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Soccer Thorns

Takeaways: San Diego Wave 1, Portland Thorns 0

Photo by Kris Lattimore.

The Portland Thorns’ 2023 Challenge Cup campaign began in a manner opposite how they started the NWSL regular season; rather than recording a four-goal victory, Portland came away from Wednesday’s match with a 1-0 defeat to the San Diego Wave.

It wasn’t a bad game by any means. With both teams putting out rotated lineups on short turnaround, the Thorns managed to hold San Diego to seven shots—only one of which was on target. The Wave’s lone goal wasn’t the result of San Diego putting together something brilliant or Portland doing anything wrong on the defensive end; it was the result of an incredibly unlucky deflection that ended in a Meaghan Nally own-goal.

“I feel a bit unfortunate, just in terms of the bounces,” Thorns head coach Mike Norris said postgame, “but we move on.”

In lieu of an analysis of what worked and what didn’t from a team perspective—something that feels less meaningful given all the lineup changes and matches on short turnaround—I’m taking a look at three players who taught us something in their performances against San Diego.

1. Adriana Leon

Short-term loanee Adriana Leon made her Thorns debut less than a week after her first training session with the team.

“I still can’t really believe that I’m back here in the league and playing with Portland,” she said after the match.

Leon looked solid in her first 68 minutes as a Thorn. She showcased a willingness to get into tackles and push forward to put the Wave under pressure. Her two shots on the night—both of which forced San Diego goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan into diving saves—epitomized that pressure: In each instance, Leon intercepted a pass by the Wave defense, dribbled forward to set herself up, and got a shot off.

Her performance in the second half, especially, is what we can expect from Leon with the team, said Norris. “She’s a front-footed winger who likes to get in one-v-one duels from an attacking perspective and produce crosses,” he said. “And if she gets an eye for goal, she’ll take it.”

The key for Leon, as with any new player, will be developing chemistry with the rest of the Thorns’ attackers. “We haven’t had too much time to train together,” she said. “But I’m excited to see what we can pull off moving forward.”

Leon’s already shown her ability to pick out attacking opportunities; if she can do that in-step with Sophia Smith, Portland will have added another lethal wrinkle to their already talent-heavy attack.

2. Reyna Reyes

Last weekend was a bit of a rough go for Reyna Reyes, who made her first professional start in Portland’s 1-1 draw against the Houston Dash.

After that game, Norris said he had no doubt Reyes would bounce back stronger—especially now that she had gotten her first-start nerves out of the way. That Norris was willing to give her the nod for a second game is a testament to his belief in her, a belief that seems well-founded given her performance against the Wave.

“I think she grew from her performance against Houston,” he said. “I think you can see her versatility being able to play on the left and right side, getting stuck into tackles, likes to play forward. I think she’s still coming to grips with the speed of the league, but happy with the start.”

Norris’ assessment feels accurate of what Reyes showed against San Diego. She looked more confident stepping to balls and using her body to shut down Rachel Hill, was willing to take players on on the dribble, and was able to connect with her teammates more often than not. (She recorded a 63% pass accuracy.) If Reyes continues to grow at the rate she has over these first couple games, she’ll cement herself as an invaluable piece of this team sooner rather than later.

3. Shelby Hogan

Sitting behind Bella Bixby in the goalkeeper depth chart, Hogan hasn’t had all that many chances to show what she can do. Still, she had an opportunity Wednesday night, and she made the most of it.

“I think the first thing that stood out was just her presence and her demeanor,” Norris said, “really calm and confident. Really composed, looked like she had a lot of games under her belt… I think it was solid confidence and a composed performance of somebody probably beyond her experience and her years.”

Even with the unlucky deflection-turned-own-goal, Hogan looked solid throughout the night. Her stellar positioning and solid handling made the couple times she came to claim a ball off a corner or cross look easy. And she was ready to deny San Diego’s Sofia Jakobsson an early chance.

It’s safe to say the Nadine Angerer goalkeeper development academy is alive and well.

