Stumptown Footy - Coverage Hub: Portland Thorns at Houston DashYou are my sunshine, my only sunshine.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/31537/stumptown-fave.jpg2018-05-11T22:14:31-07:00http://www.stumptownfooty.com/rss/stream/170956672018-05-11T22:14:31-07:002018-05-11T22:14:31-07:00Thorns FC: Sigh
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<figcaption>Anya Button</figcaption>
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<p id="64fTsC">I’m tired of writing <em>“Forwards, score. Defense, don’t derp.” </em>and I’ll bet you’re tired of reading it.</p>
<p id="Afo3yn">But I’m not sure what else to say. </p>
<p id="mftcrh">You probably already know what happened in the <a href="http://www.nwslsoccer.com/games/info/5vfxyijdduo9ei4jgrz4450q">1-1 away draw</a> to Houston. Our Tyler Nguyen <a href="https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/5/9/17338098/portland-thorns-draw-1-1-with-houston-dash">described the events</a>, and if you read the accounts, or watched the match, you know the Thorns spent all evening playing with the ball and going nowhere with it. </p>
<p id="trAWXd">With almost 70% possession, creating 541 total passes to Houston’s 241, Thorns FC could only manage 1 goal from 4 total shots on goal. Here’s InStat’s diagram of the dangerous attacks Portland created from open play;</p>
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<cite>Image by InStat. Used by permission</cite>
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<p id="HULllN">Dominating possession in the first half, Thorns FC could only manage two shots from distance, several key passes that fizzled out or were cleared, and a tap-in goal that was the product of some weapons-grade defensive errors.</p>
<p id="sgwETM">In the second half? Nothing but set-pieces; a <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293434/lindsey-horan">Lindsey Horan</a> header at 72’ that Jane Campbell fielded easily and another Horan header in the 80th minute that Van Wyk cleared off the goal-line.</p>
<p id="Ny2xIN">So the Thorns didn’t score like Brazil. The defense? Well, the Portland defense wasn’t precisely catennacio-solid in Houston. There were <em>way</em> too many moments like this one.</p>
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<cite>Image from go90. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
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<p id="22N5B7">But at least no individual Thorn made a disastrous error that led to a concession. Kyah Simon’s goal was a combination of too many Thorns caught going forward when a misplayed Horan pass was quickly turned back, and some clumsy marking by the outnumbered Portland backline.</p>
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<cite>Image by go90. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
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<p id="uounkj">Simon just has too many options. As it turned out, she took the simplest one - struck the ball at goal - and although Britt Eckerstrom got a finger to it, the ball ticked the inside of the far post.</p>
<p id="4TaxM0">I want to be optimistic. I want to believe that as the team develops a regular matchday XI and communication and interplay improves, the losses will become draws and the draws become wins. I want to know we’re going to see something less dreary than what I saw in Houston.</p>
<p id="nqKq0K">But right now, I’m just not sure how and when that’s going to happen.</p>
<h3 id="z7yg92">Player Ratings and Comments</h3>
<p id="9yTEnd"><strong>Crnogorcevic</strong> (+4/-11 : +4/-5 : +8/-16) Normally the player scoring the only goal in a 1-1 away draw should be a lock for Woman of the Match. To crown Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic, however, would mean looking past the rest of her appalling night in Houston. InStat shows her turning the ball over 10 times, losing 16 of 18 challenges, and being successful in attack only 48% of the time, the lowest success rate on the team.</p>
<p id="tUbtsn">I’m very glad Crnogorcevic scored her first goal. I’m not glad that the rest of her evening was not as much worth celebrating.</p>
