Portland Thorns Remain Undefeated in 2016 NWSL Season
The Portland Thorns remain the final undefeated team in the 2016 NWSL season following its two wins in Week 10 against the Chicago Red Stars and the Orlando Pride. Western New York Flash’s dominant performance over the Boston Breakers keeps the club tied for second in points along with Chicago as another week in the NWSL concludes.
Soccer News: Portland Thorns FC kicked off Week 10 in the 2016 NWSL season on Wednesday, June 22nd, with a 2-0 win over Christen Press and the Chicago Red Stars. Portland was led by a pair of first half goals from forwards Christine Sinclair and Nadia Nadim to give the Thorns the victory at home.
Orlando Pride opened its first match of the weekend versus the Houston Dash with a 1-0 victory at Camping World Stadium on Thursday. Jasmyne Spencer tallied Orlando’s lone goal in stoppage time of the second half of play off an assist from Sarah Hagen to give the home team the late victory.
Friday kicked off with the Western New York Flash hosting the Boston Breakers at Rhinos Stadium. The Flash’s dominant performance saw the home team win 7-1 with Jessica McDonald scoring a hat-trick and Lynn Williams tallying a brace for the home side. Samantha Mewis recorded two assists on the night to keep WNY tied for second in points with the Chicago Red Stars. McDonald and Williams both sit atop the scoring chart of the NWSL with each tallying five goals in the 2016 season.
The first of Saturday’s pair of matches saw FC Kansas City play out a scoreless draw versus Hope Solo and Seattle Reign FC at Swope Soccer Village. Both teams were unable to get on the scoreboard during a hard fought battle in Kansas City.
Sky Blue FC continue to climb up the table with a 2-1 victory over the Washington Spirit. Rookie Raquel Rodriguez tallied her first professional goal in the 8th minute of play off a stunner strike from outside the box. Samantha Kerr extended Sky Blue’s lead in the 64th minute with both goals assisted by Leah Galton. Washington’s Diana Matheson put the Spirit on the board in the 77th minute, but the home team was unable to rally to bring the score level.
The weekend concluded with a Sunday match between the Orlando Pride and the Portland Thorns. Portland was able to get its second victory of the week in a 2-1 rally over the hosting squad. Jasmyne Spencer scored the opening goal of the match off an assist by Alex Morgan in the 67th minute. The Thorns were far from folding with a breathtaking rally approaching in the final twenty minutes of play.
Dagny Brynjarsdottir brought the match level off an assist from Christine Sinclair with 10 minutes remaining of regulation. Lindsey Horan scored in the final minute of regulation time to stun the home crowd and put Portland on top. The Thorns recorded its second win of the week to maintain a five point lead at the top of the NWSL standings as Week 10 of the 2016 season concludes.
Photo Credit: FC Kansas City
