By Amelia Hirtle
Orlando Pride met the Portland Thorns at Providence Park on Sunday, June 19th. The Pride have been struggling and held a record of 2-2-4 prior to the match on Sunday. Portland on the other hand has not lost in their last four matches.
To no one’s surprise, Portland was on the attack early. Within the opening minutes, there were multiple chances for the home team, however, they were off target. \
In the 17th minute, the Pride was close to getting on the board, but the shot was saved by Bella Bixby. After some pressure, the Portland defense was able to settle and bring back their formidable attack. In the 21st minute, Hina Sugita scored off a cross from Janine Beckie.
Shortly after that, Sam Coffey took a free kick that forced a save from the Orlando keeper. Becky Sauerbrunn was there to clean it up, scoring her first goal with the Thorns.
Portland carried a 2-0 lead in the second half and didn’t let up after that. Sophia Smith got on the board in the 63rd minute, to put her individual tally at seven so far. Natalia Kuikka also scored her first-ever NWSL goal to make it 4-0. Smith scored once more, and Taylor Porter put one on the board to make the final score 6-0 in favor of the home team.
The Thorns now sit in second place with 16 points, just behind the San Diego Wave who have 18 points.
Now, the league will take a short break for the international window. Portland will send 6 players to compete with their respective national teams in this period. Coffey, Sauerbrunn, and Smith will participate with the U.S Women’s National team while Natalia Kuikka will compete with Finland. Hina Sugita will compete for Japan. Beckie and Sinclair will compete for Canada. Both the U.S. and Canadian teams will play in the Concacaf W Championship which takes place in Mexico in July. This tournament will determine spots in the 2023 World Cup as well as the Olympics.