Portland Thorns FC scored two first-half goals to seal a 2-0 win over visiting Racing Louisville FC late Saturday night at Providence Park, snapping Racing’s five-match unbeaten run that stretched back to last year.
Christine Sinclair and Morgan Weaver scored for the hosts, who have had Racing’s number since Louisville joined the NWSL in 2021, topping the Louisvillians five times in five meetings.
“When you start like that – they scored a goal after two minutes – it’s really difficult to play against maybe the best team in the league away,” said Racing coach Kim Björkegren. “It’s disappointing – we gave away some pieces in the game way too easy. I think really we had a chance today. I had a really good feeling. We had good energy in the group.”
The loss ended Racing’s stretch of three consecutive draws to open the 2023 campaign, the first time in NWSL history a team tied three straight to start a season.
Louisville (0-1-3, 3 points) left Portland frustrated by the result based on its performance. Racing made 68 final-third entries and generated 12 shots, including Ary Borges’s well-struck attempt from 25 yards out that required an excellent save from Portland goalkeeper Bella Bixby in the 35th minute.
Racing “competed really well” against the league-leading and reigning NWSL champion Thorns, defender Carson Pickett said.
“Going forward, in the final third, we need to get a little cleaner,” said Pickett. “We got some good chances. We got in the (box). We just need that final ball or that shot on frame, anything to test the goalkeeper. We need to drive our crosses, not float them. There are things we can take away from this game.”
Sinclair scored 109 seconds into the match, ringing her shot in off the post after Racing lost the ball near midfield to net the earliest goal in the league this year.
Weaver’s goal came just before halftime, passing the ball into the frame off Sophia Smith’s second assist of the game.
Borges came close to scoring again in the 53rd minute, but her shot from 16 yards out was tipped over the bar by Bixby. Savannah DeMelo’s volley attempt off a Lauren Milliet cross just missed the far post about 25 minutes later.
“Quite disappointing, I think,” said defender Abby Erceg. “We’ve had a string of really good results, but defensively today we just really let ourselves down. A couple of individual mistakes – we just have to hold people accountable. When we’re playing these top teams, the slow play and extra touches are really going to punish us. It was a hard lesson today.”
Tap-ins: Carson Pickett’s 90 minutes of action on Saturday night moved her past 10,000 minutes for her NWSL career, joining Abby Erceg and Jess McDonald among Racing players who have surpassed the five-digit milestone.
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC at Portland Thorns FC
Date: April 22, 2023
Venue: Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
Kickoff: 10:30 p.m. ET
Weather: 61 degrees, overcast
Scoring
Racing Louisville (0, 0, 0)
Portland Thorns (2, 0, 2)
Goals
Portland Thorns FC:
2’ Christine Sinclair (Sophia Smith)
45’+4 Morgan Weaver (Smith)
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-3-3): 1 – Katie Lund; 16 – Carson Pickett, 20 – Abby Erceg, 4 – Elli Pikkujämsä (5’ 25 – Rebecca Holloway), 2 – Lauren Milliet; 6 – Jaelin Howell (c), 7 – Savannah DeMelo (84’ 27 – Alex Chidiac), 8 – Ary Borges; 14 – Jess McDonald (56’ 5 – Paige Monaghan), 22 – Kirsten Davis (84’ 21 – Parker Goins), 77 – Wang Shuang (56’ 9 – Kayla Fischer)
Subs not used: 99 – Olivia Sekany; 3 – Zaneta Wyne, 15 – Julia Lester, 44 – Satara Murray
Head Coach: Kim Björkegren
Portland Thorns FC (4-3-3): 1 – Bella Bixby; 25 – Meghan Klingenburg, 4 – Becky Sauerbrunn (58’ 5 – Emily Menges), 20 – Kelli Hubly, 2 – Reyna Reyes (46’ 39 – Meaghan Nally); 17 – Sam Coffey, 19 – Crystal Dunn (72’ 11 – Rocky Rodriguez), 12 – Christine Sinclair (c); 8 – Hina Sugita (58’ 21 – Adriana Leon), 9 – Sophia Smith (73’ 24 – Izzy D’Aquila), 22 – Morgan Weaver
Subs not used: 18 – Shelby Hogan; 13 – Olivia Moultrie, 33 – Hannah Betfort, 46 – Taylor Porter
Head Coach: Matt Norris
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / Portland Thorns
Shots: 12 / 20
Shots on Goal: 4 / 6
Expected goals: 0.83 / 1.44
Possession: 51.1% / 48.9%
Fouls: 7 / 9
Offside: 0 / 0
Corner Kicks: 4 / 5
Discipline Summary
Racing Louisville:
67’ Ary Borges (yellow)
74’ Kayla Fischer (yellow)
Portland Thorns:
28’ Morgan Weaver (yellow)
32’ Sam Coffey (yellow)
Referee: Thomas Snyder
VAR: Lorant Varga
