The Portland Thorns needed to rediscover their joy and regain confidence after a three-match winless streak. They found plenty to be joyful about on Sunday, demolishing the Chicago Red Stars 4-0 at Providence Park.
The Thorns (4-1-3, 15 points) started off on the front foot, aggressively knifing their way between Red Stars defenders in the box. In the eighth minute, they opened the scoring.
On a set piece going right to left, Sam Coffey put a perfect ball toward the back post, and Kelli Hubly was there to finish it off for just her second career goal and first this season. Portland led 1-0 and smelled blood in the water.
The Thorns doubled their lead in the 14th minute. A filthy move from Hina Sugita led to a cross that found Crystal Dunn wide open in the box, and Dunn finished with class. With the strike, Dunn moved into a tie for the NWSL lead in goals with five.
Portland kept the pressure on, and it was able to put home another one in the 16th minute. Dunn’s perfect cross found the sprinting Olivia Moultrie, who put it home with aplomb to make it 3-0 Thorns.
Chicago settled in a bit as the first half progressed, but the Thorns still had a handful of chances to make it 4-0, including a powerful shot from Coffey in the 40th minute that narrowly missed.
Hubly picked up a yellow card in the 36th minute.
At the half, Portland was out-shooting Chicago 12-4, and the Thorns left a goal or two on the table despite a thoroughly dominant 3-0 performance.
It did not take long in the second half for the Thorns to get on the board again. In the 48th minute, a superb cross from Coffey to the far post found the head of Natalia Kuikka, who headed it home to make it 4-0 Portland.
In the 52nd minute, Sophia Smith’s curling shot forced a diving save, and Morgan Weaver’s attempt on the rebound smacked off the post and out.
Portland brought on a trio of subs in the 61st minute: Christine Sinclair for Moultrie, Reyna Reyes for Hubly, and Michele Vasconcelos for Dunn.
Chicago snuck behind the Thorns’ back line for its best chance of the match in the 65th minute. Midfielder Bianca St-Georges got in a dangerous spot, but her shot from in close hit off the post and out.
Portland had a few chances down the stretch, including shots from Smith and Sugita in the 81st and 82nd minutes, but the Chicago defense was stingy and did not allow the Thorns to break through again.
The Thorns replaced an injured Kuikka with Meaghan Nally in the 85th minute, hanging on to their four-goal advantage the rest of the way.
Smith appeared to be in some pain after a hard tackle in the 90th minute. While her marker did earn a yellow card for the challenge, Smith came up holding her left calf. It appeared initially to be a cramp, but Smith was walking gingerly throughout stoppage time.
Next up: Portland heads out on the road for a pivotal match with San Diego Wave FC (5-3-0, 15 points). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday with a live stream available on Paramount+.
— Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com, Twitter: @RyanTClarke
