By Amelia Hirtle
The NWSL final hosted two teams, the Portland Thorns, and the newbies, the Kansas City Current. Despite the Current not making the playoffs last year, they rose to the occasion in 2022, defeating the Houston Dash and OL Reign to reach the finals. Unfortunately for KC, they looked nothing like the team in the two previous playoff games. In fact, they were unable to register a single shot on goal throughout the entire match.
It all started in the first five minutes, when the Thorns gained control of the ball in the midfield. A pass was sent forward to the league MVP in Sophia Smith who beat out Elizabeth Ball as they raced towards the goal. Ball slid to make a play on the ball, but missed completely, and the other KC defender was too far away, leaving Smith with a 1-on-1 opportunity against goalkeeper A.D. Franch. Smith skirted around a diving Franch to tap the ball in, giving the Thorns the early lead. It was a bad defensive play for KC, but they attempted to shake it off.
The half ended with Portland up 1-0, which was good news for KC. They could have been down by more as the Thorns offense continued to attack the back line.
Just over 10 minutes into the second half, an own goal by Addisyn Merrick silenced any hope of a comeback for Kansas City. The Thorns were relentless in winning the ball back at any chance they could. And they immediately looked ahead to get on the offensive. The game ended in a 2-0 win for Portland.
Ultimately, the Current were unable to string sequences of play together for much of the match. There were times where they looked dangerous, but they were always stifled by the Thorns defense. It was a disappointing end for KC, but they had many other milestones throughout the season that included opening their new training facility and breaking ground on their women’s soccer specific stadium that will open in a few years.
The Portland Thorns capped off a spectacular season by winning the championship and with Smith being crowned the MVP.