The Portland Thorns didn’t play their scheduled game against the Washington Spirit last Saturday, but the biggest news of the NWSL weekend still involved the Thorns and city of Portland.
Early Sunday afternoon, reports surfaced that Providence Park would host the 2021 NWSL championship game. Hours later, NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird confirmed those reports on live television at halftime of the game between the Houston Dash and Orando Pride.
“We are thrilled to host the 2021 NWSL championship game at Providence Park,” Mike Golub, Portland Thorns FC president of business, said in a news release. “This club and community take great pride in highlighting the talent in this league, and we look forward to having another opportunity to showcase our city, our stadium, and the incredible support that has been fostered here for women’s soccer.”
The game will take place at 9 a.m. on Nov. 20 on CBS and will be the third time that Portland hosts the league’s marquee event. Providence Park hosted the final between then-Seattle Reign and FC Kansas City in 2015. In 2018, the Thorns became the first team to both play in and host a final, but fell to the North Carolina Courage 3-0.
With just seven games remaining this season, Portland has a new objective: find a way to play in another home final and rid the bitter taste of the aforementioned loss to North Carolina.
Though coach Mark Parsons’ team is favored to be there, it’s never that easy in the NWSL. The Thorns still have two more matchups against both the Courage and Houston Dash. They host the OL Reign one more time. With six teams that will participate in the playoffs, there are more variables in play than ever before.
But with Providence Park serving as the light at the end of the tunnel, it only adds more fuel to the fire.
THORNS PREPARE FOR MARQUEE MATCHUP
With last weekend’s game postponed, the Thorns will follow up their loss in Seattle with an equally important game, at least standings wise, against the Courage.
Only three points separate Portland and North Carolina at the top of the NWSL standings, which means at the end of the night the Thorns could either be six points clear of the Courage, or both clubs could be level on 32 points.
The last time Portland played in North Carolina, right before players left for the Olympics, it lost 2-0. Parsons’ team hasn’t ever won at the WakeMed Soccer Complex, but will look to change that when it travels there with perhaps its most talented team to date.
Another factor that could come into play? The Thorns are coming off of a longer than average break, with two weeks since their loss in Seattle.
“After this past month, a full week feels like a month,” midfielder Rocky Rodriguez said. “It has its pros, and we feel like we can take advantage of the (time off). … This week felt like we finally had time not only to recover, but to prepare for the weekend.”
With another two weeks off after Saturday, a road result in North Carolina could go a long way in building momentum to head into the international window on a high note.
WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?
Some teams believe that wins and losses define a season. In a some ways, that’s true. However, that’s not the only way to judge a season’s successes and failures, especially in sports.
One mental adjustment that the Thorns have made under Parsons is to play a certain style and stick to it versus just playing for results. Still, that’s no easy ask for a team with so much natural talent that goes into every game expecting three points.
In recent seasons, Portland has found ways to differentiate between the final score and style of play on the field. In a news conference last week, Parsons brought up last spring’s Challenge Cup and how, despite going out in the semifinal, he was extremely encouraged by the team’s consistent performances and how it kept its style.
“If we live the rollercoaster of winning, losing or tying, or of the ball going in or not, we’re just a team that defines ourselves by outcome,” Parsons said. “But medium- or long-term success isn’t decided by outcome. It’s about improvement, growth, the process and the journey.”
TIMBERS PICK UP BACK-TO-BACK WINS
The Portland Timbers made history on Saturday night when they won 2-0 against the Houston Dynamo on the road. Never before had coach Giovanni Savarese’s team picked up more than a point at BBVA Compass Stadium in its MLS history.
The Timbers have now won consecutive away games since their 3-1 loss in Austin on Aug. 21. Even more important, Portland’s defense held a red-hot Seattle Sounders team and the Dynamo scoreless.
“We have done a lot of work to make sure the players understand all the players they are going to face,” Savarese said. “I think with the clarity in the players’ mind, the willingness and determination to work even harder as a group, has allowed us to make sure that we can improve in the tactical things that we needed to improve.”
While neither game was particularly pretty, every soccer coach in the world would take three points on the road; Savarese is surely no different. The Timbers’ third away win of the season provides some building blocks for the defense.
Now, the question is whether the team itself can continue to build on these road results. Only time will tell, but finding a third consecutive positive result at BC Place this weekend would be a good place to start.
TIMBERS TO RETURN HOME
After five games and over a month away from home, the Timbers return to Providence Park next Wednesday to begin a three-game homestand.
Those three games come against the Colorado Rapids, LAFC and Real Salt Lake, and all three will provide a slightly different test for the Timbers. The Rapids currently sit at second in the Western Conference and haven’t dropped points since July 24, and while the Timbers have home wins against LAFC and RSL this season, they will still need to play complete games if they hope to walk away from those nights with as many points as possible.
Portland’s previous home game, a 6-2 loss to the Seattle Sounders, left a sour taste for many fans. And, after a month on a road, the Timbers will want to generate some home cooking, build on recent positive results and put that performance even further in the rearview mirror.
“We still can be better, I believe that in the second half we could have been better,” Savarese said after the 2-0 win in Houston. “(The) first half was phenomenal until the 40th minute, and that’s the type of team that can win a lot of games if we continue to play that way.”
INJURIES AND ABSENCES
Thorns: After missing the Thorns game in Seattle, defender Meghan Klingenberg (right thigh) and forward Tyler Lussi (left hip) were expected to make their returns to the gameday roster against the Washington Spirit. They will most likely be ready to return against North Carolina this weekend.
In his news conference last week, Parsons said that forward Simone Charley (left knee) would not be ready for the team’s game against Washington, but could be ready for the match in North Carolina.
Midfielder Celeste Boureille is “still not close” to recovering from her left wrist injury, per Parsons.
UPCOMING GAMES
Timbers: at Vancouver Whitecaps, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10 (Fox 12 Plus); vs. Colorado Rapids, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15 (ROOT Sports) (Tickets)
Thorns: at North Carolina Courage, noon Sunday, Sept. 12 (CBS Sports Network)
-- Portland Timbers and Thorns FC
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