Thorns open road trip with result against the Spirit

WASHINGTON D.C. – Sitting in first place of the NWSL standings,Portland Thorns FC earned a point on the road with a 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit at Audi Field on Sunday afternoon. Morgan Weaver tallied her fifth goal of the season to put Portland ahead in the match, but the Spirit equalized with a stoppage-time penalty kick to share points. Sam Coffey recorded her league-leading seventh assist of the 2023 campaign on Weaver’s goal.

Top of the TablePortland (8-4-5, 29pts) sits in first place of the NWSL standings, two points clear of the North Carolina Courage and San Diego Wave FC (27pts). Notably, Thorns FC have a record of 3-1-3 this season against top six teams. With five games remaining in the 2023 campaign, Portland will play three of them at Providence Park, where the team is 5-1-2 this season.

Weaver’s WorldWeaver scored her fifth goal of the 2023 campaign in today’s match. She is now tied with Crystal Dunn for the second-most goals on the team this season, trailing only Sophia Smith (11), while in sole possession of second-most points for Thorns FC (5g, 4a – 14pts). It marked Weaver’s 20th career goal across all competitions for Portland. Weaver has contributed to 24 goals in all NWSL competitions since the start of last season (16 goals, 8 assists).

Goal-Scoring PlaysPOR – Morgan Weaver (Sam Coffey), 64th minute: Coffey and Olivia Moultrie combined with a give-and-go in the center of the field. After entering the final third, Coffey slotted a through ball into the 18-yard box for Weaver, who finished the sequence with the outside of her right foot into the top-right corner of the goal.

WAS – Ashley Hatch (penalty kick), 90+2 minute: Thorns FC were called for a handball in the box. Ashley Hatch stepped up and converted the penalty kick.

Notes:

Next GameThorns FC will play the second leg of their two-game road swing against Racing Louisville FC Spirit on Saturday, Sept. 2, at Lynn Family Stadium; kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. (Pacific) on FOX 12 PLUS and Paramount+.

Portland Thorns FC (8-4-5, 29pts) vs Washington Spirit (6-3-8, 26pts)Aug. 27, 2023 – Audi Field (Washington, D.C.)

Scoring Summary:POR: Weaver (Coffey), 64WAS: Hatch (penalty kick), 90+2

Misconduct Summary:POR: Rodríguez (caution), 41WAS: Butel (caution), 90+9

Lineups:POR: GK Bixby, D Klingenberg (Reyes, 72), D Menges, D Nally, D Kuikka, M Rodríguez (Porter, 46), M Coffey, M Sinclair (Sugita, 61), M Moultrie (Dunn, 72), F Weaver, F Smith (Betfort, 45+3)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Hogan, D Sauerbrunn, D Provenzano, F D’Aquila

TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Weaver, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Weaver, 3); FOULS: 9 (three players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 4

WAS: GK Kingsbury, D Carle (Butel, 77), D Staab, D McKeown, D Bailey, M Metayer, M Sullivan, M Sarr (Biegalski, 68), M Sanchez (Ricketts, 68), F Rodman (Silano, 90+10), F Hatch

Substitutes Not Used: GK Barnhart, D Elwell, D Brooks, M Huster, M Sheva

TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Rodman, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Rodman, 3); FOULS: 6 (Hatch, 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 3

Referee: Jeremy Scheer Assistant Referees: Amilcar Sicaju, Ben Rigel Fourth Official: Stephen FosterVAR: Robi HullnerWeather: Partly cloudy, 79 degreesAttendance: 13,048

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial