Tag: Preseason

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Soccer Thorns

Preseason Takeaways: Thorns 4, USWNT U-23 1

Photo by Nikita Taparia

The Thorns met with the USWNT U-23 team Wednesday night and came away with a sound 4-1 victory. Still, the game was not as comprehensively dominant for the Thorns as the scoreline would suggest.

The U-23s got on the scoreboard early, in the 13th minute, with a chipped ball from inside the box that sailed into the side netting. The Thorns wouldn’t score their first goal until nearly an hour later.

Portland’s starting XI was heavily rotated from Sunday night’s game against Racing Louisville:

Hogan

Nally- Menges – Provenzano – Beckman

Sinc – Porter – Rodríguez

Beckie – Bedfort – Vasconcelos

Here is a quick breakdown of how these starters played:

Players I want to see more from

Hannah Betfort: Betfort is the definition of a player who doesn’t quit. She is often taken to the ground and is unlucky to not be rewarded with more fouls. However, for the amount of chances she had on Wednesday alone, she should have had more positive output. There was one moment in particular when a loose ball made its way to her feet within the six yard box, the U-23 keeper caught off her line. Instead of tapping it in, Betfort ended up completely skying the ball, unable to tie the score. Before Betfort can compete for a starting spot in the Thorns, her scoring and shooting needs to be much more consistent. 

Michelle Vasconcelos: Vasconcelos was one of the only players to start both preseason games so far. Unfortunately, neither performance has been that convincing. She played on the left wing on Wednesday, but was often caught losing the physical battles to the U-23 defenders, getting the ball poked out from under her, or unable to round the corner to get off a cross. With the forward pool so deep for the Thorns, I don’t foresee Vasconcelos getting many minutes, but it does seem that Mike Norris rates her and is giving her plenty of opportunities to show her skills.  

Christine Sinclair: Sinc is an absolute legend of the game; that I cannot deny. However, watching her play, especially against a team of entirely college students, her age and speed are on full display. While her soccer IQ is still undoubtedly high, her body seems to be moving much slower than her mind is. Her first touch was often off, and she played the ball backwards more frequently than she did forwards—a problematic distinction for an attacking midfielder. She had a shot or two on goal, but both were tame, rolling straight at the U-23 keeper. Unless Sinc can show she can keep up with the pace of the game, she is much more adept in a role of mentor and supersub for the Thorns. 

Players I thought played well

Izzy D’Aquilla: The newly-signed Thorn was subbed on in the 20th minute after Janine Beckie was injured. From the moment she stepped on the field, which is always more difficult when you’re coming on at the last minute to replace an injured player, D’Aquilla showed her pace and nose for goal. In only her second preseason game, she has shown her quality and her readiness for the league. With Beckie’s devastating injury, I would expect her to immediately get deserved minutes. 

Natalie Beckman and Gabby Provenzano: The two 2022 draft picks have been showing consistent growth as they begin their second year in the NWSL. The two played next to one another on the left side of the backline and had good chemistry and communication. Provenzano has the necessary calm presence of a veteran center back, and Beckman’s high press on the wing caused frequent turnovers and created dangerous opportunities in the box. 

Taylor Porter: Porter is starting her first full year under contract with the Thorns strong. She is a solid back-up No. 6, and in the second half, was able to show her talents alongside Sam Coffey in a double-pivot. Against the U-23d, she was able to dictate play forward toward Rocky Rodríguez and D’Aquilla. I would like to see her get minutes with the likes of Sophia Smith and Morgan Weaver up front in the next games. 

The goals

One of the largest takeaways from the night was that the Thorns’ starting XI, largely comprised of players who got limited minutes in the 2022 championship campaign, are just as strong as the super team of the best college players in the country. In a year where depth will be paramount to success, seeing all the Thorns players put on a strong showing provides reasons for optimism. However, it must be said that all four of the Thorns’ goals came after their starting players from the championship game took the pitch. Sam Coffey and Natalia Kuikka came on in the 64th minute, while Smith, Weaver, Crystal Dunn, and Reyna Reyes came on in the 72nd minute. 

Portland’s first goal was a pinpoint cross from Dunn to D’Aquilla, which was deftly redirected away from the keeper. The second, third, and fourth goals—all of which were scored after the 84th minute—came from recycled balls that the veterans preyed upon. Smith, Weaver, and Hina Sugita, respectively, were able to settle rebounded balls and calmly slot them home. To me, this is one of the most positive takeaways of the night, as it showed a linear improvement from last season, where the team often almost immediately lost set pieces and recycled balls. 

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Soccer Thorns

My Dream Starting XI

With very few offseason moves from the Thorns after their championship winning 2022 season, creating The best Starting XI for the 2023 season is rather easy. 

My ideal starting XI is a 3-2-3-2. Early in the 2022 season, Portland deployed a three-back, and it was effective. Having traded Yazmeen Ryan, the Thorns’ strongest pure-winger, I think it would be to the Thorns’ tactical advantage to use their outside backs as true wingbacks, playing the length of the field to send in crosses and dropping back provide cover. This will free up the attacking midfield and forward four players to creatively interchange through the center of the park.

Here’s why that works on a player-by-player basis.

Bella Bixby, goalkeeper
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

You can’t go wrong putting any Nadine Angerer-trained keeper in goal, but Bixby has earned her spot as the Thorns’ first-choice keeper. In her 22 games last season, she had 10 clean sheets and recorded a 75% save record. She conceded only 21 goals, making her tied for least number conceded for players with over 22 games played. She has a commanding presence in goal and ensures that her backline is in the right place to make her job easier. One of the skills that sets her apart from other keepers is her ability to not only save the ball, but catch it so that there are no easy rebounds for the opposition. Her calm demeanor gives a sense of security for fans and players alike.

Becky Sauerbrunn, center back
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Despite her years of experience, Sauerbrunn has shown no signs of slowing down. Her ability to pinpoint sliding tackles and deftly clear the ball are intangible skills that have not diminished. In the 2022 season, Sauerbrunn had an 88.1% passing success rate, an incredibly high number for someone who plays under so much direct pressure from NWSL forwards. Of those passes, 46% were forward and only 5% backwards. Having Sauerbrunn has the stalwart of the backline will help to ensure that play will build from the back accurately and quickly. And you cannot forget that she scores goals as well, having a 50% conversion rate. She truly does it all. 

Kelli Hubly, center back
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

The Thorns’ 2022 Ironwoman has more than earned her spot in the starting lineup since joining the team as a discovery player in 2018. She had 110 clearances and 35 interceptions last season and won nearly 60% of her duels. Hubly is a gritty player who consistently puts her body on the line in order to protect her goal. Working alongside Sauerbrunn at the back has increased her ball awareness exponentially, and when Sauerbrunn is absent for the Women’s World Cup, Hubly will be an excellent leader of the backline. Plus, her TikTok skills have increased her swagger tenfold—and, hopefully, that will translate to the pitch this season.

Meaghan Nally, center back
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Nally is one player that I really wish had gotten more game time than she did last season. She started the season running, with both Menges and Sauerbrunn out with injury, and she handled the starting role with grace and confidence. In her 12 games played for the Thorns in 2022, she had 11 starts, recording an 82% passing success rate and winning 75% of her duels. Having only played 19 minutes in her rookie season the year prior, Nally showed how much she is capable of growing during an offseason—and hasn’t even hit her ceiling yet. With the opportunity to get more time at the back, she has the ability to become a pillar of the Thorns’ backline, much like Hubly. 

Meghan Klingenberg, left wing back
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Reyna Reyes will be hot on Kling’s heels to win that LWB starting position, but for now, Kling has put in the time and the heart to show that she deserves her place. She made 17 appearances (16 starts) for the Thorns last season, controlling the left zone of the field. While technically a defender, Kling’s biggest asset is her ability to win the ball and carry it up the field to send off a cross. Without Ryan on the left this season, the chance creator role will fall more heavily on Kling’s shoulders. She had 29 open play crosses last season, 25 of which were key passes. If she can keep those numbers up, she will be threatening in her final few seasons as a Thorn. 

