The Thorns faced off against the OL Reign on a rainy Friday night for the first time of the 2022 regular season, settling for a scoreless draw. Over 14,000 fans showed up to support, including the Rose City Riveters, who presented a Tifo and capo’ed their first match in many months.
With the NWSL’s embarrassingly-hectic division of streaming rights between Paramount+, Twitch, CBS Sports Network, and CBS, it is nearly impossible to find the game each week if you cannot be there in person. It becomes exponentially harder to watch your favorite teams when, on one of their very few CBSSN broadcast appearances, the first twenty minutes of the game are lost in favor of showing bull-riding. This error does not fall on the Thorns’ shoulders, but it is a reflection of the way the league is treated as a lesser-product, and is incredibly frustrating for fans—especially for an intense rivalry game.
Despite having played the Reign three times already this year, Coach Rhian Wilkinson said that “there was experimentation on both sides, and you never really know what the other side will bring come regular season.” All four games have been close, with three ties and one 1-0 loss for the Thorns, which shows how competitive the two top teams are. Wilkinson described her tactics for the game as “chess-like” against the Reign’s coach Laura Harvey due to the cagey nature of the match. In what could be a top-of-the-table decideder, neither team wanted to drop points to the other. Both teams have top talent (including Megan Rapinoe, who made her obligatory appearance against Portland), and it was on full display on Friday night.
Even though the game was scoreless, the Thorns finished with 17 shots, seven of which were on target (a much better ratio than the Reign’s 17:3). Being clinical in front of goal has been an issue of consistency for the Thorns. Their previous game against the Kansas City Current was a 3-0 win where they had 19 shots. The Thorns’ defense has been organized and efficient at keeping clean sheets, and the front line needs to ensure that they get on the score sheet as well to earn three points. Wilkinson said that she is not expecting large goal differentials each game, since that is not the nature of the league, but even one goal games still earn the team three points.
Bella Bixby earned her second clean sheet of the regular season against the Reign, despite the difficult playing conditions. After the game, Bixby spoke that tempering the emotions of a rivalry game is important in order to still play the game of soccer that they are trying to play the whole season. “In games where I’m not making a lot of saves I focus on my positioning as play develops to put myself in the best position in order to make the saves,” she said. “If I’m in the right position, the save doesn’t need to be crazy.”
Friday’s game also marked Rocky Rodríguez’s 100th NWSL regular season appearance. She is the ninth international player to reach this milestone, something that she said she only dreamed of when she first came to the United States. For Rocky, she is most proud of believing in herself and the dream that she had. “I took a bet on myself,” she said, “and I feel proud of that.”
Some of her most cherished moments in her NWSL career thus far have come at Providence Park, both for and against the Thorns. “Every moment has made me appreciate soccer in a different and special way,” she said post-match.
For me, Sam Coffey is one of the most complete and well-rounded rookies that the league has ever seen. She stepped right into the shoes of the Thorns’ heralded 17 jersey and is showing the creativity and confidence of a seasoned veteran. While most of her efforts appear on the stat sheet—top recoveries, passes in the final third, and crosses among them—most of what makes Coffey special isn’t quantifiable. Her positioning and awareness on the field allow her to intercept passes and see through balls before they happen. Against the Reign she was able to nullify Sofia Huerta and Rose Lavelle’s connection, forcing the Reign to use their weaker left side. The completeness of Coffey’s attacking and defensive playing is already high, and will only grow exponentially as the season progresses. Keep an eye out as she makes her Rookie of the Year campaign.
The Thorns go again Wednesday night against reigning NWSL Champions Washington Spirit.