Stumptown Footy - Portland Thorns at Seattle Reign: Coverage HubYou are my sunshine, my only sunshine.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/31537/stumptown-fave.jpg2018-07-25T20:47:03-07:00http://www.stumptownfooty.com/rss/stream/172840632018-07-25T20:47:03-07:002018-07-25T20:47:03-07:00Thorns FC: A Hard Rain Was A-Gonna Fall
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<figcaption>Anya Button</figcaption>
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<p>The Thorns barely escape with three points from New Jersey</p> <p id="YbFuFY">Yes, I know; Thorns FC was missing four important players. Yes, I know; Sky Blue was at home. Yes, I know; it was a nasty evening of wind and pouring rain. </p>
<p id="EniKTJ">Yes, yes, I <em>know</em>; the Thorns still got all three points.</p>
<p id="gyHfvC">But sweet mother of pearl, how ugly does <a href="http://www.nwslsoccer.com/game/sky-blue-vs-portland-thorns-2018-07-21#boxscore">winning ugly </a>have to be to still count as <em>winning</em> ugly and not just plain <em>ugly</em>?</p>
<p id="0JarFr">Thorns FC nabbed two goals in the first seven minutes. The first came off a brilliant Sinclair pass, and a <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293437/hayley-raso">Hayley Raso</a> run and finish; the second was created by fierce Raso pressure that forced Sky Blue goalkeeper Caroline Casey to put her clearance directly to Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic for <em>die Schweitzerin</em> to finish.</p>
<p id="iHn1jM">Then Portland spent the next 83-plus minutes getting handed their collective heads.</p>
<p id="WrzWAD">SBFC pulled a goal back, outshot Portland 18 to 8, and put 6 shots on goal to Portland’s 3. The Jersey Girls outpassed Portland, too; 433 to 408, completing 320 passes to Portland’s 301. </p>
<p id="nSxuys">What was even more appalling is how many great chances Sky Blue earned but couldn’t finish.</p>
<p id="YHoCa2">Imani Dorsey’s great 34th minute run ended in a 1 v 0, but her shot sailed off Britt Eckerstrom’s leg and out of play. </p>
<p id="Vh1Ow1">Shea Groom hit the post with Eckerstrom beaten in the 61st, and then Savannah McCaskill got in alone on Eckerstrom a minute later but shot directly at the keeper. </p>
<p id="xhzAIX">In the 81st minute Raquel Rodriguez’ free kick hit both the left post <em>and</em> the crossbar before deflecting over the byline.</p>
<p id="eXS1XC">In the four minutes of second half injury time Sky Blue went completely mad and threw everything they had at Portland. Eckerstrom saved an Amanda Frisbie shot in the 90th minute and a Janine Beckie shot in the 92nd. Elizabeth Ball cleared a dangerous free kick in the 93rd minute, and in the 94th minute, well, things got <em>really</em> nuts.</p>
<p id="Cqbtnk">With Sky Blue throwing everyone forward, Sarah Killion found McCaskill open along the right channel. McCaskill’s low cross threaded across the front of the Thorns defense to Dorsey at the top of the penalty area. </p>
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<cite>Image by go90. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
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<p id="GizvmY">Eckerstrom blocked Dorsey’s hard shot - but no further than the feet of Beckie directly in front of goal. Beckie’s shot was, in turn, blocked by Carpenter out for a corner kick,</p>
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<cite>Image by go90. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
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<p id="d12GH9"> which Eckerstrom tipped over the crossbar. The last corner of the game fell into the scrum in front of the goal. </p>
<p id="9XBPT9">After several Sky Blue attempts were cleared the final whistle blew and everybody collapsed in a heap.</p>
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<p id="cRzgkn">Without Lindsey Horan and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293432/tobin-heath">Tobin Heath</a> in midfield, Portland was always going to have some issues gong forward. Without Emily Sonnett and AD Franch, Portland was always likely to have some issues locking down the back. <em>But this was Sky Freaking Blue!</em> Two early goals should have allowed a squad composed primarily of reserves and non-subsidized players, bolstered with internationals like <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293438/christine-sinclair">Christine Sinclair</a> and Andressinha, to comfortably hold off the freaking winners of 2018’s wooden freaking spoon.</p>
<p id="6KsLVj">Instead the Thorns barely managed to escape from New Jersey with their lives, and an undeserved three points. These images give you a pretty good idea of how ugly things got. Here’s InStat’s “key pass” diagram for Sky Blue.</p>
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<cite>Image by InStat. Used by permission.</cite>
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<p id="2oFl6p">And here’s Portland’s. Second half? Hello? Anybody home? Hello?</p>
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<cite>Image by InStat. Used by permission.</cite>
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<p id="2ZepxY">Jesus wept. If Portland plays like that in two weeks, North Carolina’s gonna fall on them like a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it. All’s I’m sayin’.</p>
<h3 id="3tALX0">Player Ratings and Comments</h3>
<p id="mwDyCL"><strong>Crnogorcevic</strong> (+2/-2 : +2/-1 : +4/-3) Crnogorcevic scored a gorgeously clinical goal in the 7th minute and then spent the rest of the match desperately trying to get service from her teammates and getting bupkis. She did run onto a gorgeous lead pass from Sinclair in the 46th minute, but unfortunately for AMC, Mandy Freeman chose that moment to make an equally terrific recovery run and cleaned AMC out. Worked hard, but just didn’t have the support she needed.</p>
<p id="ZZYMZN"><strong>Raso</strong> (+8/-1 : +5/-4 : +13/-5) Woman of the Match was a tough call for me, but I pick Raso based on that brilliant first seven minutes as well as nearly bending her shot into the upper corner in the 44th minute. Tough on defense as always, and showing that busy, hard-nosed toughness that made her so devastating late last season. Curiously, Raso got no love from InStat; her Index of 197 comes behind Sinclair’s 215, AMC’s 213, and even Ball’s 202. Sorry, InStat, I’m going to have to disagree.</p>
<p id="YlXCJz">I’d hoped that coming close to scoring last week might dig Raso’s shooting boots out of the locker, and from this match it looks like she’s found them. Tired late in the match, but her minuses are largely in attack; mishit crosses and being tackled deep in Sky Blue territory, so not as harmful as they look.</p>
