Today, Football Australia and head coach Joe Montemurro announced that Portland Thorns starting goalkeeper Mackenzie "Macca" Arnold has been selected for the AFC Women's Asian Cup roster. The tournament is scheduled to take place March 1-10 for the group stage, March 13-14 for the quarterfinals, March 17-18 for the semifinals, and March 21 for the final.
Arnold will likely miss the first two matches of the 2026 season, possibly three.
That leaves the team in a massive predicament.
On January 31, Bella Bixby made the heartbreaking announcement that she would be placed on the season-ending injury (SEI) list and out for the 2026 NWSL season. The only goalkeeper left with a guaranteed roster spot for the season is Morgan Messner. Although she has earned a debut in the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup against Club America, Messner has yet to appear in a regular season match.
With the Thorns, she recently saw time in the second half of the Coachella Valley Invitational versus Angel City FC.
The only other goalkeeper is NRI (non-roster invite) & trialist former Washington State Cougar (2021-2024) Nadia Cooper. She has also spent time with Minnesota Aurora in (USL W League) and Houston Dash.
With Macca and Bixby unavailable, this will be without a doubt Messner's chance to start her first NWSL regular season matches against Washington Spirit on the road and Seattle Reign at home.
Could the Portland Thorns bring in a replacement player for the start of the season? Yes – but it won't help much at all with the time that 'keeper would need to learn the system and build familiarity with the backline and rest of the team.
Messner will be put in the toughest position of her career with a shaky center back pairing, but superb full backs.
Can she rise the occasion? We will see. All eyes will be on the young goalkeeper.
