The Portland Thorns weren’t perfect, and Racing Louisville FC proved a feisty opponent, but Portland prevailed 2-0 over Louisville on Saturday to remain undefeated early in the 2023 season.
Christine Sinclair got the Thorns (3-0-1, 10 points) on the board less than two minutes into the match. A ball played back from Sophia Smith scooted between the legs of Crystal Dunn — a dummy play by Dunn — and Sinclair rifled it off the post and in to make it 1-0 Thorns.
It was Sinclair’s 60th career NWSL goal, just the second player in league history to reach the mark after Sam Kerr (78). Lynn Williams of Gotham FC reached 60 goals later in the night to become the third player to do so.
The Thorns had plenty of chances as the first half progressed, but Louisville (0-1-3, 3 points) settled into the match and was able to produce some intriguing attacking moments as well.
The only real threats came on the other end, though, as Portland continued to fire shots at Louisville goalkeeper Katie Lund — who largely held her own.
Smith had a shot just miss in the 8th minute, Morgan Weaver’s shot at the near post was saved in the 12th, Dunn missed high in the 35th, and Sinclair missed high on a shot from in close in the 38th.
After a largely lackluster half by their standards, the Thorns made it 2-0 during first half stoppage time on a play all too similar to the one that landed them the first goal.
Smith played the ball back, Hina Sugita let it pass through her legs on the dummy, and Weaver finished it off with ease to double Portland’s advantage heading into the break. For a Louisville team that seemed to be competing well otherwise, it was demoralizing.
In the second half, after what appeared to be a lower right leg injury to Becky Sauerbrunn in the 57th minute, Portland brought on Emily Menges to replace Sauerbrunn and Adriana Leon to replace Sugita.
Louisville forced a diving save from Bella Bixby in the 59th minute on the header by Jaelin Howell, its best chance of the match and an opportunity for its stagnant attack to wake up. It never did.
The Thorns’ attack wasn’t ready to sleep. Portland nearly made it 3-0 on what would have been Weaver’s second goal, crossed behind the Louisville back line by Leon, but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) identified a hand ball by Leon in the buildup and Weaver’s goal was called off.
In the 73rd minute, Portland brought on Rocky Rodriguez and Izzy D’Aquila for Dunn and Smith, hanging on to its lead the rest of the way.
The Thorns’ next match is at home against Angel City FC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 29 with live broadcasts on Fox 12 Plus and Paramount+.
— Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com, Twitter: @RyanTClarke