<p id="09Dy0M"><strong>Sinclair</strong> (+6/-0 : +8/-2 : +14/-2) My second of three WotM candidates, Captain Sinc had a terrific match providing what service the Thorns could find, including the AMC lead pass mentioned above and a similar slide rule pass to Raso on her 44th minute near-miss. Sinclair had to do a lot of extra work in midfield without her pals Horan and Heath, and with the rest of the gang not having great evenings.</p>
<p id="7qzXFy"><strong>Andressinha</strong> (<em>69’ -</em> +3/-2 : +2/-0 : +5/-2) Andressinha didn’t exactly have a bad game, but, instead, struggled to get involved in the game at all. Had to do a lot more defending than usual, which always hampers her attacking, probably accounting for her low (76%) pass completion rate.</p>
<p id="sxBMtr"><strong>Lussi </strong>(<em>21’ -</em> +0/-1) Coach Parsons sent on Tyler Lussi to help lock down a lead. She did that, so her shift has to be considered successful. But she also didn’t do much to settle down the ratscramble in the back, or to spark anything going forward, so it’s hard to give her much more credit than for just being there.</p>
<p id="gmxWvi"><strong>Boureille</strong> (+0/-1 : +3/-7 : +4/-8) I mentioned that Boureille had a bit of an off night but, well, it was more like a <em>really</em> off night. Lost 12 of her 22 challenges. In the second half Boureille became a turnover machine; 6 of her 7 minuses are for losses of possession, including three passes directly to a blue shirt, two heavy touches, and a tackle-for-loss. When Portland needed some tough defending in midfield Boureille wasn’t having that kind of game.</p>
<p id="dkwP1y"><strong>Salem</strong> (<em>84’ -</em> +1/-5 : +2/-0 : +3/-5) Neither was Salem. I wondered what Angela Salem might do if given some minutes, and if this was any indication I’m not sure I want to see much more. Salem lost 9 of 16 challenges, including 3 of 4 to Killion, although to give her credit she did win all 4 encounters with McCaskill. Was one of the better Thorns at picking up loose balls - she recovered 11 of the Thorns’ total of 70 - but had shockingly few tackles for a defensive midfielder; only three, and of those she lost two. Not an awful night for Salem, but couldn’t do much lock the door with her team up two goals.</p>
<p id="G4mM00">Salem also began the awful defensive mess that culminated in the Groom shot-off-the-post in the 61st minute with this.</p>
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<cite>Image by go90. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
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<p id="ygT1IC">Salem blasts something - a pass? a clearance? - off Groom’s leg that ricochets back past Salem right into the open area in front of McCaskill. McCaskill thanks Groom - and, probably, Salem - nicely and turns to run at goal. Than Salem and Ball proceed to make an even bigger hash of this play.</p>
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<p id="sgHcXI">Ball at least tries to tackle McCaskill. She fails, and somehow both the ball and McCaskill get around her, but she tries. Salem, however, apparently mesmerized by the sheer awfulness of the disaster she’s created, stands like a stump as Groom motors past her on the way towards goal. </p>
<p id="F2d5gZ">McCaskill takes Emily Menges inside, Groom goes outside, McCaskill slides her a simple pass, and it’s all over except for the finish.</p>
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<cite>Image by go90. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
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<p id="aadUuH">Which bangs off the post, luckily.</p>
<p id="iKz84P">We don’t need Salem to be Horan. We’ve <em>got</em> a Horan. But we need her to be better than this.</p>
<p id="fC2boR"><strong>Weber</strong> (<em>6’ -</em> no rating)</p>
<p id="wQi2OC"><strong>Carpenter</strong> (+6/-2 : +3/-6 : +9/-8) Rough, rough night for Ellie Carpenter. Lost 11 of 17 challenges, and completed only 68% of her passes. Credit for the great block in the 94th minute, but otherwise she and Reynolds competed for InStat’s <em>Balon d’Nope</em>; Carpenter’s Index of 146 beat Reynolds’ by only a single point.</p>
<p id="urj4B1"><strong>Reynolds</strong> (<em>45’ -</em> +1/-4) Before she came off with a leg injury, Kat Reynolds didn’t cover herself with glory. Won only 1 of the 3 challenges she entered. Reynolds split the derp with Carpenter on Dorsey’s goal, since they both failed to pick up Dorsey’s run, but overall Reynolds just didn’t looked particularly convincing as a replacement for Emily Sonnett. Reynolds’ half looks worse in contrast to her replacement, Ball.</p>
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<p id="Cp8FLn"><strong>Ball</strong> (<em>45’ -</em> +8/-1) See above. I’ve been skeptical of Elizabeth Ball’s persistence on the roster without any significant on-field time to show for it, but this shift went a long way to convincing me that she might well deserve a move up the depth chart. Had a handful of errors such as the one illustrated above, but for every oops had a nifty press or a tackle such as the one that nipped the ball right off Groom’s feet in the 57th minute. I have to take back some of the hard words.</p>
<p id="6k8ZhO"><strong>Menges</strong> (+4/-5 : +3/-3 : +7/-8) I think the Emilies are symbiotes; they never seem to do as well by themselves as they do together. The Menges half of the Great Wall was decent in Jersey, but she wasn’t her usual immovable self. Had a couple of clumsy failures to cover for Reynolds, and I have to think that was because she thought Sonnett would be there - before realizing that Reynolds wasn’t. For any other center back Saturday would have been a reasonably good performance. By Menges’ standards, this was not.</p>
<p id="afXt11"><strong>Klingenberg</strong> (+4/-6 : +1/-4 : +5/-10) Klingenberg’s passing was atrocious; 7 of her 10 minuses are for lost balls or poor passes. She didn’t do all that well defending, either, losing 8 out of 14 challenges. Kling did little to create anything going forward, and the bad passing had everything to do with that. I suspect that missing her partner Heath helped cramp Kling’s attacking style. Her defending was better than much of her backline, but that’s damning with faint praise.</p>