<p id="41iAuM"><strong>Heath</strong> (<em>64’ -</em> +9/-7 : +2/-0 : +11/-7) <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293432/tobin-heath">Tobin Heath</a> had a rough evening, including a nasty cleating in the Houston penalty area that referee Luis Guardia casually waved off. </p>
<p id="ESmSdA">Heath’s mad ball skills helped Portland hang onto the ball all night. Those skills didn’t help them threaten, or finish, however. </p>
<p id="jOq9Un">Here’s InStat’s possession statistics. Note the highlighted areas.</p>
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<cite>Image by InStat. Used by permission.</cite>
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<p id="nkEShq">Portland brought the ball over the halfway line on more than three-quarters of its possessions - Houston could barely manage that 4 times in 10. </p>
<p id="kIrxqu">Almost half the time Portland worked the ball into the final third - Houston only did that about 1 time in 4.</p>
<p id="H9zWBI">But Portland getting into the penalty area? </p>
<p id="GgpHLJ">Just barely over 15% of the time; Houston was almost as good getting the ball into that dangerous space. And - even given those opportunities - Portland couldn’t get a shot off; 10 shots out of 111 attacks, fewer shots than Houston managed from 70% less attacking opportunities.</p>
<p id="69vp6Z"><strong>Sinclair</strong> (+4/-2 : +5/-1 : +9/-3) Was Christine Sinclair still gassed from wrestling with <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293436/allie-long">Allie Long</a> last weekend? Was she hating the Houston humidity with the heat of one thousand suns? Whatever the reason, Captain Sinc looked slow and out-of-touch Wednesday night, and that’s always a bad sign for Portland.</p>
<p id="MYHZ7o"><strong>Lussi</strong> (<em>26’ -</em> +3/-1) Brought on late to provide fresh legs in place of a not-90-minutes-fit Heath, Tyler Lussi ran around the pitch a lot.</p>
<p id="ff2Ae3"><strong>Purce</strong> (+7/-1 : +3/-3 : +10/-4) Midge Purce was bound to have a so-so game eventually. Purce went into a total of 15 individual duels; Keever fought her to a standstill (winning 5 of their 9 challenges) and she lost 4 of the remaining 6 challenges, as well. Not a strong factor in the attack, either, succeeding in only 67% of her actions; not bad, but not up to her usual standards.</p>
<p id="zzOHBF"><strong>Andressinha</strong> (<em>66’ -</em> +7/-1 : +3/-1 : +10/-2) If I had to pick a Woman of the Match I would choose the Brazilian. Completed 92% of her passes (45 of 49) including a gorgeous lead pass in the 50th minute that found Purce just offside. A beast on defense, winning 10 of 13 challenges, including owning Simon, 4-0. A fine night for Andressinha.</p>
<p id="LashAa"><strong>Horan</strong> (+9/-6 : +5/-5 : +16/-11) A very mixed sort of night for Horan, as illustrated by her PMR. Ten of her 16 pluses are for passes, including beautiful lead passes to Crnogorcevic in the 46th and 80th minutes. But 6 of her 11 minuses are <em>also</em> for passes, including the mishit long ball that started the Houston goal sequence. </p>
<p id="7QvqCP">Horan’s InStat Index number (196) is the second-highest on the Thorns behind Andressinha’s 203. This is also higher than <em>any</em> Houston player - Veronica Latsko is the highest rated at only 186 - which either illustrates a weakness of the metric, or the extent to which Horan and Portland were dominant in all aspects of the match <em>except the result</em>.</p>
<p id="MsYEpZ"><strong>Boureille</strong> (<em>24’ - </em>+1/-2) Not a factor.</p>
<p id="rgh3G5"><strong>Klingenberg</strong> (+6/-6 : +6/-3 : +12/-9) Had some tough moments in defense, especially dealing with Latsko. Curiously, not heavily involved in the Thorns’ first half attack-o-palooza but suddenly began providing fine set-piece service in the second, dropping corner kicks and free kicks onto her teammates’ heads.</p>
<p id="lK6UyQ"><strong>Hubly</strong> (<em>71’ -</em> +6/-2 : +0/-2 : +6/-4) Faded late in the match after some good work in the first half. Much like her teammates, Kelli Hubly had a very “meh” sort of match; not awful, just not good enough to beat three points out of the Dash.</p>
