Coming into Saturday night, a seven-game unbeaten streak was on the line for the Portland Thorns against visiting Gotham FC. With seven players on international duty set to return for the club’s next game in just under two weeks, this one was crucial.
It took Portland just over 10 minutes to all but guarantee that streak would extend to eight.
The Thorns (5-1-6, 21 points, 2nd in NWSL) scored three goals in the first 10:13 on a shell-shocked Gotham (4-6-0, 12 points, 8th in NWSL), eventually winning 5-0 in a game it controlled from the opening kick. They enter some time off with four wins and four draws in their last eight matches.
“We talked as a team about this international break and the window,” Thorns coach Rhian Wilkinson said. “We’ve had two ties and they’ve been two performances that there’s a lot to be proud of, but we wanted to put a stamp on this game and on this three-game series without some of our internationals. My goodness, they did that. They were fantastic today.
“The LA game, coming back in the 96th minute really showed the character of the team, and then you had the Seattle game where I think we really could have earned the three points. ... (This stretch) could have gone better, but in terms of connectivity and in terms of asking the team to play a certain way, we couldn’t have done better. We used our depth, we used new faces, and everyone knew their role.”
The Thorns came out with fire under their collective feet, scoring the first goal in the fifth minute. Meghan Klingenberg’s cross off the corner fell perfectly to the feet of Taylor Porter, who put it home through traffic to make it 1-0 Portland.
Just two minutes later, the Thorns scored again as Yazmeen Ryan put her defender on skates and found Olivia Moultrie, who nailed an incredible, curling, left-footed shot from outside the box.
“One of the things we talked about before the game was get shots, be aggressive,” Moultrie said. “As soon as I got it, I was like, ‘I’m gonna rip this. I’m gonna hit it.’ And it went exactly where I wanted to, and I got very excited as I’m sure the video shows for itself. I’ve never scored in a regular season match at Providence Park, so to get a rose and go through that was a really awesome moment for me. Very exciting.”
But Providence Park wasn’t done celebrating in a raucous first few minutes. In the 11th, Morgan Weaver slid the ball across and past a sprinting Hina Sugita, who let the ball reach her running mate Marissa Everett for the score.
Portland led 3-0 at the 10:13 mark, the fastest from kickoff a team has scored three goals in NWSL history, breaking their own record from last season against the Chicago Red Stars (15:22).
Kelli Hubly had a chance on the header in the 24th minute, Weaver ripped one that forced a save in the 39th minute, and Sugita put one on frame just before halftime, but the Thorns couldn’t find their fourth goal in the first 45.
Gotham nearly found its first score in the 34th minute, but a diving save from Bella Bixby kept the road side off the board. Gotham surprisingly finished with 55% possession to end the first half, but only managed three shots to Portland’s seven.
The Thorns extended their lead to 4-0 in the 65th minute, scoring on a header from fresh substitute Hannah Betfort on the cross by Madison Pogarch. Betfort’s score came on her first play off the bench for Everett.
Portland’s final score of the night was another beauty as Weaver came sprinting up to intercept an errant pass from the Gotham keeper, putting it in the back of the net on one touch to make it 5-0. Thorns fans chanted “we want six” down the stretch, but they didn’t get it.
“I thought we did a great job,” Weaver said. “Five goals is awesome for us. My teammates got me the ball and I just tried finding people in the box. ... I think we all did such a great job tonight, and I’m really happy with the way we all showed up. Three points now before a break, put this one in our back pocket and time to move on to the next.”
After some well-earned time off, Portland’s next match is on the road at Racing Louisville FC on July 29, with kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m. PT (streaming on Paramount+).
-- Ryan Clarke, [email protected]