Match Recap: Portland Thorns vs Chicago Stars

The Thorns earn one point on the road against the Stars.

Sitting in 5th and 13th before the match, Portland and Chicago have had very different trajectories since the international break. While the Thorns have stumbled to find an attacking and defensive identity, Chicago has come into their own largely due to the attacking prowess of Ludmila. Chicago is undefeated in the last 6 matches, and have scored 12 goals all coming from the second halves of these games. Portland, on the other hand, have earned the reputation of being scored on early and spending the rest of their matches trying to find a rhythm as a team.

For today's match, Portland will be looking to take possession as much as possible and stop the long balls sent over the top by Chicago. The lineup from Rob Gale is responsive to what the Thorns need and isn't as debatable as most of the seasons' lineups. Hina Sugita is taking the bench at least for the starting lineup, but knowing the difference she can make in the middle of the park, she will be an asset coming into the game later on. The Turner, Tordin, and Dufour attacking lineup is the same we saw against Louisville and is both dynamic and quick, something we have yet to see consistently from this squad.

Play by Play

8' Turner beats a few defenders and drives into the box to earn a corner

10' Shot saved by Arnold

11' Turner fouled right at the edge of the box for a critically placed set piece

13' GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLL Olivia Moultrie top left corner off of the set piece. 14th career regular season goal, most in NWSL history for a teenager. Thorns 1, Chicago 0

20' Obaze down with an injury and being subbed out by Sam Hiatt, an early and unfortunate substitution for Portland.

25' Sam Coffey and Jessie Fleming have been putting in the work in the midfield, they are everywhere.

27' Pietra Tordin skies one from the edge of the box

28' Sam Coffey takes a shot at the top of the box which is deflected wide

29' Turner heads the corner from Moultrie off the crossbar, Portland is creating some great chances in the middle of this first half

31' Ludmila double teamed by Hiatt and Perry and loses the ball, Schlegel takes a shot just over the bar

33' Turner drives into the box and goes down in the box, no foul called, Turner is back up and on the pitch

37' Ludmila shut down by Sam Hiatt in the box, an amazing piece of defense by Hiatt to deny a clear opportunity on goal

37' McKenzie on her wheels to stop an attacking chance, ball goes out for a Chicago corner

41' Header on goal from Turner off of a Reyes cross

45' Chicago goal, Bea Franklin slots one in after the ball bounces around in the box. Thorns 1, Chicago 1

45+5' Caution card issued to Fleming. Professional foul on Ludmila at midfield

54' Chicago header just wide of the post, the Thorns haven't been on the front foot since the beginning of this second half. Historically, the second half is where Chicago starts scoring their winning goals

56' Confusing play from end to end. Dufour goes down in their attacking half and the ball gets played long to Ludmila who gets dispossessed by Perry right outside the box, the ball is picked up by Arnold, no whistles blown

59' Portland substitution: Sugita in for Dufour, did the Thorns adjust to a 4-4-2 or stick with a 4-3-3? Hard to tell, Sugita is making herself a presence up front

62' Another Moultrie set piece...tried to find Reyes as the target, out for a corner

66' Joseph strikes one off the crossbar for Chicago

67' Caution card issued to Franklin, Moultrie earns a set piece for Portland, shot stopped by Naeher

85' Incredible diving save from Arnold

87' Portland substitutions: Alidou for Fleming, Spaanstra for Tordin

90+1' Fingertip save by Arnold, saving a game winning chance from Chicago

95' Turner volley just over the crossbar, a final chance for the Thorns

97' Gomes skies it right in front of goal, a chance that could have sealed the fate for Chicago

98' Final Score: Portland Thorns 1, Chicago Stars 1

Final Thoughts

In what ended up being a choppy game end to end, Chicago and Portland left the pitch with one point each. It was unclear if both teams were tired or just unable to find their flow among fouls and unforced errors. Chicago created more chances than Portland, but were still unable to put any away in the second half which is the first time in 6 games that they've been scoreless in the second half.

Although Portland stuck with roughly the same lineup as they had against Louisville, we didn't see much from Tordin or Dufour in the attacking third. The bright spots in this match came from Turner and Fleming. Both players seemed to be putting in the work harder than anyone else on the pitch. Especially in the first half, Turner was taking on defenders, beating them, and driving herself into the box. Fleming was covering all of the passing lanes in the midfield as well and creating some incredible diagonal runs up top to create space. She had gas left in the tank at the end of the game and I'm just not sure how. Olivia Moultrie played phenomenally, and not just because she broke an NWSL record. She seems to be one of the only players who is consistently trying to change the pulse of the game. Her work rate, shots on goal, and ability to attract defenders are going to be some of the reasons the Thorns make it to the playoffs.

Three points for Portland would have really catapulted them into a more secure position for the NWSL playoffs. With this draw, they sit with 30 points at 4th place, with San Diego, Orlando, and Seattle close behind.

Next up, the Thorns return to Providence Park at 7pm PST to face the San Diego Wave.