PORTLAND, Ore. (July 18, 2021) - Orlando Pride (4-3-4, 16 points) fell 2-1 on the road to Portland Thorns FC (6-3-1, 19 points) on Sunday night at Providence Park in the Club’s first trip to the Rose City since July of 2019.
Marisa Viggiano found the back of the net for the first time this year late in the match, finishing a cross from Abi Kim in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time into the top left corner of the net. Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris tallied three saves on the night while recording her fourth denial from the penalty spot in all competitions this year, saving a strike from Rocky Rodríguez in the 39th minute of play.
Defenders Amy Turner and Kylie Strom each recorded their first starts for the Pride in the match, the former playing the entirety of the contest for Orlando while the latter logged 90 minutes before being subbed out ahead of second half stoppage time.
Orlando Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner:
“It was a poor half for us the first half, it took us too long to react, but when we got back into the second half and once we started to exact the game plan, we found lots of spaces that we needed to occupy. We started to have more momentum towards the end, but it’s an intimidating place to come and it’s a place where the players knew exactly what we needed to do, we just were slightly off at the moment and paid for that in the first half.”
Scoring Recap:
26’ Sophia Smith - POR 1, ORL 0
The Thorns struck first with Sophia Smith driving down the right side of the pitch, dribbling to the edge of the area before hitting a strike into the right side of the net for the finish.
58’ Marissa Everett (Meghan Klingenberg) - POR 2, ORL 0
Portland doubled its advantage with Meghan Klingenberg lofting a ball into the box from outside the area, finding the head of Marissa Everett who was able to hit it into the back of the net despite a punching effort from Pride goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris.
90+5’ Marisa Viggiano (Abi Kim) - POR 2, ORL 1
The Pride halved the deficit late in the second half, with Abi Kim finding a running Marisa Viggiano into the box, who cut it onto her left foot before rifling a shot into the top left corner of the net.
Match Notes:
- Marisa Viggiano scored her first goal of the year in the match in her first appearance for Orlando since June 23, coming into the contest in the 64th minute for Crystal Thomas. The goal served as her fourth across all competitions as a member of the Pride.
- Abi Kim tallied her first NWSL assist in the contest with the helper on Viggiano’s stoppage time finish.
- Ashlyn Harris denied her fourth penalty attempt across all competitions on Sunday night, saving a strike from Rocky Rodríguez in the 39th minute to keep the Thorns’ lead at one at the time.
- With the start tonight, Sydney Leroux logged the 100th regular-season appearance of her NWSL career, joining teammates Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger as current members of the Pride to reach the centennial mark. Leroux has logged 33 of her 100 appearances as a member of the Pride, joining the Club ahead of the 2018 NWSL season.
- Defenders Amy Turner and Kylie Strom each tallied the first starts of their respective Orlando Pride careers on the evening. The start served as the first in NWSL action for Turner and the first for Strom since Sept. 25, 2016 as a member of the Boston Breakers.
- Phoebe McClernon returned to the pitch for the Pride for the first time since June 26, entering the match in the 68th minute for Meggie Dougherty Howard.
Next Match: The Pride return to Exploria Stadium on Saturday, July 24, set to take on OL Reign for the first time this season in a 7 p.m. ET kickoff.
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Meggie Dougherty Howard (Yellow Card) 60'
POR - Yazmeen Ryan (Yellow Card) 80’
ORL - Phoebe McClernon (Yellow Card) 82’
POR - Madison Pogarch (Yellow Card) 90+1’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando Pride - GK Ashlyn Harris ©; D Courtney Petersen, Amy Turner, Ali Krieger, Kylie Strom (Chelsee Washington 90’); M Erika Tymrak (Abi Kim 46’), Meggie Dougherty Howard (Phoebe McClernon 69’), Gunny Jónsdóttir; F Taylor Kornieck, Sydney Leroux, Crystal Thomas (Marisa Viggiano 63’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Brittany Wilson; D Ally Haran, Konya Plummer, Toni Pressley
Portland Thorns FC - GK Bella Bixby; D Natalia Kuikka, Emily Menges ©, Kelli Hubly, Meghan Klingenberg; M Angela Salem, Rocky Rodríguez, Celeste Boureille; F Marissa Everett (Yazmeen Ryan 62’), Sophia Smith (Simone Charley 62’), Morgan Weaver (Madison Pogarch 84’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Shelby Hogan; D Hannah Betfort, Meaghan Nally, Christen Westphal; M Olivia Moultrie; F Raisa Strom-Okimoto
Details of the Game:
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Date: July 18, 2021
Attendance: 14,985
Stats Summary: POR / ORL
Possession: 54.3% / 45.7%
Shots: 20 / 6
Shots on Goal: 5 / 2
Saves: 1 / 3
Corner Kicks: 12 / 4
Fouls: 17 / 14
Offside: 1 / 1
Officials:
REF: Laura Rodriguez
AR1: Salma Perez
AR2: Katarzyna Wasiak
4TH: Dion Coxe