<p id="N9XRgn"><strong>Eckerstrom</strong> (+1/-1 :+4/-1 : +5/-2) I’m honestly not sure whether Eckerstrom could have done better on the Dorsey goal. She came out late, and hard, and was completely exposed by her backline. If she was guilty of a poor play it was six minutes later, when she was very late coming off her line for a similar Dorsey run. Huge, huge saves in the second half to save the win, and as such my third-alternate WotM candidate. Faced a tough job, stepping in unexpectedly on a nasty rainy night when her teammates weren’t at their best, and did it exceptionally well.</p>
<p id="dZeAd8"><strong>Coach Parsons -</strong> The complete evaporation of any sort of attack after the first ten minutes or so was 1) a deliberate decision to try and defend the two-goal lead, or 2) resignation that the heart of the Thorns’ offensive creativity had been body-snatched by the national team, or 3) the Thorns collectively getting bored with the match and phoning the last eighty minutes in. </p>
<p id="f6abXr">I’d love to know which.</p>
<p id="9GSURh">Whatever the reason, the concession should have sparked some sort of resurgence in the last hour.</p>
<p id="wE7Sqq">Instead the Thorns gave up trying to build up from the back and started hitting a <em>lot</em> of long passes; I counted about 24.</p>
<p id="2oSXck">Of that total 9 - 37% - went through on the ground. The Thorns tried 5 low passes in the last quarter hour of the first half; 4 of them connected, including the two by Sinclair I mentioned above. Of the four attempts in the second half only one found a Portland boot.</p>
<p id="oFD3mV">The remaining 63% of all passes were high lobs; 6 attempts from the 30th to the 45th minute, 9 attempts throughout the second half. Of these only a total of 4 found their target; the other 11 went to Sky Blue, either directly or after caroming off several players. </p>
<p id="it7xhR">Sky Blue was pushing up during this time, trying to equalize, so it’s peculiar that Portland would think that the best way to find a third goal would be hoof-and-hope. Parsons has been willing to have his team play direct when there’s no good alternative, but I can’t see that as a useful tactic.</p>
<p id="ECIeas">If not by direction, then why? Panic? I didn’t see that until the last frantic minutes. Was this a wet, tired, frustrated team just banging the ball upfield? The Thorns are usually better disciplined than that.</p>
<p id="Bba19a">Whatever the reason, Route 1 didn’t work in Jersey, and I hope the coach and the team learned from that. </p>
<p id="yHuCWR">Because otherwise, ninety minutes in Cary are gonna feel like ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard.</p>
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https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/7/25/17606076/thorns-fc-a-hard-rain-was-a-gonna-fallJohn Lawes2018-07-04T20:51:53-07:002018-07-04T20:51:53-07:00Roses and Thorns: A game of inches
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<p id="yhwIML">I’m not going to defend a player for kicking another player off the ball. Such kicking is against the rules, as we all know.</p>
<p id="RMkalE">Nonetheless, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/255543/meghan-klingenberg">Meghan Klingenberg</a>’s 14th-minute foul against <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293436/allie-long">Allie Long</a> this Saturday, and the resulting discourse and possible post-hoc suspension, strikes an emotional chord that rings perfectly true with how this season has gone.</p>
<p id="w2GLGA">For a player who has, as Kling did until Saturday, three career yellow cards, to commit that particular foul, the level of frustration has to be pretty high. That frustration foreshadowed the feeling in the dying minutes of Saturday’s game, when after containing Megan Rapinoe for 88 minutes, Ellie Carpenter let one well-placed cross slip past to find an unmarked Jodie Taylor. The same thing was in the air last Wednesday, when after Portland dominated the first half but only found a single goal, Celeste Boureille—put in the unenviable position of replacing Emily Sonnett despite not being a center back—conceded a fairly borderline penalty to hand the worst team in the league a third point.</p>
<p id="1RPBNJ">There is a pall over this team right now. None of the things that are going right—and there are plenty of things going right—seem to matter in the face of the things that are going wrong. Game after game, between an ever-shifting back line, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293432/tobin-heath">Tobin Heath</a>’s on-again-off-again availability, and whatever hex seems to befall all of the team’s forwards anytime they’re facing goal, the “con” side of the scale has outweighed the “pro” side <em>just</em> enough to cost the Thorns two or three points in what nearly always should be winnable games, on paper.</p>
<p id="poPvIQ">In the interest of providing context for what feels, for a team accustomed to winning, like a dire situation, I’m going to do something a little different this week and withhold roses. What remains won’t be a list of criticisms, however, but something like a list of explanatory notes. It’s easy to look first at this team’s record, then at their world-class roster, and conclude these players simply need to do better, whatever that means. </p>
<p id="wxECqa">That’s both lazy and unproductive. Instead, I’d like to enumerate exactly how many ways Portland has been fighting an uphill battle in 2018—and why there’s still hope to turn things around.</p>
<p id="h4FQia"><strong>A thorn to the W-League semifinal.</strong></p>
<p id="bHaaBb">It was way back in February that one of the first seeds of Portland’s current troubles was sown. After opening the scoring in Sydney FC’s W-League semifinal against Newcastle with an excellent goal, Caitlin Foord suffered a <a href="https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/lisfranc-midfoot-injury/">weird foot injury</a> that sidelined her for the following five months and counting.</p>
<p id="71g4ux">Foord is not a true number nine. She probably wouldn’t have scored piles of goals if she had been playing for the Thorns this whole time. She would, however, be another threat in front of goal, one more likely to put away any given chance than any of Portland’s current group of forwards have been. She’s a Thorns-style forward: physically strong, good with her back to goal, useful not just as a target woman but also in linking up with attack-minded midfielders like <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293434/lindsey-horan">Lindsey Horan</a> and Christine Sinclair. Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic is also a forward in this mold, but has taken a lot longer to find her footing than Foord, who already has NWSL experience, probably would have.</p>
<p id="vinF1k">We knew losing Foord was a blow for Portland from the beginning, but it’s only in retrospect that just how big a loss she was has become clear.</p>