Bonus: Emily Menges

Emily Menges made her first appearance for the Thorns since Aug. 24, 2022, when she came on as a second-half sub for Reyes. Especially given the last six months, it’s nice to see her back on the pitch and looking like she hasn’t missed a beat.

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Soccer Thorns

Takeaways: Thorns 0, Wave 2

Photo Credit Kris Lattimore

The Thorns recorded their second straight loss against the San Diego Wave at home on Saturday evening. Coming into the home match, the Thorns were averaging over four goals a game in Providence, yet have scored only one goal over the last two matches while conceding five. After spending several weeks sitting alone at the top of the table, the Thorns have fallen to fourth place with just five games left to clinch a playoff position. Dropping more points could put them in danger of making a postseason run. 

 

While it is nearly impossible to identify just one thing that went wrong, let’s take a look at several factors that could have contributed to the Thorns’ downward trend.

Photo Credit: Kris Lattimore

Too few subs, too late

In a move unlike ones we have seen previously from head coach Rhian Wilkinson, she waited until the 80th minute to make any changes to the Thorns’ formation. In a must-win game to remain at the top of the table, the Thorns started the strongest eleven players they had in a 4-3-3. 

Both Sophia Smith and Morgan Weaver started, when usually Wilkinson starts one or the other, with the second player ready to come off the bench and make an impact with their fresh legs on a tired defense. With both Weaver and Smith on the field, Wilkinson was left with few options of a different style of attacking player when neither of her starters were able to produce. Smith regularly had two or three defenders surrounding her touch-tight, making it hard for her to complete her signature spin-and-dribble-out-of-pressure. Weaver is known for her infinite engine and power for the entire 90 minutes. Against the Wave she had the only two shots on target, and delivered four crosses. She was the most dangerous attacker, but wasn’t able to connect her crosses with the players making runs into the box, oftentimes seeing the ball frustratingly roll across the entire box only for a Wave player to clear it on the opposite touch line. 

Both forwards played all 90 minutes of Saturday’s game, and while in theory Wilkinson starting her two top producers gives the Thorns the best chance of netting goals, when it doesn’t work out, there are no backup options. Ideally, a player like Yazmeen Ryan would start in one of those wide forward spots in order to provide service, and if she isn’t connecting with either Smith or Weaver, then there is an opportunity for a change to be made and for a different perspective to attack the opposing defense. 

Photo Credit Kris Lattimore
Photo Credit Kris Lattimore

Janine Beckie and Yazmeen Ryan got eleven minutes each, both of whom were attacking-minded substitutions. When they made their appearance, the Thorns shifted to a three-back, pushing Beckie up along the right side in front of Kuikka. In her short cameo, she created one chance, which tied her with the second most for the Thorns. Ryan applied similar pressure from the moment she appeared on the pitch, making several dangerous dribbles into the box, but was unable to get her shot off. 

Olivia Moultrie, Portland’s third and final sub, only got three minutes. In an interesting and previously unseen formation move, Sam Coffey slid back to play the third defender as Wilkinson made another attacking substitution. Although Moultrie only got two touches, her change showed that the Thorns were capable of changing their formation and structure of attack mid-game. 

Time can’t turn back, and the Thorns will never get those three dropped points, the game against San Diego begs the question of what could have happened if these changes had been made sooner. For eighty minutes the Thorns tried to score using the same tactics, namely feeding balls to Smith and expecting individual brilliance. However, once it became clear that Naomi Girma and the rest of the Wave’s backline was too strong to penetrate this way, a different tactic needed to be implemented, and a change in personnel was the obvious way to do this. 

 

Defensive Lapses

Simply put, the Thorns’ defense was not organized enough to effectively stop San Diego’s attack. Post-game, Becky Sauerbrunn commented on where she thought the game was lost for the Thorns. 

“A lot of credit to San Diego. I think they’re very good at what they do, and even though we knew what they were going to do, they still got that second goal on us. It’s tough to win games when you’re letting goals in,” said Sauerbruun, finishing that she thought the Thorns’ heads remained high despite the loss. 

