July 22, 2015: – Prematch ceremony honors the nine Portland Thorns players who played for their national teams at the Womens World Cup this summer. – Providence Park, Portland OR
The narrative was set days ago. Providence Park, home to NWSL’s Portland Thorns, would host a record crowd when the Thorns took on the visiting Seattle Reign Wednesday night.
Over 21,000 people were on hand as Portland honored her nine returning World Cup players: Steph Catley and Clare Polkinghorne from Australia, Jodie Taylor from England, Germany’s Nadine Angerer, Canadians Christine Sinclair, Rhian Wilkinson and Kaylyn Kyle, and World Cup champions Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath.
But the feel-good story of the night stopped there, at least for the home team.
The Thorns struggled to put together an attacking strategy and a defensive lapse saw them down a goal in the 57th minute when Reign midfielder Kim Little skipped past the Thorns defense to score the lone goal of the match.
“To lay an egg on a game when you have that many people, it’s tough,” Thorns coach Paul Riley said after the match.
Scoring Summary
SEA: Little, 57
Misconduct Summary
SEA: Cox (Caution), 90+3
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Michelle Betos, D Rachel Van Hollebeke (Shim, 82), D Kat Williamson ©, D Emily Menges, D Steph Catley, M Clare Polkinghorne (Ayo, 60), M McCall Zerboni (Kyle, 74), M Tobin Heath, M Allie Long, M Sinead Farrelly, F Christine Sinclair
Substitutes Not Used: GK Nadine Angerer, M Kendall Johnson, F Hanna Terry
TOTAL SHOTS: 6 (Sinclair, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Sinclair, 2); FOULS: 12 (Farrelly, 4); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 2
SEA: GK Haley Kopmeyer, D Lauren Barnes, D Rachel Corsie, D Kendall Fletcher (Reed, 84), D Stephanie Cox, M Jessica Fishlock, M Keelin Winters ©, M Kim Little, F Merritt Mathias (Dallstream, 88), F Beverly Yanez, F Megan Rapinoe (Bullock, 81)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Caroline Stanley, M Katrine Veje, F Dani Foxhoven, M Amber Brooks
TOTAL SHOTS: 8 (Rapinoe, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Three players, 1); FOULS: 9 (Rapinoe, 3); OFFSIDES: 9; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 3
Referee: Karen Abt
Assistant Referees: Jeffrey Greeson, Andrew Deuker
4th Official: Farhad Dadkho
Attendance: 21,144
Weather: Partly cloudy, 72 degrees
