It wasn’t perfect, and tactical issues persisted, but the Portland Thorns were able to harness their attacking prowess to beat the Chicago Red Stars, 3-2, on the road Sunday.
With the win, the Thorns (6-2-4, 22 points) sit alone in first place atop a jam-packed NWSL table. The Red Stars (3-8-1, 10 points) fall into last place out of 12 teams.
It was a mostly lackluster first half for the Thorns, who created a handful of chances early but were not clinical in their finishing. On the other end, they sat back defensively with minimal pressure, allowing a less-than-stellar Chicago attack to somehow maintain a heartbeat.
Portland’s first chance came quickly, however. A perfect ball in from Hina Sugita reached Sophia Smith in a lethal spot, but Smith was unable to settle the ball at her feet for a would-be goal.
In the 13th minute, Bella Bixby made a huge save for Portland, leaping to smack away the header by Arin Wright.
Smith and Sugita were active on the attack, putting in multiple shot attempts between the 14th and 17th minutes that couldn’t find the back of the net. On the other end, Chicago’s incompetence with the ball persisted despite a lack of pressure.
Sugita picked up a yellow card in the 29th minute for the Thorns.
A ball cut back by Smith reached Christine Sinclair in the 40th minute, and after Sinclair’s shot was blocked, Sam Coffey fired a long shot that smacked off the far post and out. It represented Portland’s best opportunity to get ahead to that point.
Then, in the 43rd minute, Smith decided it was time to do it herself.
Smith turned, scooted past defenders, and fired a long shot with her left foot with pace that bounced once before going in. Her goal made it 1-0 Thorns heading into the half, as Portland outshot Chicago, 17-6, but didn’t seem to be playing to its full potential.
Emotions reached a boiling point in the 58th minute as Meghan Klingenberg got in the face of Chicago’s Bianca St. Georges, who took an extra kick at Morgan Weaver at the end of a play which earned a yellow card.
For unrelated, competitive reasons with another game in five days, Klingeberg was taken off in the 62nd minute in favor of rookie Reyna Reyes.
Portland extended its lead to 2-0 in the 63rd minute on a goal from Sugita, fed back by Weaver before the Japanese national team midfielder slid and finished it off.
In the 64th minute, a dangerous collision in the box led to a penalty kick for Chicago. Bixby hit Wright in the face and collided knees with her as they both went for a 50-50 ball, and Bixby was visibly upset as trainers took Wright off on a stretcher.
The Red Stars pulled a goal back to make it 2-1 in the 72nd minute as Ella Stevens finished off the ensuing penalty kick.
In the 75th minute, Portland retook its two-goal advantage. Crystal Dunn played the ball across to Sinclair in the box, who made one move and finished with class to make it 3-1 Thorns.
Sinclair was replaced by Olivia Moultrie in the 78th minute, and Izzy D’Aquila replaced Smith.
Chicago scored again in the 82nd minute to keep things interesting, a header from Ally Schlegel to make it 3-2. The Red Stars nearly tied it in the 89th as St. Georges’ shot hit the near post.
Portland was able to hang on for all three points despite a flurry of attacking runs by Chicago in the eight minutes of stoppage time.
Next up: Portland returns home on Friday for a matchup with the Washington Spirit, the final Thorns game before players are released by the NWSL for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Portland vs. Washington kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Providence Park with a live stream available on Paramount+.
— Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com, Twitter: @RyanTClarke