<p id="hZoPBr"><strong>Sonnett</strong> (+2/-2 : +2/-4 : +4/-6) InStat’s Index has Emily Sonnet at 180, tied for fourth-best Thorn. I thought Sonnett had a patchy night in Houston, beginning with a 12th minute howler where she was caught woolgathering by a Rachel Daly run that Eckerstrom had to race out to kill off. Made some good tackles, and was especially effective in attack - InStat has her with an 87% success rate in attack, which may be a big factor in her high Index - but Sonnett was also a big part of the looseness in back which gave Houston more of the match than they should have had. </p>
<p id="lq5roG">I think my frustration is that while Sonnett <em>is</em> generally good, I want her to be <em>better</em>; I want her to pull her backline together into the sort of shape it was at the end of last season. Unfortunately, that may require the other Emily’s return.</p>
<p id="w23viz"><strong>Reynolds</strong> (+0/-2 : +0/-2 : +0/-4) Kat Reynolds owned Rachel Daly all night, going 4-0 in challenges against her. She didn’t fare as well against Nichelle Prince, however, losing 5 of 8. Her PMR is a trifle deceptive; Reynolds wasn’t bad so much as she was “not terrific”; she didn’t do anything particularly significant and made a couple of poor passes (her two first-half minuses) and some late-match defensive errors. As with Sonnett, I think Reynolds’ muted numbers reflect her team’s dour night.</p>
<p id="hu7D3a"><strong>Carpenter</strong> (<em>19’ - </em>+2/-1) Not a factor.</p>
<p id="OD1Tj9"><strong>Eckerstrom</strong> (+1/-0 : +6/-0 : +7/-0) Britt Eckerstrom had a terrific night despite the scoreline. Her furious rush off her line saved a sure concession in the 12th minute, and she did terrific work in the second half as Houston surged forward; a tough-as-nails lunge to box away in the 55th minute, brilliant saves in the 62nd and 66th minutes, and two critical takes, one in the 80th on a looping ball off a Houston corner, and again in the 93rd on a long Daly cross. Well played, Eck.</p>
<p id="IxVLwx"><strong>Coach Parsons:</strong> My biggest concern about this match is I think Parsons’ substitutions didn’t work. Heath’s relief was likely a fitness issue, I get that, but Lussi was ineffective, and neither Carpenter for Hubly nor Boureille for Andressinha added any spark to a team that was looking out of ideas and out of gas. </p>
<p id="yByZAd">Mind you, I’m not saying that I would have had a better plan (other than to wonder out loud what the heck Elizabeth Ball is doing taking up a roster spot) given the short turnaround from Seattle and with Orlando coming in this weekend.</p>
<p id="f2zc53">Three points from four matches, though. That’s not sustainable. And Orlando returns this coming weekend with Marta on the pitch and, surely, a debt to repay. This would be a good time for the coach to do some magic, and the team to play like unicorns dancing on rainbows.</p>
https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/5/11/17346790/thorns-fc-sighJohn Lawes2018-05-09T15:00:02-07:002018-05-09T15:00:02-07:00Portland Thorns at Houston Dash: Preview, How to Watch, Match Thread [5:00]
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<figcaption>Kris Lattimore</figcaption>
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<p id="6QHAGc">The girls in red are in Texas today for a midweek matchup against the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/teams/houston-dash">Houston Dash</a>. The Thorns roster continues to be plagued by injuries at key positions: AD Franch just underwent surgery for a meniscus injury, while Emily Menges is still listed as out with a tibia stress reaction. Portland will want a win against a poor Houston side, whose first and only win this weekend came at the expense of an even poorer Sky Blue.</p>
<h2 id="NxyTI7"><a href="https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/5/9/17331852/storylines-portland-thorns-at-houston-dash-match-preview">Preview</a></h2>
