Thorns to Host Preseason Tournament at University of Portland

The Portland Thorns will be hosting a preseason tournament this year, per a team press release—except, due to ongoing construction at Providence Park it will be held at the University of Portland’s Merlo Field.

The same four teams that came to Portland for last year’s Spring Invitational—Houston, Chicago, and the USWNT U-23s—will be in the Rose City again. Those teams, however, should have a substantially different look, with Sam Kerr joining the Red Stars from Sky Blue, and Christen Press (rumors of her possible departure from the NWSL notwithstanding) moving from Chicago to Houston.

Houston and the U-23s are up first, kicking off at 11:30 a.m. March 11. Portland’s first match, against the Red Stars, is that same day at 5 p.m. The other two Thorns matches are March 14 at 7:30 (vs the U-23s) and March 17 at 7:30 (vs Houston).

If the typical low-end tickets for Thorns matches are out of your price range at around $15, preseason is a great time to check out Portland’s most successful soccer team—tickets start at just $7. They go on sale at www.thornsfc.com at 10 a.m. February 23.

The full schedule for the tournament is below:

2018 Thorns Spring Invitational presented by Tillamook Yogurt Schedule

Sunday, March 11 – Houston Dash vs. U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team at 11:30 a.m. (Pacific); Thorns FC vs. Chicago Red Stars at 5 p.m. (Pacific) at University of Portland (Merlo Field)

Wednesday, March 14 – Chicago Red Stars vs. Houston Dash at 1:30 p.m. (Pacific).; Thorns FC vs. U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific) at University of Portland (Merlo Field)

Saturday, March 17 – Chicago Red Stars vs. U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team at 1:30 p.m. (Pacific); Thorns FC vs. Houston Dash at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific) at University of Portland (Merlo Field)