Providence Park was ready to hit that next gear.
For the first 37 minutes of the Portland Thorns’ 1-0 loss to the Chicago Red Stars, the thousands who filled Portland’s soccer sanctuary largely sat on their hands.
The Thorns (8-9-3, 27 points) came into the match riding a three-game losing streak in league play, and while the team was mostly healthy and rested after a week at home, the Thorns started Saturday’s relatively important contest stuck in the mud.
Sure, the Thorns dominated possession — largely in their own zone — but sloppy turnovers eventually cost them dearly when an errant pass went into the foot of Ally Schlegel, who banged it past keeper Mackenzie Arnold for the 1-0 lead.
But the crowd thought all of that would be a footnote when Christine Sinclair got the ball on her foot. Just outside the 18-yard box, Sinclar intercepted a pass, looked in front of her, then to her left, and realized the odds were in her favor. There was one defender paired against the greatest goal scorer of all time and the best goal scorer in today’s game — Sophia Smith. And the crowd knew it as soon as Sinclair did, winding up into a near tizzy as Sinclair slid a ball over to Smith, who took a step, aimed and fired right into the shins of a Chicago defender.
The noise died.
The Red Stars cleared the zone. It was that type of night, as Portland picked up its fourth consecutive loss in NWSL play.
With the loss, the Thorns remain in sixth place in league standings, but now just stand a point ahead of Chicago and two points ahead of Bay FC for the league’s final playoff spot. And while there are still two months remaining this season for the Thorns to pull out of their funk, recent play hasn’t exactly been encouraging.
And, frankly, there were no excuses for this one.
After falling 2-1 at Washington last week in the game’s final minutes, the Thorns had a week at home to prepare for the Red Stars. The team got healthier – Morgan Weaver came off the 45-day injury report this week after missing every game since May, but the damage was already done when Weaver, who signed a five-year contract extension with the club earlier this week, entered in the 65th minute. Weaver’s left foot on net following a Smith cross was one of the few Thorns highlights of the second half – that and a penalty save by Mackenzie Arnold in the opening stages that kept the Thorns in contention.
And on a large scale, the Thorns are still in contention with six matches remaining. They also now have a losing record for the first time since May, and are riding the longest losing streak of a season that’s already seen the club change its manager.
Next up: The Thorns have a pair of games over the next nine days, beginning with the San Diego Wave on Wednesday in Champions Cup action before returning to NWSL play on Sept. 23 against Angel City.
– Tyson Alger for The Oregonian/OregonLive