Natalia Kuikka, right wing back
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Kuikka has been one of the Thorns’ best international signings in recent years. While her passing rate sits at a 75% accuracy, her invaluable nature comes from the tenacity of her tackles. She is 10th in the league for her number of progressive carries and eighth in the league for successful tackles of dribblers. As the Thorns’ right wing back she consistently is able to get into the attacking third and play a dangerous ball in. Kuikka also has the ability to track back and stop attackers mid-stride. The ability to be deadly on both sides of the ball will make her a strong asset for the Thorns yet again. 

Sam Coffey, defensive midfield
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Coffey had one of the strongest debut seasons in the NWSL, ever. She transitioned to defensive midfield—a role that she had not played before—with ease and learned on the job extremely quickly. She ranked second in the league for passes into the final third with 113 and fourth overall for progressive passes with 121. Her confidence on the ball is incredibly high, as is her IQ of the game itself. Only 24 and coming off her rookie year, Coffey’s ceiling is sky-high, and her value to the team will continue to grow exponentially. Despite her being more than deserving of a spot on the USWNT’s WWC roster, I would not complain if she stayed with the Thorns for an entire season.

Hina Sugita, center midfield
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

It took Sugita a few games to adjust to the speed and tempo of the NWSL, as well as its physicality. She started 20 of the 23 games she appeared in in her first season with the Thorns, scoring five goals and providing four assists. Sugita’s ability to turn out of dangerous situations is uncanny, and her left foot has some killer power behind it. Giving her the ability to play interchangeably up the middle with Sophia Smith and Morgan Weaver will give her the freedom to both drive the ball forward herself and make dangerous runs to the top of the box, where she has proven to be a threat. Hina Hive sound off!!! 

Rocky Rodríguez, center midfield
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Rodríguez has quietly been one of the most consistent Thorns for years, and I think that last year was when people began to realize that. Not only is she regularly scoring bangers, like in the semi-final game against San Diego, but she is one of the best progressive dribblers in the league. Her control in the middle of the field is second to none, and with her impressive performances with Costa Rica over the offseason, she is coming into the 2023 season in incredible form. 

Morgan Weaver, forward

In some ways, it has felt as though Weaver has been living in Smith’s shadow since she joined the Thorns. Being picked second overall behind her and playing the same position, it is easy to see why the two players are constantly being compared. But in 2022, Weaver showed how different of a player she is from Smith. She had the second most goals on the team last season with seven, showing that her accuracy and consistency in front of net—something that she has been criticized for and is actively working on—is rapidly improving. Weaver has an engine that never quits and some of the best celebrations on the team. If her finishing numbers continue to increase, as they have every other season, she will be a force to be reckoned with. 

Sophia Smith, Forward
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Do I really need to elaborate here? Smith is the best soccer player in the world, currently. Of course she will start for the Thorns. 

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Soccer Thorns

Quotes and Notes from the Spring Fling (Thorns Preseason Tournament)

Photo by Nikita Taparia

The Thorns have their first open-door match of 2022 on the books in the form of a 0–0 draw against OL “ol’ Reign” Reign. Rhian Wilkinson’s first game! The Thorns wore green! Let’s talk about it.

With Lindsey Horan gone, the Thorns have no choice but to come up with a completely new system. I’m not sure most fans are really prepared for what losing Horan means, which may be partially my fault and that of my media peers, since I don’t know that we’ve collectively emphasized enough how pivotal she was in the Mark Parsons era. So, to be clear: having Lindsey Horan is like having an extra player on the field. She’s a living cheat code. She was such a presence for the Thorns that she was almost easy to take for granted, like the sun.

It’s not that Portland never got results without her—the clashing NWSL and international schedules meant they had to do that plenty of times when she was on the roster—but I get the sense that the collective awareness of her importance was almost unconscious. Her contribution to the team wasn’t scoring worldies as much as it was that she’d show up and everything on the field would suddenly work better. The discourse when she was available wasn’t “Horan looked good today,” it was, “the Thorns looked good today.”