<p id="OxwpJf">“Beyond the lack of cohesion, Houston’s bigger problem is that their roster simply isn’t very good. A game plan is of little use if all your players are outmatched by all your opponents’ players. That’s not to say there are no bright spots—Nichelle Prince made some big plays in both games, Kealia Ohai is much the same player she was before her ACL injury, and both young South Africans, Thembi Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo, have shown promise. But overall, and especially when it comes to their defense (such as it is), any lineup Houston can put forward matches up poorly against the starting eleven of pretty much every other team.</p>
<p id="xCL7fl">In short: if there’s any team Portland has to be able to get a result against, it’s Houston.”</p>
<h2 id="1fe93z">Match Information</h2>
<p id="vlpUl2">Watch it on: <a href="https://www.go90.com/videos/2n8fYpFxt3Y">go90.com</a>, NWSLsoccer.com internationally</p>
<p id="xmo5Ov">When: Wednesday, May 9 at 5 pm PT</p>
<p id="yzKfIa">Where: BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, TX</p>
<p id="PBrqkV">Portland Thorns: 2-2-2, fourth in the league, lost vs Seattle Reign</p>
<p id="KILqxr">Houston Dash: 1-3-2, eighth in the league, won at Sky Blue FC</p>
https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/5/9/17336036/portland-thorns-at-houston-dash-preview-how-to-watch-match-thread-5-00Katelyn Best2018-05-09T10:00:02-07:002018-05-09T10:00:02-07:00Storylines: Portland Thorns at Houston Dash
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<figcaption>Nikita Taparia</figcaption>
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<p id="qgrbnq">After a tough home loss to Seattle, the Thorns flew straight to Houston for a midweek game against the much-beleaguered Dash. Portland is currently in fourth place with an even 2-2-2 record, while eighth-place Houston picked up their first win of the season this weekend against an impressively bad Sky Blue side. Portland can and should pick up points on the road against this Houston team.</p>
<h2 id="5zMAXb">Projected Starting XI</h2>
<p id="kZvvEc">Predicting the lineup for this game is a little more of a crapshoot than it typically is, both because there were no post-training media availabilities between Saturday and tomorrow, and because playing three games in a week is going to require a little finagling on Mark Parsons’s part. I’m going to err on the side of caution and predict that he’ll once again start Celeste Boureille and Mallory Weber, and bring on Andressinha and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293432/tobin-heath">Tobin Heath</a> in the second half.</p>
<p id="TkvbR1">Emily Menges is still listed as “out” on the injury report, although I’d wager that’s largely down to the quick turnaround between this game and the Orlando game on Saturday, when she has a real chance of seeing the field. AD Franch and Bella Geist are also both still out, so we’ll get Britt Eckerstrom in goal with Adelaide Gay on the bench. </p>
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<p id="cFFa3B">In text format: Eckerstrom in goal, Kelli Hubly, Emily Sonnett, and Katherine Reynolds at center back, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/255543/meghan-klingenberg">Meghan Klingenberg</a> and Midge Purce at wingback, Boureille, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293438/christine-sinclair">Christine Sinclair</a>, and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293434/lindsey-horan">Lindsey Horan</a> in the midfield, and Weber and Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic up top.</p>
<h2 id="B9b4S8">History</h2>
<p id="sTcLaI">Portland is 2-1-2 all-time on the road in Houston and are unbeaten in their last four matches against the Dash. Their most recent regular-season meeting was last season’s ugly 1-1 draw at BBVA, which saw Horan score on a direct free kick in the 91st minute, the second goal by Horan in her last three matches against the Dash.</p>
<h2 id="vBxIt2">Scouting the Opposition</h2>
