Undefeated Portland Thorns Take Over First Place

With a full, healthy roster including a shiny new addition to the starting lineup in Amandine Henry, the Portland Thorns took on the Chicago Red Stars Wednesday night at Providence Park in a battle for first place in the NWSL. The Thorns, undefeated but trailing by one point in the standings to the Red Stars, tied this very same club in Chicago on June 12^th. Now, it was Portland’s turn to host a party.

Unfortunately for Chicago, the Thorns were not as kind to give as to give away a point on their home turf. Christine Sinclair found the back of the net in the 6^th minute and that was all the Thorns needed as they would go on to win 2-0 in front of 16,931 in attendance. Nadia Nadim would later add a goal on a Tobin Heath, Henry, Nadim ping-pong ball combo in the 25^th minute to secure the lead while the Thorns’ defense would hold the Red Stars scoreless.

Henry’s debut was a smashing success for both her and the fans. She looked much more confident and comfortable than she did in her first game on the road against New York. On Wednesday night, in her first home game, she recorded her first start and first assist of the season, along with providing some key defensive stops. Regarded as one of the best players in soccer, she gave fans even more reason to believe this season could be a year to remember.

Meanwhile, Sinclair and Nadim have been almost ho-hum for the Thorns; the two have been so consistent and reliable this season that it is easy to overlook their importance to the team. While Heath and Lindsey Horan have rightfully taken up the spotlight offensively, Sinclair, who is no stranger to big moments, and Nadim have been getting it done this season. With last night’s effort, the two have tied Horan in leading the team with three goals for the season.

Defensively, Michelle Betos recorded her second clean sheet of the season as she and fellow goalkeeper Adrianna Franch have been a terrible twosome, combining for five clean sheets in 10 games. It’s hard to beat a team that doesn’t allow you to score.

With the win, the Thorns (5-0-5) now sit solely in first place and are still the only undefeated club in the NWSL. However, the month of July could threaten their historic run as once again many of the Thorns’ stars will be called up to international duty before the league takes most of the month of August off for the Olympics. For now, Portland can savor this victory before traveling across the country to Orlando this coming Sunday in a rematch of the first game of the season against Alex Morgan’s Pride.