<p id="Ir3pXi"><strong>A thorn to Tobin Heath’s nagging injury problems.</strong></p>
<p id="XjECMF">Just how big a problem Heath’s frequent unavailability has been is both obvious and not. We all know that Heath, when she’s healthy, is among the most dangerous creative players in the world. We also know that Portland won a championship in 2017 essentially without her.</p>
<p id="pez2bC">This season, between a late debut, an injury suffered on national team duty, and the recent flare-up of that injury, she’s only played five full games. While the team’s actual record in those games—three wins and two losses—is somewhat agnostic as to Heath’s impact, to the eye, a Heathless Thorns lineup is a very different entity from one that includes her. She unlocks spaces that don’t exist when she’s not on the field. She finds passes that wouldn’t even occur to most players. In doing those things, she makes everyone around her look better—and when she gets a shot at an open net, she tends to find a goal.</p>
<p id="hQ9QdX">Heath is a player who’s only gotten better with age. If she’d been able to stay healthy this whole time, she would have been the engine behind Portland’s offense, and instead she’s been on the bubble. This is a huge loss.</p>
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<p id="OtkSc8"><strong>A thorn to the perpetually shifting defense.</strong></p>
<p id="5RfhOY">Despite those key absences in Portland’s attacking corps, the Thorns have still managed to find 20 goals in 15 games, putting them solidly in the middle of the pack, offensively. That’s better by one than their offensive record at this point last season. The difference, of course, is the number of goals they’ve conceded, which is also 20.</p>
<p id="hkz3We">That, too, ultimately comes down to personnel. Between injuries to both Emilies and Kling’s scheduled absence in April, the four players who remain from 2017’s championship-winning defense have only played together <em>twice. </em>Only one defender, Katherine Reynolds, has played every minute this season. Emily Menges—and AD Franch, for that matter—have each only played in six games. </p>
<p id="BAet1c">Not only does that constant rotation inevitably lead to confusion and miscommunication, even among players you’d want starting, but Portland’s defensive bench is paper-thin. Adding Ellie Carpenter to the mix has helped, but Portland is still missing a reliable backup centerback. Ostensibly, Reynolds can play there, but she’s had a drop in form this season, and had an especially difficult time playing as the left CB in Menges’s absence.</p>
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<p id="IitCa3">The Sky Blue match was a perfect illustration of just how little defensive leeway the Thorns have. With Sonnett not yet fit to play 90 minutes, Parsons had basically two options, neither of them good. He could have made a like-for-like sub with Kelli Hubly, who has committed errors leading to goals on several occasions. The only other obvious choice was what he did, which was shifting Boureille back and bringing on Salem. Conceivably, he could have also done something wild like subbing on Tyler Lussi and moving Sinclair to Boureille’s defensive midfield spot, hoping the captain would be able to control that area of the park better than Salem. In any case, there was no obvious right answer, and Boureille, playing out of position, made a mistake that cost the Thorns a win.</p>
<p id="ACgIzo"><strong>A thorn (and a rose) to the competitiveness of the league.</strong></p>
<p id="JmT5VS">2018 has probably been the most competitive season yet in what’s always the world’s most competitive league. Right now only three points separate second-place Seattle from sixth-place Portland. That’s both good and bad for Portland. On one hand, more teams than usual are competing for the three playoff spots left in North Carolina’s wake.</p>
<p id="NjHtHp">On the other hand, when we look at the Thorns’ record and throw our hands up despairingly, it’s important to keep in mind that none of the five teams in that part of the table have looked reliably better than the others. All of them have had both good and bad days; Portland has been the worst of those five by only a small margin. Looked at through that lens, the Thorns are doing pretty well given the crappy hand they’ve been dealt in terms of injuries. </p>
<p id="PCRgw6">This season has been a game of inches. If Portland’s defense hadn’t undergone so much rotation, their finishing problems wouldn’t seem quite so dire. If they’d been able to put more in the back of the net—something that either Heath or Foord being consistently available would have helped with—their poor defensive record wouldn’t be such a big deal. If any one thing out of a dozen had gone better, the mood would be different.</p>
<p id="G69Qx1">When we look ahead to Friday, a lot depends on who’s available and who isn’t. </p>
https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/7/4/17534660/roses-and-thorns-a-game-of-inchesKatelyn Best2018-07-03T17:14:26-07:002018-07-03T17:14:26-07:00Thorns FC: Shadows
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zxrsoU7jICkh1zbOmRnyzSt9Jz0=/0x0:1400x933/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60262023/SEAvPOR_6_30_18__MikeRussellFoto_49.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Mike Russell</figcaption>
</figure>
<blockquote>
<p id="4m2BDo"><small>I feel the pain of falling leaves, and stems that break in storms </small></p>
<p id="sNQ9sl"><small>and trouble and dissolution and distress</small></p>
<p id="kraPjS"><small> and then the softness of deep shadows folding, </small></p>
<p id="lDWvk9"><small>folding around my soul and spirit, around my lips...</small></p>
<p id="PZIgoP"><small>~ D.H. Lawrence</small></p>
</blockquote>
<p id="1MVQwk">After the pain of dropping points at home to Sky Blue FC, the Portland Thorns traveled to Seattle last Saturday with one overriding mission; to take points, or at least <em>a</em> point, off the Seattle Reign.</p>
<p id="0MQdVF">They couldn’t <a href="https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/6/30/17521874/portland-thorns-lose-0-1-to-seattle-reign-after-last-minute-taylor-goal">accomplish</a> <a href="http://www.nwslsoccer.com/games/info/coqoelbv92es7debkgp8rfca">that mission</a>. The Thorns failed to score—despite creating several point-blank opportunities—and then conceded an 89th-minute goal.</p>
<p id="OOhgei">What’s frustrating is that the team <em>didn’t play all that badly</em>. They didn’t play <em>well</em>, mind, but this wasn’t a collective breakdown like the second half against Sky Blue, or against North Carolina in Portland. </p>