<p id="pzdKuL">The opposition, too, is more of a challenge to write about than usual. Typically, we try to give a brief description of the style the opposing team plays and who some of their key players are. Houston, unfortunately, hasn’t been playing in any consistent style. If it looked in preseason like Vera Pauw had a chance of taking the roster she’d been able to piece together and surprising us with a certain level of tactical flexibility and sophistication, a little over a month into the season it hasn’t worked out that way. Instead of adjusting to individual game situations, Houston has simply looked confused, their game plans more <a href="https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS557US557&biw=1280&bih=636&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=6-TxWpeAGZCUgQaM4LeADQ&q=jackson+pollock&oq=jackson+pollock&gs_l=img.3..0i67k1j0j0i67k1l2j0l3j0i67k1j0l2.10683.13344.0.13531.19.9.0.1.1.0.367.1147.2-2j2.4.0....0...1c.1.64.img..15.4.800.0...0.P3Qvqlir3oo">Jackson Pollock</a> than <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=piet+mondriaan&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS557US557&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixvPmY2PbaAhWIIMAKHUEUBQcQ_AUICigB&biw=1280&bih=636">Piet Mondriaan</a>.</p>
<p id="IJHNgG">They were catastrophic against North Carolina two weeks ago, when Pauw trotted out a 3-4-3 that shifted to a four-back in the second half when it became clear the defense wasn’t working—but that shift couldn’t fix that the Courage’s press was squeezing the Houston midfield to a pulp. This weekend against Sky Blue, the Dash’s biggest competition for the title of worst team in the league, they were somewhat less shambolic and managed to pull out a 3-2 win. That victory, though, comes with the major caveat that two of Houston’s goals were courtesy of disastrous errors by Sky Blue’s defense and keeper.</p>
<p id="OxwpJf">Beyond the lack of cohesion, Houston’s bigger problem is that their roster simply isn’t very good. A game plan is of little use if all your players are outmatched by all your opponents’ players. That’s not to say there are no bright spots—Nichelle Prince made some big plays in both games, Kealia Ohai is much the same player she was before her ACL injury, and both young South Africans, Thembi Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo, have shown promise. But overall, and especially when it comes to their defense (such as it is), any lineup Houston can put forward matches up poorly against the starting eleven of pretty much every other team.</p>
<p id="tZeVRx">In short: if there’s any team Portland has to be able to get a result against, it’s Houston.</p>
<p id="mg70XT">Lineup-wise, everyone except Motlhalo, the only listing on Houston’s injury report, is available. Kyah Simon, Ohai, and Prince are locks to start up front, while Janine Van Wyk and Amber Brooks should be in the mix at center back. Kristie Mewis and Rachel Daly will also be on the field, although where they’ll play is anybody’s guess—Mewis has played in the midfield and (poorly, for the most part) at outside back, while Daly could be in the midfield or the front line. Other than that, it’s hard to say who we’ll see. Wayward Thorn Mana Shim has started this season, not to detrimental effect, but not to any particularly great effect, either.</p>
<h2 id="V9SXdw">Players to Watch</h2>
<p id="xfiEsr">On the Dash side, keep an eye out for Prince. She’s been one of Houston’s few unqualified successes these last few weeks, putting in good work for the Dash on both the offensive and defensive sides of the field. She and Ohai can both pose real threats to the Thorns—with the huge grain of salt that Houston’s midfield will first have to figure out how to get them the ball.</p>
<p id="jxsCaX">For the Thorns, I’m still on Andressinha-watch. The Brazilian clearly hasn’t settled in with the team yet, but buckle up for when she does. Portland has never had a player quite like her—a true playmaker who can create chance after chance from the central midfield—and when she and Horan are finally finding each other on a regular basis, magic is going to happen. </p>
