The Portland Thorns have dealt with a ton of adversity this season. And heading into the final match of the season, it will, unfortunately, be no different.
Rob Gale spoke with the media and shared that the Portland Thorns will be missing M.A. Vignola (ankle) and Valerin Loboa (knee) for their NWSL Decision Day match at Providence Park against Houston Dash.
"Val [Loboa] will be unavailable - she's come back with a knee problem."
"M.A. [Vignola], injured in her first training after Angel City, just rolled an ankle, and it's turned out to be a bit more problematic than we hoped.
"We'll have to wait and see as to if first round of playoffs is legit. There's some work to do on that still. So, it's a bit of a blow to be honest."
Full Portland Thorns Media Availability with Rob Gale, Reyna Reyes, and Mackenzie Arnold
Reyna Reyes on playing without M.A. Vignola and 'the next player up' mentality
"Yeah, she's helped us a lot. It sucks she's going to be out but, I want her to get better for playoffs. I believe in every single one of our players, I think they all step up when the time comes, and that's why we're a team."
Mackenzie "Macca" Arnold on the team potentially hosting a first round playoff match after all the adversity
"We've always known we were that team from the start. At the start of the season we were written off so early because we had such a new, young team. It's sort of funny to see people switch up on us so quickly, we've always believed in ourselves and each other. This is probably the best locker room I've ever been a part of, in terms of culture, belief, having each other's backs."
"With adversity and all the injuries that we've gone through, and the differences in line up and everything, we've still come together and put ourselves in this position to be able to potentially have a home playoff. So I think it shows a lot about our character and the locker room that we have."
Who Won Halloween?!
Rob Gale: "Gustas wins Halloween."
📸: Vytas & Greta
