The Washington Spirit (12-4-6) face off against the Portland Thorns (11-5-6) this Sunday in Portland. The Spirit have never won at Providence Park. While that stat may sound intimidating (and it is), it is more a testament to the fortress that the Thorns and its fans have created than a metric reflecting the Spirit’s likelihood of winning this weekend.

During Saturday’s pregame press conference, Manager Adrián González said, “There’s always a first time, and coming here [is] always a huge motivation, I love these types of games with these environments and as difficult as we find these games, I think it’s a good challenge to all of us because of the opponent, the environment, and obviously we want to keep building for the playoffs…there is no better scenario than to face a team like [Portland].”

Washington Spirit

How They Got Here

After a nearly winless August, Washington closed out the month with a 1-0 victory against Bay FC. Heading into this week’s match on the road, the Spirit need to forget the disappointing results and focus on the lessons they can take away from the last five games.

“Obviously we had a crazy spell against North Carolina, but the lesson we took from that was the resilience that we showed to turn the game around and come back from three goals down,” defender Esme Morgan reflected on Washington’s recent record, “against Bay, we took the lead and then defended really well towards the end of the game and just battled, and I think all of those characteristics: being resilient and controlling the game, and then battling and grinding through difficult moments when it’s needed is something that’s going to serve us really well for the rest of the season.“

The Spirit will need to tap into that resilience and ruthlessness and continue the teamwork that helped in the buildup to Trinity Rodman’s connection with Paige Metayer that led to the winning goal last week during first half stoppage time (45+4′).

Key Difference Makers

Beating Portland at their home will be an uphill battle, and the Spirit will need to make careful decisions in their offensive press in order to avoid leaving striker Sophia Wilson with room to counterattack. The Spirit often rely on center back Tara Rudd‘s ability to carry the ball through the midfield and overload opponents when they are in possession. Against a front line as dangerous as the Thorns’, they will need to find openings for more progressive passes to open up attacking opportunities.

Success this week for the Spirit will require the defenders and midfielders to find opportunities for line-breaking passes and connection with the forward line. Last week, newcomer Mélissa Bethi made a big impact from the bench, bringing fresh energy and forward motion toward goal in possession. Hopefully she’s just getting started.

Portland Thorns

How They Got Here

While the Thorns have performed well over the last five matches (L-W-W-W-D), they conceded a whopping ten goals last month, including a 5-1 loss to Utah and a close 4-3 win over the Boston Legacy. As the margins in the table become closer and closer, 5th place Portland is looking to build their wins and secure their place at the top.

Looking closer, the Thorns have been gritty in finding ways to fight back from losses and get results. In their 2-1 victory over the Orlando Pride on August 15th, Portland allowed a goal only five minutes after putting their first on the board, and they got lucky with a beautiful late-game winner in stoppage at 90+6′ from Caiya Hanks.

Key Difference Makers

Playmaker Olivia Moultrie tore her ACL in early August, but defensive midfielder Jessie Fleming has stepped in as the tempo-setter, often finding ways to thread the ball to Sophia Wilson and Pietra Tordin via Portland’s fullbacks, MA Vignola and Carolyn Calzada.

With 11 goals and two assists this season, Sophia Wilson is always a threat and plays a huge role in the Thorns’ ability to secure wins and draws on fine margins. The Spirit will need to close her down, while also cutting off her biggest accomplice, left-winger Pietra Tordin. Tordin is having a phenomenal run this season, with seven goals and nine assists so far, she is one of Portland’s most dangerous elements in attack. This season alone, she has had 36 key passes that opened up an opportunity for one of her teammates to get a look at goal.

What to Expect

The Washington Spirit will need to balance taking advantage of opportunities while not over-committing numbers on offense and becoming vulnerable to counterattacks from the Thorns. Against the Denver Summit, Portland only had 37% possession but managed to put up 2.68xG with 16 shots. In comparison, the Spirit had the same number of shots (16) and 2.43xG last week against Bay FC, but had 48% of possession.

Creating opportunities while maintaining a conservative defense will require the Spirit forward line to move creatively off the ball and midfield and defense will need to connect to the attack with line-breaking passes. Portland has conceded five goals this season on set pieces, and hopefully the Spirit will find a way to take advantage of those chances.

Previously: 1-0, Spirit lose

The Spirit and the Thorns last met during the first game of the season in March. Portland won 1-0 with a goal from Olivia Moultrie (assisted by Tordin) in the 52nd minute. While Portland was able to get a result from the last match, Washington maintained 61% of possession through the game and had 1.06xG to Portland’s .99xG. The Spirit had a lot of opportunities at goal (13 shots), but struggled to hit any shots on target.

In reflecting on their last meeting, Adrián González shared that he felt the team had grown significantly since the start of the season and that the previous result is not a reflection of where the team is today. We completely agree.

In other good news, the Spirit’s favorite Italian defender, Lucia Di Guglielmo is back from injury this week! She was a key difference maker in the last game against the Thorns, so hopefully we will see her get some minutes again.

Availability Reports

Washington Spirit:

OUT: Deborah Abiodun (Hip – D45), Ashley Hatch (Ankle), Aubrey Kingsbury (Maternity Leave),
Casey Krueger (Maternity Leave), Claudia Martinez (Lower Leg), Leicy Santos (Foot), Kate
Wiesner (Ankle – D45)

Portland Thorns:

Location: Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
Kickoff time: 4:00 PM ET
Available TV: CBS | Paramount+