Becky Sauerbrunn’s header off of Meghan Klingenberg’s corner kick fell to the feet of Morgan Weaver in the waning minutes of the Portland Thorns’ match against the Houston Dash on Friday night.
But Weaver’s right-footed shot sailed wide of the goal, another missed opportunity.
The moment epitomized the match for the Thorns, who had plenty of chances but couldn’t pile up the goals like they had in their first two matches of the season when they outscored opponents 8-1. On Friday, they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in front of a home crowd of 15,657 at Providence Park.
The Thorns (2-0-1, 7 points) opened the scoring in the ninth minute on a nifty feed from Sophia Smith to Crystal Dunn. Smith dribbled into the left side of the box, then turned at the end line to pass it back to Dunn, who fired a left-footed shot high into the goal.
Maria Sanchez answered for Houston (1-0-2, 5 points) in the 24th minute, dribbling into the left side of the box and driving a rolling shot past Thorns goalkeeper Bella Bixby.
Portland have several chances to regain the lead before halftime. Smith caught up to a nice downfield pass from Olivia Moultrie and blasted a left-footed shot off the crossbar in the 32nd minute. Soon after, a Smith shot that was saved by Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell wound up at the feet of Dunn, who fired a rocket from just inside the 18-yard box. But it curled up and over the crossbar.
More chances materialized in the second half for Smith, Weaver and others, but none turned into goals.
Houston had a golden opportunity in the 80th minute on a giveaway from Becky Sauerbrunn that led to a shot by Ebony Salmon, but Bella Bixby saved and covered it.
Portland outshot the Dash 22-14, though Houston had six shots on frame compared to five for the Thorns.
It was the return to NWSL regular-season play for both teams after an international break. The Thorns’ Reyna Reyes made her first professional start but was subbed out for Natalia Kuikka to start the second half.
Next up: The Thorns begin play in the NWSL Challenge Cup tournament, visiting San Diego Wave FC at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Paramount+).