<p id="CovZ3K">Most of the Thorns had at least a decent match against the Reign. The backline held up well over almost 90 minutes, the midfield fought Seattle to a draw. But neither the forwards, nor any <em>other</em> Thorn, could put so much as a single legitimate shot on frame.</p>
<p id="4bLmZY">Portland has been leaning heavily on <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293434/lindsey-horan">Lindsey Horan</a> and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293438/christine-sinclair">Christine Sinclair</a> for goals. In Seattle neither Thorns midfielder came close to scoring; each was held to a single, off-target shot. </p>
<p id="HlW8He">Largely because of this.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ASuCxdZFQXr-P0F9Z2E3quNQFo8=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11633835/Midfielders.jpg">
<cite>Image by InStat. Use by permission.</cite>
</figure>
<p id="t0bk4E">Portland’s goalscoring midfielders spent a large part of the match wrestling with Seattle’s midfielders and, in the case of <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293436/allie-long">Allie Long</a>, mostly losing.</p>
<p id="gimWNm">When Portland <em>did </em>get a good chance they managed to get something wrong, like managing to put <em>three</em> Thorns offside on a free kick that negated Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic’s strike,</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vFcEGJQWYSiaRz-3W0cqv5D1nCg=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11633861/AMC_offside.jpg">
<cite>Image by go90. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
</figure>
<p id="BRw1IP">or providing Hayley Raso perfect service five yards from goal, only for her to miss the easy header.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZEPb1O-lI-8_Aswaj_dsxE5dFbs=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11633867/Raso_miss_62.jpg">
<cite>Image by go90. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
</figure>
<p id="NQVfYe">We’ll talk more about the hows and whys this specific match went sideways in the player comments. But the basic facts are brutally plain: Portland needed to beat Sky Blue and couldn’t, and then needed to grind out at least a draw in Seattle, and couldn’t. </p>
<p id="YKs8D1">This coming Friday’s match against the Utah Royals will mark the end of the middle third, and the beginning of the final third, of the season. Portland now lies sixth, two places out of the playoffs, one point behind Utah, two points behind Orlando and Chicago, and three points behind Seattle. These four clubs have to be Portland’s targets; at the top of the table North Carolina is uncatchable, barring a miracle.</p>
<p id="rAOPx0">The Thorns have two more matches against wooden spoon contender Sky Blue, and one against a dire Washington. Nothing less than nine points from those three games will do. They have one more match against Houston, and to have playoff hopes they will need those three points, as well.</p>
<p id="v18ODW">That leaves five matches: this coming Friday against Utah; three matches in a row in August; against the Courage in Cary on the 5th, in Orlando on the 11th, and against Chicago here on the 18th; and the final match of the regular season against Seattle here on September 5th.</p>
<p id="2D2GQ9">Fifteen points. Five games. To defend the championship the Thorns will need to win those games, or at least win many of them and draw the rest. The questions now are how badly do the Thorns want to do that, and can they <em>play</em> well enough to do that?</p>
<p id="b1M9zV">The afternoon of the season is upon us. The shadows at the bottom of the table will soon grow long, and dark. Because the shadowy emptiness of an autumn without the playoffs is growing visible, even under the still-bright skies of July.</p>
<h3 id="NulVZA">Player Ratings and Comments</h3>
<p id="o2q1j5"><strong>Crnogorcevic</strong> (+5/-0 : +6/-3 : +11/-3) Crnogorcevic’s numbers look like she’s doing a terrific job striking on goal - until you look closer at what she it was she was doing so well. Two tackles for gain. Three solid defensive plays. Two strong runs and three good passes. One good shot.</p>
<p id="qpIUco">That doesn’t look much like a forward’s kind of match, does it?</p>
<p id="LidIKg">That’s because Crnogorcevic was primarily a winger in Seattle, and for much of the match a defensive winger. Here’s where her average challenge took place; barely on the attacking side of the midfield stripe.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FcbwezJgdMxfOcO6X7FdB0lBkgg=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11633989/Challenges.jpg">
<cite>Image by InStat. Used by permission.</cite>
</figure>
<p id="eeeYFr">And here’s her on-field actions.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_U2V0W-TTxBYPgjnmE0oNkcafWA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11633993/AMC_challenges.jpg">
<cite>Image by InStat. Used by permission.</cite>
</figure>
<p id="H5S7Wv">There’s a lot of the red dots denoting successful actions there, because Crnogorcevic <em>was</em> a hell of a good winger. Her usual success rate in challenges is in the low 20s; InStat tracks her success in Seattle as 42%, better than Raso, Klingenberg, and Sonnett. She did a lot to contain the Reign attack. Obviously her coach told her to help track back and contain Steph Catley and Rapinoe’s aggression, and she did it damn well.</p>
<p id="u2ao9C">But the price was that she could provide virtually none of her own. That hurt on a night when the Thorns desperately needed a goal. I don’t disagree with the coach’s choice, but it came with a cost.</p>
<p id="MvTY4b"><strong>Raso</strong> (<em>62’ -</em> +4/-5 : +1/-2 : +5/-7) <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293437/hayley-raso">Hayley Raso</a> had a very tough night at Memorial Stadium. Aside from getting beefed around by Andonovski’s gang she missed two sitters: a 46th-minute shot she shanked wide, and the 62nd-minute header pictured above that she biffed over the crossbar. This was only Raso’s fourth match back from injury and her first start. She has a history of starting slowly, so she retains the promise of a more productive late season. But Saturday, as the Thorns’ lone forward on a day when the Thorns desperately needed a goal, she had two terrific chances to secure at least a point, and couldn’t. If the Thorns are to do better, she <em>must</em> do better, and soon.</p>
<p id="W4wGJa"><strong>Weber</strong> (<em>28’ -</em> +2/-1) No impact.</p>
