The Portland Thorns and the Washington Spirit gifted Providence Park with a great spectacle of football. It was a model for the game, and one of those that are certainly to bring new fans. It had everything, atmosphere, goals, great individualities, team build ups, and two teams that went decidedly to get the three points playing the length of the field during all 90 minutes.
One of the events marking the evening was to send off their top players to the World Cup, after the ref’s last whistle, eleven players from both rosters would be packing their bags on the way to the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, joining their countries delegations, some will be playing together in the US National Team, some will likely face each other through the tournament.
All that quality in one football pitch was a great omen for the evening. Also, it was the first time that former and beloved head coach Mark Parsons visited Providence Park in an away jersey. Parsons knows the Thorns inside out, with still 80% of this former roster is still active for the home team. He didn’t come to Portland to sit back and speculate with a tie or a lucky break for a win, his Washington Spirit came to play on equal terms.
The Portland Thorns, with Mike Norris as their head coach, twice got ahead on the score sheet, both times by their star forward Sophia Smith, minutes 11 and 23; and twice the Spirit equalized via Ashley Hatch (13) and Ashley Sánchez on 46 minutes. The tit for tat, meant a vibrant game with great football happening through the stretch of the field.
Portland used to putting dominant displays at home, seemed not used to be treated with the same coin at home. The current champions, again showed why they are one of the favorites for both the shield and the cup, tipping the scale of the game to their side with yet another goal of Sophia Smith (minute 47), and the final sentence by one of the world’s hardest working winger, Morgan Weaver, who put the final 4-2 on the score sheet in minute 63.
Washington Spirit felt that fourth goal, and while it sat a few “rounds”, they dug into their football identity and refused to be the victims of another rout in Oregon, and hit back until the very, very last second of injury time. Portland, found spaces in the Spirit pushes, and created a number of clear opportunities, however the score held and the three points stayed in Portland.
In the aftermath, Portland sit hight on the league’s table with 25 points, just two ahead of Washington sitting 4th with 23, tied in points but just behind goal difference from 2nd and 3rd, North Carolina Courage and OL Reign. Next weekend there will be another week of NWSL after the World Cup purge, top teams will be tested on their bench depth, for better or worse, the start studded NWSL is on pause, the reserve NWSL is on.