The Wave’s first goal was allowed because they were able to have an unmarked player at the top of the box. A missed clearance by Kuikka allows the ball to be picked off by the Wave and passed back to McNabb making an open run at the top of the eighteen. Rocky Rodriguez makes a last-ditch effort to close her down, but was ultimately too far away and too late to prevent the shot from going off. 

Both Morgan Weaver and Sauerbruun mentioned post-game that the Wave’s plan was to flick the ball off of Taylor Korniek’s head onto Alex Morgan, and that is exactly how the second goal came about. While it is hard for any player to match Korniek’s aerial abilities and height, it is possible to shut down the second pass to Morgan and prevent her from running at goal with no defenders. 

Photo credit Kris Lattimore

While it is hard to be consistent for an entire ninety minutes, small changes and closer marking from Thorns players could have changed the outcome of the game, not allowing open players in their own box. 

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Soccer Thorns

Thorns Scape By San Diego With 3-2 Win: Takeaways

Photo by Nikita Taparia

The Thorns earned a 3-2 win against the San Diego Wave on Sunday, knocking the Wave out of the running for the Challenge Cup semifinals with a strong first half. Still, Portland’s second half left room for improvement.

Formation changes

For the first time this year, the Thorns played a 4-3-3 formation, with Meghan Klingenberg, Kelli Hubly, Emily Menges, and Meaghan Nally spread across the defense and Sophia Smith, Christine Sinclair, and Morgan Weaver sitting as the front three.

Head coach Rhian Wilkinson said after the game that the Thorns are using the Challenge Cup to gradually add in different tactics that she wants the team to use throughout the regular season. “To have two weeks without a game when the internationals went, I felt like it was the right time to to deliver a new structure,” Wilkinson said.

The formation meant the Thorns didn’t have as many numbers wide, and, unsurprisingly, they played more through the middle as a result. We can see that through the average player positions between the Thorns’ last game against OL Reign—where they played a 5-3-2—and Sunday’s game against the Wave, where players are more clustered in the center of the park:

Average player positions for the Thorns vs OL Reign
Average player positions for the Thorns vs San Diego

“What I’ve loved is I think you can see this team buys in,” Wilkinson said of the new formation. “They trust one another.”

A first half frolic

That trust was evident in the first half. The Thorns dominated those 45 minutes, winning balls, controlling the midfield, and getting chance after chance off. They ended the half with 16 shots to San Diego’s four and a 3-0 lead to show for it.

Smith opened the scoring in the fourth minute when she got on the end of an on-the-ground cross from Weaver, touched the ball just around her defender, and sent a shot into the far corner that San Diego’s Carly Telford wasn’t able to react to in time.

Portland struck again in the 21st and 41st minutes, as Hina Sugita tallied her first two goals for the team. In both cases, she exposed San Diego’s defensive marking, getting on the ends of rebounds to hit the ball into the back of the net. And it doesn’t hurt that they were both fun to watch:

“If you’ve watched her the last few games, this is what she’s been doing,” Wilkinson said of Sugita. “I think she’s just gaining in confidence every game and did very well today.”

A second half struggle

But if the first half was a breeze for the Thorns, the second half was anything but. San Diego brought in rookie Kelsey Turnbow after the break, and she immediately went to work terrorizing Portland’s defense. In just the first minute, she played a perfect ball into Alex Morgan, whose shot left Bella Bixby scrambling to her feet as Bella Briede picked up the ball at the top of the six and buried her shot.

The game’s momentum shifted in favor of the Wave after that, with San Diego growing into the midfield and forcing the Thorns into a lot of last-ditch defending. San Diego got of 13 shots in those final 45 minutes, while Portland managed only two. “Our talk halftime was keep the standard up,” Sam Coffey said after the match, “and we didn’t do that.”

Taylor Kornieck further cut into the Thorns’s lead coming off the bench in the 67th minute, scoring a header off a Wave corner kick by virtue of her positioning and being tall.

