It wasn’t exactly pretty, but the Thorns eked out a 2-1 win over the Chicago Red Stars before a crowd of nearly 16,000 at Providence Park tonight.
Chicago went ahead early on a curling shross* from midfielder Alyssa Mautz in the 29th minute.
Portland evened the score in the 38th when Chicago keeper and former Thorn Karina LeBlanc got tangled up with defender Abby Erceg. The loose ball fell into the path of Thorn Allie Long who tapped it in for the equalizer.
The Allie Show continued in the 69th minute. Sinead Farrelly played in a perfect ball and Long struck it from 20 yards out to put the Thorns into the lead. “I’ve been staying after practice and shooting from those areas. I was just happy it went in in a game,” Long said afterward.
“This was crucial. I think this was probably the biggest game of the season so far,” Long said. “We’re focused one game at a time and when we go to Kansas City, we need to get the job done. We’re going there to win.”
With a 2-1 win over the Chicago Red Stars, the Thorns move within striking distance of a playoff spot. Tied on points for the fourth place spot with FCKC, Kansas City holds the edge on goal differential.
Lianne Sanderson, in her first match as a Thorn, played 30 minutes.
*We’re not entirely sure if it was a shot or a cross, so….
Scoring Summary
CHI: Mautz, 29
POR: Long, 38
POR: Long (Farrelly), 69
Misconduct Summary
None
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Michelle Betos, D Clare Polkinghorne, D Kat Williamson © (Van Hollebeke, 85), D Emily Menges, M McCall Zerboni, M Sinead Farrelly, M Kaylyn Kyle, M Tobin Heath, M Allie Long, F Jodie Taylor (Sanderson, 60), F Christine Sinclair
Substitutes Not Used: GK Nadine Angerer, M Kendall Johnson, M Mana Shim, F Hanna Terry
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Long, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Long, 2); FOULS: 13 (Kyle, 4); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 7
CHI: GK Karina LeBlanc, D Abby Erceg, D Julie Johnston, D Arin Gilliland, D Taryn Hemmings, M Lori Chalupny ©, M Danielle Colaprico (Quon, 71), M Vanessa DiBernardo, M Alyssa Mautz (Hoy, 74), F Christen Press, F Melissa Tancredi (Huerta, 65)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Michele Dalton, D Michelle Lomnicki, F Adriana Leon, F Cara Walls
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Press, Tancredi, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (Press, 2); FOULS: 13 (Colaprico, 4); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 2
Referee: Margaret Domka
Assistant Referees: Cory Richardson, Joshua Haimes
4th Official: Ekaterina Koroleva
Attendance: 15,858
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 80 degrees
