By Amelia Hirtle
The Portland Thorns took on the Washington Spirit at home on Wednesday night. It’s still early on in the season and teams are still adjusting after the Challenge Cup. Angela Salem returned to Providence Park, but this time, as an assistant coach for the Spirit.
The Spirit started off early looking for Trinity Rodman on the right. Portland handled the pressure well, especially with Rocky Rodriguez covering the spaces in the middle to make it difficult for Rodman to receive any pass.
In the 26th minute, Rodman switched to the left and sent a cross in. Ashley Hatch was on her way to the ball, but Becky Sauerbrunn got there first.
The scoring opened in the 56th minute when Sophia Smith ran into the box and took some dribbles down the right-hand side before taking a shot that squeaked past the Washington keeper and into the back of the net.
Shortly after that, the visiting team got on the board on a header from Ashley Hatch. The Spirit seemed to carry the momentum at this point and tallied a few shots on goal in the following minutes. Defender Emily Sonnett scored in the 72nd minute, but her goal was deemed to be offside, allowing Portland fans to breathe a bit easier.
Keeper Bella Bixby was at the top of her game, making a save against Rodman and Sanchez to keep the score level.
The final opportunity for a Portland chance came in stoppage time, however the shot when right into the gloves of Aubrey Kingsbury.
The Thorns come away with a 1-1 draw at home and they will switch their focus to the Houston Dash. They will play Saturday, May 21st at 5 PM PT. And while it’s probably a bit too early to be checking the standing, the Thorns, with a record of 1-2-0, currently sit in fourth place.