<p id="A5IuTr"><strong>Sinclair</strong> (+4/-1 : +1/-0 : +5/-1) As noted above, fought a lonely, thankless, gritty battle in midfield and just outside Seattle’s penalty area, and was largely neutralized there. Her plus total is the lowest of the season. InStat agrees; her Index of 147 is her lowest to date. As we’ve seen before, when you take Sinclair out of the match, a lot of the heart goes out of the Thorns, and Seattle managed to do just that.</p>
<p id="dtYBSZ"><strong>Andressinha</strong> (<em>73’ -</em> +5/-1 : +4/-0 : +9/-1) Referee Christina Unkel let a lot of rough play go on both sides; both clubs were guilty. But the player that suffered the worst was Andressinha, who had a solid match until she was forced to limp off after being repeatedly fouled (and pushed and shoved around short of actual fouling, as well). </p>
<p id="WLVuQ9">Andonovski’s Kansas City clubs were notorious for their poor disciplinary record, and it’s plain that he’s brought his philosophy to the Reign. Thorns FC plays a physical game, too, but Andonovski’s people take it up a notch too far, in my admittedly biased opinion. Last Saturday it was Andressinha that was punished for Unkel’s laxity.</p>
<p id="SVoqoY">Before the ambulance arrived, though, Andressinha did some clever passing and showed some promising creativity. This was the Brazilian’s third good match in a row, and Portland will need her to do the same against Utah this Friday.</p>
<p id="NCaZcr"><strong>Purce</strong> (<em>17’ -</em> +0/-1) No impact.</p>
<p id="zASjqM"><strong>Boureille</strong> (+6/-4 : +2/-3 : +8/-7) Celeste Boureille was bitten by a ballwatching bug before the match, which was too bad because otherwise she didn’t play that poorly.</p>
<p id="OVa6T9">However, between that generally good defending Boureille screwed up a few times, such as when she was mesmerized by the ball in the 30th minute and failed to pick up a Beverly Yanez run. Luckily for her, and the Thorns, Yanez’s shot went wide. Boureille lost track of Yanez again in the 39th minute, but her powerful header fortunately landed right in A.D. Franch’s lap. </p>
<p id="DEDbbN">Boureille’s final episode cost the team a goal, though, when she forgot where Jodie Taylor was as she stared at Megan Rapinoe as she sliced the low cross into the six-yard box.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pnJ1wSnZD34OxXcJxzSklWEq8Uo=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11634081/Taylor_goal_02.jpg">
<cite>Image by go90. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
</figure>
<p id="4ITBrx">Everybody else is pretty much where they should be; Sonnet is ball-side, goal-side of Yanez, and Klingenberg is at least ball-side of Jasmyne Spencer. Horan and AMC are arriving late, Ellie Carpenter is facing up Rapinoe, and Kat Reynolds, well, she’s kind of screening Franch, but that’s not really the problem. It’s Taylor with an acre of space and an eon of time.</p>
<p id="WcVkEH">Boureille—who is the one player not marking anyone and who <em>should</em> be tracking Taylor—is too far forward to intercept the pass, and too far away from Taylor to tackle her once it gets to her. </p>
<p id="vgxcJx">In the screenshot I’ve moved her to where she should have been, but all it took was some great Rapinoe service and a moment’s inattention from Boureille, and three points went down the drain.</p>
<p id="hmg0uD"><strong>Horan</strong> (+3/-3 : +7/-0 : +10/-3) As with Sinclair, a muted night from Horan. I know I harp on the whole <em>“forwards, score!”</em> thing, but with the strikers not scoring a huge load falls on Horan, and in a game like this she’s just overloaded. Worked hard, did what she could, but had too much to handle in midfield to get anything from the run of play, and was well-marked on the setpieces.</p>
<p id="UGQbqT"><strong>Carpenter</strong> (+4/-3 : +3/-4 : +7/-7) In the Civil War, infantrymen referred to combat as “seeing the elephant.” I think that fullbacks should call having to defend against a viciously effective attacker “seeing the Rapinoe,” because the Seattle maestra only lacks heavy artillery to lend tone to the carnage she brings.</p>
<p id="vlRsjm">That said, one thing I liked seeing from Carpenter in this match was that she <em>learns, </em>and learns quickly. Here’s what happened the first time Rapinoe ran directly at her.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bEfjjz51BnRIBXtIB-jfQ02aqyY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11634145/Rapinoe_attack_01.jpg">
<cite>Image by go90. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
</figure>
<p id="tYvXQ3">Rapinoe cut back, turned inside, shifted the ball onto her strong right foot, and fired a dangerous shot that Franch had to rise strongly to save.</p>
<p id="Jgpecd">Here’s the <em>next</em> time Rapinoe came at Carpenter.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/q0fhAM3AAe9TTBMYGvRBK0ygIDY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11634149/Rapinoe_attack_02.jpg">
<cite>Image by InStat. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
</figure>
<p id="DW7djd">See? Carpenter keeps Rapinoe outside, forces her to use her left foot, and the result was a weak shot well over the goal. That’s a smart young player. </p>
<p id="6K7MQv">Of course, nobody gets the better of Rapinoe all game, at least not most of the time. Carpenter did good work for most of the match until she tired. I tracked their challenges. In the first 70 minutes Carpenter and Rapinoe tangled seven times. Carpenter won—either outright won by tackling away, or forcing Rapinoe to pass out of trouble, or to track backwards—four of the seven.</p>
<p id="3sBE4O">After the 70th minute, though, Seattle started hammering on her. They tangled another seven times, and Rapinoe won six of seven, including the assist on the goal. </p>
<p id="bxuETX">Still, a pretty good showing from Carpenter. Any eighteen-year-old who can adjust to Rapinoe that quickly has a bright future.</p>
<p id="jArkfs"><strong>Reynolds</strong> (+2/-2 : +4/-1 : +6/-3) Solid, unspectacular match from Kat Reynolds. She had a couple of shaky moments but nothing appalling, and did a decent job patrolling her penalty area. Didn’t have much to do, since the Seattle attacks were largely coming down the flanks. Did have a horrific giveaway to Long in the ninth minute and was lucky that Long’s service ended up being headed by Yanez into Franch’s hands, but other than that did fine.</p>
<p id="9XPJWz"><strong>Sonnett</strong> (+1/-1 : +3/-2 : +4/-3) As with Reynolds, had a relatively quiet match, and for the same reasons. Sonnett provided a steady presence in the backline, and did what she needed to when she needed to, so by that metric had a good match.</p>
