By Amelia Hirtle
On Sunday afternoon, the Portland Thorns played in their last regular season home game as they took on the Chicago Red Stars. Morgan Weaver led the team with her tenacity and scoring.
The first half was competitive, however both teams were unable to find the back of the net. Both Smith and Hina Sugita almost scored early on but were unlucky.
The Thorns turned it on in the second half with Weaver breaking the score line in the 48th minute. She continued her aggressiveness in the 61st minute by scoring off a cross from Smith.
In the 58th minute, Chicago Red Star defender, Bianca St. Georges flipped off the side referee as she disagreed on a call. St. Georges was then given a red card; one she did not protest because she knew her wrongdoing. She will now miss the next game for Chicago, who are fighting for a playoff spot and now below the line.
Chicago struggled playing down a man and it did not help matters when Zoe Morse got her second yellow card on the night, sending her off as well. Portland took advantage and Taylor Porter scored in stoppage time to put the Thorns up 3-0.
While the score line will have Thorns fans happy, the ending caused a bit of a scare. In the last moments of stoppage time, Alyssa Naeher and Sophia Smith collided while going after the ball, causing Smith to fall, and hit her head on the turf. In the post-game press conference, head Coach Rhian Wilkinson said that Smith was being evaluated, but that the team did not have an update. Sam Coffey left the match in the 74th minute due to lower leg injury. With playoffs around the corner, the Thorns will hope that it is nothing serious with Smith and Coffey.
To claim the NWSL Shield, Portland must beat Gotham FC on Saturday, October 1st at 3:00 PM PT (6:00 PM ET). Gotham have already been officially eliminated from the playoffs.