All this is preamble to the fact that Wilkinson is doing something very, very different with this team. The squad lined up like this:

Diagram showing the Thorns' formation, a 3-5-2

In a word, the game was unspectacular. Whenever they lost possession, the Thorns would drop straight into a neat block; Morgan Weaver and Hannah Betfort would pester a center back or two to keep things moving, but the counterpress of the Parsons days is long gone. Natalia Kuikka and, to a lesser extent, Meghan Klingenberg, played pretty defensively, spending more time cutting off Reign attacks up the wing than looking to go forward themselves. Sam Coffey sat in a sharply defined No. 6 role, using none of the creativity she displayed at Penn State. Postgame, Rhian Wilkinson had this to say about using Coffey in that role:

Sam, even when I first brought her in, her calmness on the ball—she’s got ice in her veins. She’s been like that since day one, just like, “give me the ball.”… In that way, I really believe in midfield strength and connection. And I like her at the six, I think that she really comes alive, and she connects our team. We have a number of players that can do it. But I wanted to put her in the fire really, and see how she did. And I think she gave you all a glimpse of the talent that she has.

Thorns attacks were sparse, with a handful of chances in the first 15 minutes, then another handful in the last half hour. An early goal by Betfort—a header from close range off a corner by Weaver—was waved off for a foul. Most of the chances came from exploiting the spaces left open by Seattle’s press, with Kelli Hubly and Becky Sauerbrunn both connecting directly with the forwards a few times.

Betfort is listed as a defender, but Wilkinson says she sees her as a striker, and had this to say when comparing her with the other forwards on the roster:

Morgan and Sophia Smith are pure athletes. They’re incredible with their feet, technically, as well. Hannah has also got a lot of speed… the other two have a little bit more quickness, she has pure speed. And she’s very obviously a big strong woman who holds the ball out well for us. And she’s got clean feet for someone who is sort of one of those air quotes “old-school” kind of nines, as holding the ball up, she’s got really tidy feet. And I think she likes to play in a different way, where the others pull the line back, she often comes off the front.

The Thorns haven’t had a good old-fashioned shit-kicking nine in some time, and I enjoyed watching Betfort in that role.

In the midfield, Portland often looked outmatched. They were visibly frustrated with the Reign’s press, and Rocky Rodríguez and Yazmeen Ryan struggled to get past Quinn and Jess Fishlock. They’re both excellent creative players, but with a No. 6 who isn’t tasked with contributing much to the attack, no No. 10, and two forwards who tend to stay forward more than drop back to connect play, they couldn’t build much out of the center of the field.

But what we saw last night is not Portland’s best XI. Hina Sugita got about ten minutes in the No. 8 at the end of the match, about which all I have to say is: everybody new to the NWSL has to get that initiatory “why are they like this” moment out of the way. Smith came on in the 74th minute looking sharp as hell and immediately improved the connection between the midfield and the forward line. Also, Crystal Dunn will not be pregnant forever.

The defense was last night’s strong point. Hubly, Sauerbrunn, and Emily Menges are an outstanding central trio and contained just about everything the Reign threw at them. Whatever hiccups happen with the front five as the season gets rolling, Portland will be able to lean on that defensive foundation for results.

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Soccer Thorns

AD Franch is Almost, Finally, Back

Photo by Nikita Taparia
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Soccer Timbers

Portland Timbers Preview Review

Diego Chara carries the ball forward during the Portland Timbers' 2-1 preseason win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. Photo by Kris Lattimore
After six matches—some of which we saw and some of which we did not—we are starting to get an idea as to who the 2020 Portland Timbers are and who they could be.

On the road against Costa Rican sides Deportivo Saprissa, Municipal Grecia, and C.S. Herediano the Timbers went 3-0 with a combined score of 8-2. Despite four months of hungering for soccer from Timbers fans, little information and even less video from these matches is available to the public. The opposition lineups from those three games against a freshly convened Timbers side remain unknown, but both Saprissa and Herediano are known quantities in CONCACAF: Saprissa took the Montreal Impact to penalties in their Champions’ League matchup earlier this week before falling to the Canadians and Herediano are the 2019 Liga FPD Apertura Champions.

At home against MLS opposition, however, it was a different story. Timbers fans were able to see their side in person at Providence Park during the preseason for the first time in three years, but what they did see was clearly not the finished product.