<p id="HnpHFU"><strong>Klingenberg</strong> (+7/-3 : +4/-2 : +11/-5) My pick for Woman of the Match; solid in defense and fruitful providing service going forward. Not her fault that her targets couldn’t put the biscuit in the basket. Huge clearance in the 61st minute when a bounding ball fell to Taylor with room to turn and Kling stuck a boot in to send the ball safely upfield.</p>
<p id="2WVVPO">Klingenberg wasn’t shy about getting stuck in to the Reign, and she had two occasions where she might have gone too far. The second, a collision with Elizabeth Addo in the 75th minute, was so poorly shown in the broadcast I’m not sure what happened. But the first was right in front of God and everybody.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/o6n-Hb-8TM742pQ5pb_x17D2kyM=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11634231/Kling_kick.jpg">
<cite>Image by go90. Licensed under Fair Use.</cite>
</figure>
<p id="UzUqXV">Kling got a yellow on the field, but Long and the Reign were <em>really</em> chapped about that kick to the shin as well as Kling’s other aggressive play all evening. I have a suspicion that they might complain to the Disciplinary Committee about it. We’ll have to see.</p>
<p id="NSinNa"><strong>Update 7/5:</strong> The DC seems to agree with the Vlatkoites - it handed Klingenberg a <a href="https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/7/5/17537574/meghan-klingenberg-suspended-for-one-game-thorns">one game suspension</a> to be served this Friday. In a season where the Thorns seem to find new ways to bite themselves in the backside this is just one more chomp, but, sheesh. Sometimes I think if it wasn’t for bad luck the 2018 Thorns would have no luck at all.</p>
<p id="331VO1"><strong>Franch</strong> (+2/-0 : +1/-0 : +3/-0) Simply put, Franch kept the Thorns in the match for 89 minutes. Brilliant saves in the 17th, 39th, and 87th minutes. Not at fault on the concession, a rocket off Taylor’s leg from pointblank range.</p>
<p id="SUJcMA"><strong>Coach Parsons -</strong> Once again, Parsons had to struggle with a depleted roster. Once again, he could field the best XI he could find but couldn’t run out on the field and help his forwards (or any of his other players) score. Seattle had a weapon—Rapinoe—he had no perfect defense for. He and the Thorns stymied her for damn near an hour and a half, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Close doesn’t get you three points. Hard to fault him for that, but that’s why soccer is a cruel game; you don’t get anything for trying hard and falling short.</p>
<p id="p9WKU4">Now Parsons and the Thorns have to shake this loss—hell, have to shake off the whole week that saw one point from two matches, one of those against the Doormat of the NWSL—and face the Utah Royals, a team that just stepped on that doormat and stomped all three points out of it.</p>
<p id="J7e2pX">The next several weeks, beginning with this coming Friday, may well determine whether the Thorns have a place in the playoff sun, or will be standing in the shadows come September.</p>
https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/7/3/17529136/thorns-fc-shadowsJohn Lawes2018-06-29T17:57:46-07:002018-06-29T17:57:46-07:00Storylines: Thorns at Seattle Reign
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IWNBWRn27m04kN-fuCaLrX35IfQ=/667x0:3334x1778/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60227749/Derby_Day___Portland_Thorns_Low_Res.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>(can you find the hidden taco?) | Nikita Taparia</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="gnsM1P">Here we go again.</p>
<p id="J1YCQ3">The Thorns (5-4-5) have their second game in four days and their third in eight days tomorrow night in Seattle (5-3-5). Both teams are coming off draws—Seattle nil-nil against the newly Christen Press-ified Utah, and Portland a depressing 1-1 against a Sky Blue side that now has three whole points on the season. Both teams are sitting on 20 points, although the Reign have a game in hand; Seattle is ahead of Portland in third place on head-to-head. Both teams have yet to really prove they might be title contenders.</p>
<p id="OOWpPs">In short, what’s always a hard-fought game is likely to be extra contentious.</p>
<h2 id="gIdwkB">Projected Starting XI</h2>
<p id="ufdJ69">Don’t panic, but Emily Menges is listed as out on the injury report with “hip pain.” How related that is or is not to the stress fracture that kept her out from the beginning of the season is unknown. That means we’re probably looking at a back line of <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/255543/meghan-klingenberg">Meghan Klingenberg</a>, Emily Sonnett, Katherine Reynolds, and Ellie Carpenter in front of AD Franch in goal. Hypothetically, Mark Parsons could also go with a back five with Celeste Boureille or Kelli Hubly as the third CB, but based on those players’ mistakes in the back line in recent games, I’d expect him to opt for more numbers in the center of the pitch instead.</p>
<p id="08tZEG"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293432/tobin-heath">Tobin Heath</a> and Midge Purce are both questionable, and I’m hoping, especially in Heath’s case, that it’s a fine-but-we’re-keeping-our-cards-close-to-the-chest kind of questionable. (Did I mention not to panic? I’m trying to convince myself, honestly.)</p>
<p id="otHkOo">If that’s the case, we’re looking at Andressinha, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293434/lindsey-horan">Lindsey Horan</a>, and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293438/christine-sinclair">Christine Sinclair</a> in the central midfield, with Heath drifting inside from the left wing. Hopefully, Purce will be available and will play on the right wing, but if not, we’ll probably see Mallory Weber there. Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic should start at center forward.</p>
<h2 id="PxXwgx">Scouting the Opposition</h2>
<p id="xaE0fn">As discussed above, Seattle are in a pretty similar place to Portland, results-wise—and the Thorns can no longer gloat about the fact that the Reign have already played their three matches against Sky Blue, the league punching bag who just drew Portland at home (sigh). </p>
<p id="LSI6MZ">The glaring difference is that, in an embarrassment to Portland’s famed 2016 and 2017 defenses, Seattle currently have the best defensive record in the league, while Portland have the third-worst. Of the 12 goals Seattle has conceded this season, four of those were last weekend against North Carolina. Midweek, they regrouped against Utah and managed to keep Press and company off the board. Seattle was on the back foot for most of that game, but still kept the clean sheet, mostly confining Utah to chances from distance—a few of which were pretty decent but stayed out thanks to good work by former Thorn Michelle Betos.</p>
