PORTLAND, OR – The Portland Thorns made short work of league newcomers Racing Louisville FC Saturday evening at Providence Park, defeating the visitors by a final score of 3-0.
Former Thorns keeper Michelle Betos made an impressive spell of saves to keep Louisville in the match early, but the Thorns were persistent all night in holding possession and keeping Louisville off balance. Louisville managed just 4 shots on the night compared to Portland’s 28, and didn’t make AD Franch work too hard to earn her third clean sheet of the season.
Angela Salem opened things up early for Portland, scoring her first club goal in the 8th minute. Her partner in the midfield, Rocky Rodriquez, provided the assist as Salem’s low, bouncing shot from the top of the box made its way through traffic to find the back of the net. It was Salem’s first NWSL goal since 2016 with the Boston Breakers.
Rodriguez would double Portland’s lead in the 48th minute. Lindsey Horan sliced and diced her way through the Louisville defense before firing a low cross for Rodriguez to bang in from close range. It was Rocky’s first goal of the 2021 season.
Reflecting on the midfield’s tactical adjustments, Salem noted:
“The focus has really been on just creating balance and holding space and staying disciplined. I think the midfielders all did that tonight and we took it on board and implemented it.”
Lindsey Horan would cap off a dominant performance to make it 3-0 in the 77th minute. From about 25 yards out, Horan sent in a curling cross toward the head of a surging Simone Charley; the cross never found a teammate and instead, the ball took a heavy bounce and made its way past an outstretched Michelle Betos.
“Love watching our team play in training, love watching them play games, but tonight I think our principles and our personality were all on show and I’m really proud of the group. And that’s a nice way to go into the break.” said Mark Parsons.
Notably absent from the pitch were Christine Sinclair and Sophia Smith. With the imminent international break, Sinclair is already off to Spain with the Canadian National Team. Smith picked up a lower leg injury and didn’t play out of an abundance of caution.
The Thorns resume NWSL action on Sunday, June 20th at Providence Park against Kansas City. Portland currently sit second in the table with a league-leading 11 goals scored.
Portland Thorns
Racing Louisville
