With key players missing on both sides, chaos is even more likely to reign supreme in a NWSL rivalry match. That was the case on Sunday for the Portland Thorns and OL Reign, who played to a wild 2-2 draw at Lumen Field.
The Thorns (4-1-6, 18 points) now sit at third in the NWSL standings while the Reign (4-2-5, 17 points) are in fourth. Portland’s unbeaten streak extended to seven games with the draw.
“I thought we played a better game than the opposition today, so I’m frustrated with the tie,” Thorns coach Rhian Wilkinson said. “Which is pretty exciting for this group. I don’t want to be happy about a tie right now. It’s hurting a little bit. But for the group we have on the field, being away from home to our biggest rivals, and knowing we should have had three points, that’s a pretty great frustration to have.”
The Thorns had a pair of early shots from Marissa Everett and Sam Coffey in the 4th and 7th minutes, and the Reign responded with a handful of chances on the other end as well. Portland got on the scoreboard first, but the goal came off the feet of the Reign.
Portland went up 1-0 on the OL Reign own-goal as a cross played in by Madison Pogarch bounced off a falling Reign defender and into the back of the net.
Just 59 seconds later, the Reign scored a goal of their own on the other end. Olivia Athens put one home on the breakaway to tie the match, 1-1, where it remained into the halftime break.
Portland wasn’t without its chances heading into the half, however, outshooting the Reign 8-3 including takes from Olivia Moultrie, Morgan Weaver and Everett. None found the net, though, and Portland entered the break level on the road.
Weaver had a pair of quality chances in the 48th and 55th minute, but it was Hina Sugita that broke through for Portland to give them the lead in the second half. A perfect cross in from Meghan Klingenberg found the feet of Sugita, who put it home with her left to give the Thorns a 2-1 lead in the 60th minute.
“I’m always proud of this group,” Klingenberg said. “It’s a really good group, and it’s a really special group. What’s amazing about it is that we have 10 internationals leave, whatever it is, and you can still see the heart and the core and the culture that we’ve created come out through the play. I think that’s really incredible.”
Yazmeen Ryan left the match due to injury in the 72nd minute, moments after Kelli Hubly was dinged up as well. Postgame, Wilkinson said Ryan was just cramping.
Portland’s substitutes continued to fight down the stretch to try and hang onto a lead on the road.
One of the most crucial plays of the second half came from goalkeeper Bella Bixby, whose leaping save on a header from Jess Fishlock prevented the Reign from knotting things up in the 78th minute.
It didn’t take long for the home team to level the match, though.
In the 81st minute, Bethany Balcer’s header tied the match, 2-2, and the Reign continued to hunt for the winning goal as Portland’s defense played back on its heels. They couldn’t find it, though, in an emotional final stretch that included a yellow card for arguing given to Fishlock.
In a last-ditch effort to score late in stoppage time, Portland’s Hannah Betfort collided with Reign keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and Betfort was down on the field for an extended period before coming off.
“Obviously, we’d rather come out with three points instead of one,” defender Madison Pogarch said. “We definitely had our moments. We had momentum. Some really great product from the team, but there’s definitely some things we need to work on. Being able to manage momentum and manage when the other team gets a bit energized. We’ve got a young group going right now and there’s plenty of things to learn.”
The Thorns’ next match is at home on Saturday against NJ/NY Gotham FC, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Providence Park (streaming on Paramount+).
— Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com
