In a hard-fought, physical matchup of two of the NWSL’s top teams, the Portland Thorns and Washington Spirit drew 1-1 on Wednesday night at Providence Park.
“It was a fantastic Washington team,” Thorns coach Rhian Wilkinson said. “I thought they were really strong today. … They definitely had momentum in the first half, and I was really proud of how the team made adjustments and reacted really quickly. We had some good opportunities and a number of one-on-one opportunities that we need to put away. It was a pretty good game for the neutral, frustrating one for the coaches.”
The Spirit largely controlled the first half, limiting the Thorns’ opportunities on the attack and creatively finding plenty of their own despite Portland’s solid defensive play.
Just one shot was taken by each team through the first 15 minutes, and the first truly dangerous moment of the match didn’t arrive until the 26th minute, when Trinity Rodman’s cross into a dangerous area nearly found the foot of her Washington teammate.
Portland’s best chance of the first half came off the foot of Christine Sinclair, who stepped in front of a poor clearance by Washington’s goalkeeper and put a curling shot on frame that just bounced off the crossbar. In the 44th minute, the Spirit had their best chance on a ball that hovered near the frame of goal, but Thorns defender Emily Menges was there to clear it with her head and prevent a score.
Another welcome defensive presence on the back line was Becky Sauerbrunn, making her first appearance and start of the season for the Thorns after undergoing knee surgery in preseason.
“It’s my first real injury where I needed surgery, so this process has been really new and there’s been a lot of uncertainty and doubts,” Sauerbrunn said. “To actually get on the field and play 45 minutes, I’m really thrilled. I was so happy that I got to do it.”
At half, Washington (1-1-1, 4 points) led in shots, 9-2. Portland (1-0-2, 5 points) brought on forward Morgan Weaver for midfielder Rocky Rodriguez at the half, aiming to boost its attacking play with another of its many weapons in that space.
Arguably the most dangerous among those attacking weapons, Sophia Smith, found a goal in the 57th minute. Smith made one move on her defender and fired a low one from right to left across the face of goal and in, making it 1-0.
She almost scored again in the 60th minute, too, from roughly the same spot. Only the keeper was able to get a finger on that one and deflect it out.
“I think it was a good game,” Smith said. “It was a good battle. We knew going into it that this was a really good team, and it was going to be a good game and a hard game. We were going to have to earn the goals and the result. Overall, it was a good performance. In the first half we started out a bit slow and didn’t come out the way we wanted, but we turned it around in the second half. It’s a tie, so it’s not great, but it’s not a worst-case scenario.”
Washington brought the game level at 1-1 in the 63rd minute as Ashley Hatch headed the ball in on the break, but her head also collided with Thorns goalkeeper Bella Bixby’s, and both players went down hard. After being tended to by trainers, both returned to play in what proved a difficult moment for the Thorns regardless.
Bixby went on to make an impressive leaping save in the 67th minute on a long shot from Washington’s Ashley Sanchez.
The Spirit thought they’d scored the winning goal in the 72nd minute, but the official called it offsides and Portland came sprinting the other way. The Thorns had a trio of chances to take the lead in the 77th minute in quick succession, but none of them found goal.
Bixby made another pair of crucial saves in the 81st minute on shots from Rodman and Sanchez, keeping the game level and giving her team a chance.
“I thought Bella was phenomenal tonight,” Sauerbrunn said.
“She’s unreal,” Smith added.
Weaver had an opportunity to win the game for Portland in the 89th minute, but her shot on the difficult angle near goal sailed high.
Portland’s next match is against the Houston Dash, with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday at Providence Park (Streaming on Twitch).
NATIONAL TEAM SECURES EQUAL PAY
U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday it had reached an agreement with its men’s and women’s national teams guaranteeing equal pay and prize money for players on both sides, a cause that players on the Thorns both past and present have continually fought for.
Sauerbrunn was among the players closely involved in negotiations and spoke about the landmark moment for the sport after Wednesday’s game against Washington.
“I always had hope we were going to reach this point, I just didn’t know when it was going to happen,” Sauerbrunn said. “It’s been a really hard fight and there were a lot of days where I didn’t think this was going to happen while I was still playing. I feel very fortunate that, from that 2016 EEOC complaint, that we’ve gotten to this point here in 2022. A lot of credit goes to our players’ association and the leadership we had there, as well as the men’s national team (players’ association) and U.S. Soccer to being open to the idea of equal pay for equal play.”
Smith, just 21 years old and establishing herself on the USWNT, will be among those to directly benefit from the move to equal pay.
“We are just so thankful for all the work that’s been put in,” Smith said. “I don’t think we can even begin to understand the hours that went in to fighting for this. The players that came before us who have dedicated their lives to fighting for equal pay for not only themselves, but for us and the next generations that will benefit from it. … Someone in my position, a younger player, I know how blessed I am to be able to benefit from this and to have the people who came before me fight for us.”
-- Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com
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