those players contributed to goals in today’s match.
Thorns FC hold a 14-2-10 record over Chicago. The 24 games avoiding defeat are the most by any NWSL team against a single opponent, three more than any other fixture.
Portland is the only team in the NWSL to score in all of its regular season matches this year, tallying a league-best 29 goals in the 2023 campaign.
Thorns FC have scored 16 first-half goals in 12 games this season, more than any other team in the NWSL.
Portland has scored in 19 straight regular season matches on the road, the longest such streak in NWSL history.
Next Game
Following a three-game road swing, Thorns FC will return home to host the Washington Spirit at Providence Park on Friday, June 23. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific) on Paramount+.
Portland Thorns FC (6-2-4, 22pts) at Chicago Red Stars (3-8-1, 10pts)
June 18, 2023 – SeatGeek Sadium (Bridgeview, Ill.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Portland Thorns FC 1 2 3
Chicago Red Stars 0 2 2
Scoring Summary:
POR: Smith (Kuikka), 43
POR: Sugita (Weaver), 63
CHI: Stevens (penalty kick), 72
POR: Sinclair (Dunn),74
CHI: Schlegel (Bianchi), 82
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Sugita (caution), 29
CHI: St-Georges (caution), 58
POR: Bixby (caution), 65
POR: Hubly (caution), 79
Lineups:
POR: GK Bixby ©, D Kuikka, D Hubly, D Menges, D Klingenberg (Reyes, 62), M Coffey, M Sinclair © (Moultrie, 78), M Dunn, F Sugita, F Smith (D’Aquila, 78), F Weaver (Vasconcelos, 90+5)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Hogan, D McGrady, D Nally, M Porter, F Leon
TOTAL SHOTS: 21 (Smith, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Smith, 3); FOULS: 9 (Hubly, Sugita, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 4
CHI: GK Naeher, D Wright (Kowalski, 70), D Davidson, D Sharples (Aguilera, 76), D Milazzo, M Bianchi, M Roccaro, M Cook (Schlegel, 76), F Starke (Matthews, 71), F St-Georges, F Stevens
Substitutes Not Used: GK Wood, M Fisher, M Jones, M Malham, F Bike
TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (St-Georges, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (St-Georges, 2); FOULS: 6 (Stevens, 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 4
Referee: Anya Voigt
Assistant Referees: Baboucarr Jallow, Matthew Rodman
Fourth Official: Marie Durr
VAR: Geoff Gamble
Weather: Sunny, 80 degrees
Attendance: 3,655
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
• Discuss this story on the National Women’s Soccer League message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