After the Timbers beat the Vancouver Whitecaps on a penalty kick and a hotly debated ball that was either a lucky cross or an absurd shot (depending on how much faith you have in the killer instinct of Andy Polo), things quickly went downhill. In the midweek match against Minnesota United FC, the Timbers reserves found themselves outmatched as they tried to play through a stout Loons defense and were repeatedly victimized on the counter. The following Saturday, the Timbers went up on the New England Revolution before the Eastern Conference side were able to storm back into the match with yet more counter-attacking play that put the Timbers on the back foot for much of the match and result in their second loss of the preseason.

The back to back defeats at the hands of Minnesota and New England, sides looking to catch their opponents off-balance and exploit any opening in their defensive schemes, clearly revealed several areas of weakness for the Timbers as they look to transition to a more proactive defensive scheme.

Sebastian Blanco holds the ball during the Timbers’ 2020 preseason tournament. Photo by Kris Lattimore.
But before exploring those weaknesses, let us take a look at just what it is that the Timbers were doing in the attack during the preseason.

With an attacking corps or Diego Valeri, Sebastian Blanco, Yimmi Chara, and Felipe Mora supported by Diego Chara and Cristhian Paredes out of the midfield as well as Jorge Villafaña and Jorge Moreira at full-back, the Timbers have a group that is comprised of versatile, experienced players, all of whom are capable of swapping their positions on the field as they search for an opening in the opposing defense. 

Throughout the preseason it was a common sight to see two Timbers carrying the ball down the flank and looking to overload the opposition fullback. What is special about this is the number of different combinations of players with which the Timbers try to create these overloads. On Saturday’s final match of the preseason, New England fullback Dejuan Jones was forced to deal with Chara and Y. Chara, Y. Chara and Moreira, Valeri and Y. Chara, Mora and Blanco, and more as the Timbers fluidly moved their attackers around the pitch.

This freedom of movement has several effects on the Timbers’ game plan. First, it does have the potential to move around defenders and create openings that a judiciously placed pass or cross could exploit. Second, it allows the Timbers to identify and exploit potential mismatches on the fly without having to reorganize their attack as they are in a constant state of reorganization.

Unfortunately for the team, for all of the advantages of this attacking system, there are disadvantages as well and those are what we saw on display during the preseason. With the players on each wing regularly changing and the fullbacks regularly committing themselves forward into the attack, the Timbers leave significant amounts of space open on their own flanks for their opponents to attack into.

Cristhian Paredes looks to pass the ball while Jorge Moreira makes a run. Photo by Kris Lattimore.

Exacerbating this issue even further is Giovanni Savarese’s pursuit of a high defensive press. While turning over their opposition in the attacking end is an excellent way to accumulate good scoring chances, it also further commits the wingers up the pitch and, much of the time, adds to the unguarded spaces out wide on the flanks.

We saw these spaces exploited in each of the Timbers’ preseason games. The lone goal by the Whitecaps came when Valeri was on the right and was slow to recover defensively. Two of the Loons’ first three goals came when an opposition fullback was able to get in behind their winger and attack the back post. And the first of the Revolution’s three goals came when a run from Teal Bunbury pulled Moreira inside and left Gustavo Bou all alone at the back post while Yimmi Chara, who should have been sliding in to cover, watched from the top of the box. 

Those were just the goals that the Timbers conceded. No matter how one watched the Timbers in the preseason, it was plain to see that teams were ready for them and had a plan to exploit these spaces.

There is only one quick fix for these issues: abandon the Timbers’ current system, reign in the attacking support from the fullbacks and midfield, and revert to the bunker-and-counter style of play that the Timbers have used to great but often uninspiring effect in recent seasons.

Which is not to say that the Timbers should cut and run. Savarese’s current approach to the game is demanding both physically and mentally, so it will take some time for the side to really understand who needs to do what where when why how.

Making the right recovery runs, properly marking your man, and knowing when you need to fill in space is something that can only come with time. The Timbers have the skill to implement just such a system. It remains to be seen if they can put together the willpower.