https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/5/9/17331852/storylines-portland-thorns-at-houston-dash-match-previewKatelyn Best2018-05-07T16:30:01-07:002018-05-07T16:30:01-07:00The Thorns Prediction Game: Reading the PTFC Leaves – Matchday 7
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<p id="iOJJuj">What an exciting match! What a disaster for our clairvoyants! A perfect score would have been 26; the best anyone did was four! Enough exclamation points already!</p>
<p id="k7K5Ak">David K Anderson takes the honors with four points for getting two goals correct including one with the correct assist. WallofEmilys takes the best wild prediction bonus for the highly rec’ed tale of a confused bird disrupting play and incensing the easily-incensed Sidney LeRoux.</p>
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<p id="xVtqUH">The midweek match sees the Thorns visiting Houston. The Dash have been hapless until this prior weekend, when they finally met up with a worse team; scoring three goals at Sky Blue and hanging on to win 3-2. This will be a hot one, with temperatures forecast in the high eighties for game time. The Dash will have their entire Press-less lineup available; perhaps Emily Menges will return for the Thorns?</p>
<p id="kVbyO2"><strong>How this works:</strong></p>
<p id="NhdzYe">Add a comment to this post. In the comment title put your predicted result, for example <strong>3-1 Thorns.</strong></p>
<p id="NFchH4">In the body of your comment, start with the goals and assists, like so:</p>
<p id="9rzMso"><strong>AMC (Klingenberg)</strong></p>
<p id="0giSos"><strong>Sinclair (Free kick)</strong></p>
<p id="NHsCGK"><strong>Horan (Unassisted)</strong></p>
<p id="mVtaQi"><strong>Ohai (PK)</strong></p>
<p id="z5STVL">Next, name the first yellow card recipient: <strong>First yellow to Sonnett </strong></p>
<p id="FLPX9J">Then reds, if any. (NOTE: no points awarded for correctly calling a red-card-free match, so take a guess.) <strong>Van Wyk gets a red for tripping Sinclair on the edge of the box.</strong></p>
<p id="HLQ3ex">And lastly, make your fun prediction:</p>
<p id="sPPlt8"><strong>Mana Shim makes a weak pass that leads to a Portland goal. After apologizing to her teammates, she gives a wink to Heath. Or does she?</strong></p>
<p id="sZ6TC8"><strong>Scoring:</strong></p>
<p id="B9tJ1e">· Correct score: 5 points</p>
<p id="egVE1j">· Correct result (draw/win/loss): 3 points</p>
<p id="qwYWyH">· Each clean sheet: 2 points</p>
<p id="ZWZW4e">· Each goal-scorer: 1 point</p>
<p id="Ss5EwH">· Each FK/PK/assist/lack of assist: 1 point</p>
<p id="i2JhjM">· Goal/assist bonus: 1 point</p>
<p id="Hn56Q1">· Player with the first yellow card of the match: 1 point</p>
<p id="kz9G2U">· Each player with a red card: 1 point (Cannot earn points for predicting 0 red cards)</p>
<p id="KiCr6q">· Most recommended/most outrageously accurate prediction: 2 points</p>
<p id="umrMRt"><strong>Some ground rules and explanations/clarifications (the fine print):</strong></p>
<p id="2QM4Bk"><em>Comments must be posted before kickoff</em>, but you can edit or amend an earlier prediction right up to the starting whistle.</p>
<p id="EqgKLN"><em>Keep your scoreline predictions realistic.</em> No crazy scores just to pad out your <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/odds">odds</a> of getting goals and assists.</p>
<p id="UrlanS"><em>The goal/assist bonus</em> is an additional point if you predict the correct scorer and assistant on the same goal, for example, you say Onumonu scores from an Horan assist and that is exactly what happens.</p>
<p id="zsoZab"><em>Be clear whether you think a goal will be unassisted, assisted, or from a PK/FK.</em> Unassisted = no assist, run of play; Assisted = player who got the assist; PK/FK = not in run of play. For the purposes of this thread, Penalty Kick and Free Kick are the same thing. No entry means unassisted.</p>
<p id="YQFxby">Have fun, tell your friends, let me know if you have any questions or if I screw up your score.</p>
https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/5/7/17325660/the-thorns-prediction-game-reading-the-ptfc-leaves-matchday-7-baonpdx-houston-dashRichard Hamje