Washington Spirit Falls to Portland Thorns On the Road

Washington Spirit  |   May 22, 2016
Washington Spirit Falls to Portland Thorns On the Road Featured Image

Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer/ ISI Photos

PORTLAND, Or (May 21, 2016) – The Washington Spirit (4-1-1, 13 points) faced its first loss of the season on the road against the Portland Thorns (3-0-3, 12 points). Unlike the last meeting between the two teams in early May that ended in a scoreless draw, tonight’s game ended with 4-1 in favor of the Thorns. Joanna Lohman’s header in the 55th minute was the sole Spirit goal, while the Thorns four goals came from Meg Morris, Lindsey Horan, Tobin Heath, and an own goal.

The first goal for the Thorns came in the 27th minute when Thorns captain and midfielder Heath set up for a corner kick. She sent the ball to the head of Lindsey Horan in the penalty box. Less than five minutes later the Thorns doubled its advantage when Spirit goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé’s attempted clearance deflected off Spirit defender Alyssa Kleiner and back into the Spirit goal.

In the last seconds of first half stoppage time, Heath earned the Thorns its third goal of the match to leave them with a 3-0 lead. Heath received a ball at her feet from Christine Sinclair and chipped Labbé, who came off of her line to block the ball. Heath chased down her own chipped ball and tapped it into the net.

In the 55th minute, the Spirit finally tallied a goal when Spirit forward Crystal Dunn sent a beautiful cross into the box after battling Klingenberg on the right side. Joanna Lohman maneuvered away from her defender and headed Dunn’s cross beyond Adrianna Franch and into the back of the net.

In the 78th minute, a miscommunication in the Spirit’s midfield allowed Thorns midfielder Morris to capitalize on a misplayed pass just outside the Spirit penalty box. Morris pounced on the errant ball, drove forward and placed a well struck shot beyond the outstretched arms of Labbé to score the Thorn’s final goal of the match.

The Spirit will play its next two games on the road with rematches against the Houston Dash and Boston Breakers. The next home game for the Spirit will be against the Orlando Pride on June 18th at 7 p.m. at Maureen Hendricks Field.

NWSL Match Report
Match: Portland Thorns vs. Washington Spirit
Date: May 21, 2016
Venue:Providence Park, Portland, Ore.
Kickoff: 10:00 p.m. ET
Attendance: 15,823
Weather: 55, cloudy

Washington Spirit Lineup: 1- Stephanie Labbé; 22- Alyssa Kleiner, 6- Shelina Zadorsky, 4 – Megan Oyster (17-Cali Farquharson, 80′), 11-Ali Krieger; 15-Joanna Lohman, 23- Tori Huster (10-Estefania Banini), 7-Christine Nairn; 8-Diana Matheson, 12-Katie Stengel (20-Cheyna Williams, 68′), 19-Crystal Dunn

Subs not used: 24-Estelle Johnson, 3-Caprice Dydasco, 36-DiDi Haracic, 14-Francisca Ordega
Head Coach: Jim Gabarra

Portland Thorns Lineup: 24-Adrianna Franch; 25-Meghan Klingenberg, 4-Emily Menges, 16-Emily Sonnett, 2-Katherine Reynolds; 12-Christine Sinclair (44-Meg Morris 56′), 7-Lindsey Horan (6-Mana Shim 80′), 10-Allie Long; 17-Tobin Heath, 11-Dagny Brynjarsdottir, 9-Nadia Nadim (21-Hayley Raso 73′)

Subs not used: 88-Emily Kruger, 20-McKenzie Berryhill, 30-Celeste Boureille, 26-Mallory Weber
Head Coach: Mark Parsons

Team 1 2 Final
Portland Thorns  3  1  4
Washington Spirit  0  1  1
SCORING SUMMARY
Goal Time Team Goal Scorer Assist
 1 26 Portland Lindsey Horan Tobin Heath
 2 32 Portland Own goal
 3 46+ Portland Tobin Heath Christine Sinclair
 4 55 Washington Joanna Lohman Crystal Dunn
 5 78 Portland Meg Morris
CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS
Time Team ## Player Card Reason
32 Portland 16 Emily Sonnett Yellow Reckless Foul
60 Portland 44 Meg Morris Yellow Reckless Foul
61 Washington 7 Christine Nairn Yellow  Dissent
61 Portland 9 Nadia Nadim Yellow Dissent
76 Portland 7 Lindsey Horan Yellow Reckless Foul

Stats Summary: POR / WAS
Shots: 15 / 9
Shots on Goal: 8 / 8
Saves: 1 / 5
Corner Kicks: 8 / 2
Fouls: 15 / 9
Offside: 5 / 2

Officials:
Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva
Assistant Referee 1: Amanda Ross
Assistant Referee 2: Kelsey Harms
4th Official: Lucas Brooks

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