May 4, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Portland Thorns FC News Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Thorns FC (4-3-1, 13 points) earned a 2-1 victory over the Washington Spirit at Providence Park with goals from Sam Coffey and Christine Sinclair. The win marks the third such result in eight days for the Thorns, earning all nine possible points through the three matches, outscoring their opponents 7-3.
Postgame sound from Interim Head Coach Rob Gale, defender Isabella Obaze and forward Christine Sinclair can be found here.
For the third straight game the Thorns found the back of the net inside the first quarter hour, with Sam Coffey giving Portland the early lead with her fourth-minute goal, good for her second score of the season, assisted by Hina Sugita.
In the 22nd minute Christine Sinclair doubled the team’s lead, running onto a headed ball from Isabella Obaze before toe-touching the ball underneath the legs of Washington goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury and into the back of the net. The goal marked Sinclair’s second of the season and 64th all-time as a member of the Portland Thorns, tied for the second-most in National Women’s Soccer League history.
Towards the end of the first half it looked as if the Spirit may have found themselves back in the game with a shot from Andi Sullivan, but defender Marie Müller was able to save the ball off the line to preserve the scoreline. Throughout the remainder of the first half the Thorns would continue to maintain control, keeping the Spirit’s offensive efforts at bay to take the 2-0 lead into the halftime break.
The start of the second half saw the Washington Spirit pressuring the Thorns’ backline, nearly finding the back of the net in the 58th minute when Croix Bethune seemingly had an open shot on goal with goalkeeper Shelby Hogan on the ground, but the shot stopper was able to pop up and miraculously get a hand on the ball.
In the 72nd minute it appeared as if second-half substitute Ana Dias had scored the Thorns’ third goal of the night, but she was determined to be offside negating the goal. Just a minute later Washington was awarded a penalty kick for a foul on Trinity Rodman, but after Video Assisted Review it was changed to a free kick just outside the 18-yard-box which Portland’s defense was easily able to handle.
With four minutes left in the match, the Washington Spirit were able to put one into the back of the net with a header from Lena Silano to cut the deficit in half. Through eight minutes of…