The Portland Thorns (3-1-3) head east to Yurcak Field in Piscataway, New Jersey, where they face off with Sky Blue FC (4-3-1) for the first of two meetings in June. Sky Blue is currently sitting a point ahead of the Thorns in the standings and features NWSL leading scorer Sarah Killion, who has score 5 of their 12 goals on the young. season.

Match Preview: “Zooming out, like many NWSL teams, Sky Blue has had an up-and-down season, looking like a dangerous attacking unit one game, then somewhat disjointed the next. Sam Kerr is a one-woman artillery unit who can sneak into dangerous areas and create chances from nothing. Raquel Rodriguez is a force in the midfield, both as a playmaker and a scorer. All in all, this is a scrappy young team that, while sometimes prone to error, is dangerous going forward.

Sky Blue's starting lineup has undergone considerable rotation recently, especially over the course of the brutal three-game week they were just subjected to, where they played Houston on Saturday, then flew to North Carolina on Wednesday, then came home to face Orlando the following Saturday. This weekend, the back line is probably set: Christie Pearce and Mandy Freeman at center-back, and Erin Simon and Erica Skroski flanking them on the left and right, respectively.

Further up on the pitch, things are less set in stone. Christy Holly's preferred formation is a 4-2-3-1 with Sarah Killion and Nikki Stanton at defensive midfield, Kerr up top, and some combination of Leah Galton, Rodriguez, Kelley O'Hara, and Daphne Corboz making up the attacking midfield trio. Assuming O'Hara is available—and it's not clear if she will be—she and Rodriguez will definitely be in that mix. Corboz and Galton are probably a tossup for the third slot.”

Match Information

Watch it on: go90 (US), http://www.nwslsoccer.com/ (international)

Where: Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ

When: Saturday, June 3 at 4:00 p.m. PT

Portland Thorns: 3-1-3 (W-L-T), 5th in the league, won 2-0 vs Boston Breakers

Sky Blue FC: 4-3-1, 3rd in the league, won 2-1 vs Orlando Pride