<p id="wfJGLD">Goals, on the other hand, have been in short supply for the Reign. With 14 on the season, they have a worse offensive record than the seventh-place <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/teams/houston-dash">Houston Dash</a>. In part, that’s because former Thorn Jodie Taylor hasn’t been doing her job at striker, having notched just three goals this season. Megan Rapinoe has five, four of which were against Sky Blue and one was against the second-to-last-place <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/teams/washington-spirit">Washington Spirit</a>. Katie Bowen and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/277494/diana-matheson">Diana Matheson</a> were able to contain her famed crosses pretty effectively on Wednesday; she generally only got loose on transition, when somebody booted one up to her from deep in the midfield.</p>
<h2 id="4vr2QW">Gameplan</h2>
<p id="mvJ2k3">To state the obvious, Portland has to keep Seattle from scoring. With Franch in goal, they have a better chance of doing that than they did the last time these two teams met. With that said, the back line still isn’t at 100% health. With <em>that</em> said, hopefully Sonnett can go 90 minutes after resting for a half on Wednesday. Carpenter at right back has the pace and brains to contain Rapinoe—one feels better about this defense, in other words, than the one that includes Hubly.</p>
<p id="kjWpgZ">In a boon for the Thorns, Jess Fishlock is out for the game. Horan and Sinclair should be able to control the midfield with the personnel Seattle is left with—<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293436/allie-long">Allie Long</a>, Rumi Utsugi, and probably either Bev Yanez or Elizabeth Addo. Of course, Utah controlled the midfield for long stretches on Wednesday and still wasn’t able to put one away, even with Press, who is a far better finisher than any of Portland’s forwards. North Carolina are, of course, North Carolina, but they had success against the Reign, as they so often do, by going direct and Portland should take a page out of their book. With Seattle also on a short rest, plus a plane trip, it’s not hard to imagine <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/NWSL/players/293437/hayley-raso">Hayley Raso</a> coming off the bench and sprinting onto the end of service by Kling or Andressinha.</p>
<p id="OlUCl3">Off the pitch, more than 400 Thorns fans will be making the trip north, the most who have ever traveled to Memorial for a Thorns game, and enough to easily drown out noise from the home crowd. If you’re not on one of the buses, drive safe, and be sure to watch your capo to stay together!</p>
https://www.stumptownfooty.com/2018/6/29/17519218/storylines-thorns-at-seattle-reignKatelyn Best2018-06-28T19:30:02-07:002018-06-28T19:30:02-07:00The Thorns Prediction Game: Reading the PTFC Leaves – Matchday 15
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/f8KiXBLopNfqYSweXrGTiWseXmM=/0x180:4294x3043/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60209533/PORvSEA_20180505132421_7340_001.1530199532.jpg" />
<figcaption>Nikita Taparia</figcaption>
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<p id="8op8VM">It was a lovely night for soccer and Pride on Wednesday and the crowd was anticipating a rout versus lowly Sky Blue FC. It was not to be. For our players, this was not a profitable match, with WallofEmilys the big winner, scoring four of a possible seventeen points with a goal, assist and rec’d prediction of the Thorns helping out their Timbers brethren.</p>
<p id="siQGWd">Like the NWSL, we see a crowd at the top of our table. Unlike the NWSL table, nobody is running away with the top spot – half the field is still within striking distance of the title and the other half for the mid-place prize.</p>
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<p id="OPQ3kb">Now we hop on the bus and head north. The Reign also failed to take maximum points in Utah, priming Saturday’s match with playoff implications. A win improves the chances for a home playoff match, a loss puts a big dent in those hopes, a draw changes nothing. The Thorns generally don’t prosper in Seattle. However, the Curse of Memorial is broken, and the Reign are not as scary as in past years.</p>
<p id="CYWYOV"><strong>How this works:</strong></p>
<p id="QQrcnk">Add a comment to this post. In the comment title put your predicted result, for example <strong>3-1 Thorns.</strong></p>
<p id="P5HTdY">In the body of your comment, start with the goals and assists, like so:</p>
<p id="YRujGy"><strong>Lussi (Klingenberg)</strong></p>
<p id="si9UBr"><strong>Horan (Free kick)</strong></p>
<p id="MXaEci"><strong>Weber (Unassisted)</strong></p>
<p id="BVkb4G"><strong>Rapinoe (PK)</strong></p>
<p id="YrrT2P">Next, name the first yellow card recipient: <strong>First yellow to Sonnett </strong></p>
<p id="DFjiu7">Then reds, if any. (NOTE: no points awarded for correctly calling a red-card-free match, so take a guess.) <strong>Fishlock gets a red for tripping Lussi on the edge of the box.</strong></p>
<p id="sNo0xm">And lastly, make your fun prediction:</p>
<p id="TQCtRp"><strong>Jess Fishlock tries to wind up the Riveters with hand gestures, but they just ignore her entirely. She pouts.</strong></p>
<p id="i5JmiC"><strong>Scoring:</strong></p>
<p id="encxfO">· Correct score: 5 points</p>
<p id="eQOL9M">· Correct result (draw/win/loss): 3 points</p>
<p id="v75gh7">· Each clean sheet: 2 points</p>
<p id="ClpwOS">· Each goal-scorer: 1 point</p>
<p id="4Xl0KG">· Each FK/PK/assist/lack of assist: 1 point</p>
<p id="1JEMl1">· Goal/assist bonus: 1 point</p>
<p id="ivYng8">· Player with the first yellow card of the match: 1 point</p>
<p id="YCsPdA">· Each player with a red card: 1 point (Cannot earn points for predicting 0 red cards)</p>
<p id="utF6Ji">· Most recommended/most outrageously accurate prediction: 2 points</p>
<p id="1mDwNk"><strong>Some ground rules and explanations/clarifications (the fine print):</strong></p>
<p id="i1UEcw"><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="tRpVAU"><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="lYl2RJ"><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="T3JtVq"><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="vbYYbM">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/2018/6/28/17514032/the-thorns-prediction-game-reading-the-ptfc-leaves-matchday-15-nwsl-baonpdxRichard Hamje