Add another member of the Portland Thorns to the history books: Olivia Moultrie.
The 16-year-old midfielder was a late addition to Portland’s starting lineup against the Houston Dash on Sunday due to injury, and she stepped in to score her first career NWSL goal late in a dominant win for her team. She is the youngest-ever player to score a goal in the NWSL.
Sophia Smith had two goals of her own, along with the assist to Moultrie, leading the way for the Thorns (3-1-4, 13 points) in a 4-0 thrashing of the Dash (3-2-3, 12 points).
Veteran forward Christine Sinclair was a last-minute scratch, replaced by Moultrie. A Thorns source told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Sinclair suffered a calf strain during warmups and she was held out of the match for precautionary reasons. The injury isn’t believed to be serious and she will be further evaluated as the team returns home to Portland.
Portland got out to an early lead due to an own goal. A ball played in by Hina Sugita in the 1st minute took a bounce off Houston defender Katie Naughton and into the back of the net, making it 1-0 Thorns.
In the 7th minute, Houston’s best chance of the half came on a long take from Shea Groom, whose shot bounced off the crossbar and forced Portland goalkeeper Bella Bixby to leap up for it.
Portland nearly scored again in the 19th minute on a ball in from Sam Coffey to Rocky Rodriguez, but Rodriguez wasn’t able to put enough strength on her shot attempt and it was saved.
Smith would not be denied, however.
In the 23rd minute, Portland’s talismanic young star drew a penalty call after being taken down in the box by a Houston defender. Smith stepped up to the spot and calmly nailed the penalty kick, sending it to her left and in with pace.
Smith nearly had another goal in the 29th minute, but her long shot went off the crossbar. The Thorns led 2-0 at the half and played an efficient, strong team game up through the break.
The second half was all about Moultrie and Smith. Moultrie had a pair of strong takes at goal in the 48th and 58th minutes, but she finally broke through in the 74th minute. On a broken play with the goalkeeper out of position, Smith played the ball back to a wide open Moultrie, who put it home for her first career goal and an historic achievement.
Smith scored her second goal of the night in the 83rd minute as she fired one hard enough to go off the Houston defender and in, putting the cap on a dominant performance for the Thorns in a key road contest.
Portland’s final match before the international break is at home against the Orlando Pride, scheduled for 12 p.m. next Sunday at Providence Park (TV on Fox 12 Plus, streaming on Paramount+).
— Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com