Although the Thorns were able to hold onto the win, it was a gritty end to a dominant start. “Something Rhian really emphasizes for our group is winning the right way,” Coffey said. “I don’t think we we did that to the best of our ability.

“That doesn’t mean that we hang our heads low or we’re all disappointed, but it’s fuel for the fire,” she said. “I think that’s a good thing for this group, especially with another game just around the corner.”

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Soccer Thorns

Thorns Continue Challenge Cup With 1-0 Win Over San Diego: Takeaways

Photo by Matthew Wolfe

The Thorns look very different than when they stepped off the field in 2021, and two games into a preseason tournament, they are still finding their footing. Without being too critical of the team, there are plenty of bright spots to take away from the inaugural Thorns versus San Diego Wave game. 

Debuts!

Saturday night’s game marked the professional Thorns debuts of Abby Smith and Natalie Beckman. Both players appeared in the preseason games and showed new head coach Rhian Wilkinson that they had valuable skills. Although Beckman only played about 10 minutes coming in for Klingenberg, she looked confident on the wing as part of the Thorns’ five-back and should be an exciting prospect in the games to come. Smith has plenty of NWSL experience, most recently for the Kansas City Current, but had yet to make an appearance for the Thorns since signing mid-season in 2021. 

In her inaugural game, Smith registered seven saves and a clean sheet, making her the fourth Thorns keeper to record a clean sheet in a Challenge Cup match. The decision to start Smith over Bella Bixby, Thorns No. 1, was a collaborative one between head goalkeeper coach Nadine Angerer, Bixby, and Smith. Head coach Rhian Wilkinson  said post-game that it was Bixby’s suggestion to have Smith play so that Smith has the minutes and confidence to fill in when Bixby is unavailable. Smith also spoke highly of the Goalkeeper Union in Portland and how all keepers push one another and inspire greatness. With such a solid culture in goal, any of the Portland keepers should be able to control the backline. 

Sophia! Smith!

Saying that Sophia Smith is good at soccer is probably the understatement of the year. Her technical skill and ability to get in behind the backline has already proven to be crucial to the Thorns’s attacking strategies. Sinking three out of three shots on target, Smith is lethal in front of goal. However, in the game against the Wave, Smith showed that she is more than just a pacey striker. In the run up to the Thorns’s lone goal, Smith was able to draw out three San Diego defenders to surround her, leaving both Natalia Kuikka and Christine Sinclair with plenty of space on the wings to send a ball in that Smith hit one-time deftly around Sheridan. 

Post-game, Wilkinson had high praise for Smith. She cited that Smith not only has a high ceiling that she delivers on, but that she is able to quickly implement feedback. One thing that Smith and Wilkinson are working on is “when to go in behind defense on transition and when to hold back to create different types of scoring opportunities.” With the combination of skills she possesses, it is a no-brainer that Smith will be a crucial member of the Thorns this year. 

Young players!

Sam Coffey, Yazmeen Ryan, and Meaghan Nally all got the start on Saturday. With Becky Sauerbrunn out after undergoing surgery to repair her meniscus, Nally has been able to slide into a starting role on the backline. She didn’t look out of place in the slightest alongside veteran defenders Emily Menges and Kelli Hubly, registering the highest number of touches and completed passes of the three. 

Ryan and Coffey, alongside Hina Sugita, are working to rebuild the midfield that the Thorns lost in the offseason. Together, the two young players in their first full season with the Thorns have already impressed. As the holding midfielder No. 6, Coffey had nearly an 80% passing completion rate. She was able to exploit the wide open spaces left by the non-existent Wave midfield, and looked as though she controlled the field. As she gains more experience and confidence on the field, she will be a real force to be reckoned with. Finally, Ryan also worked hard in the midfield, completing several successful dribbles to bring the ball into the final third, playing in Smith. As both Sophia Smith and Ryan get more time together and their partnership solidifies, they should be a lethal duo on the left. 

The Thorns go again tonight at home for their inaugural match against Angel City FC as they continue their run to secure their second Challenge Cup championship.