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Portland Thorns FC

Thorns FC Register 2-0 Win against Orlando Pride in 2017 Nwsl Season

April 15, 2017 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Portland Thorns FC News Release


PORTLAND, Ore. - Squaring off against the Orlando Pride in their home and season opener for a second straight season, Portland Thorns FC received goals from forwards Nadia Nadim and Christine Sinclair, registering a 2-0 win in front of 16,145 fans - the largest crowd for a home opener in club history - on Saturday afternoon at Providence Park.

With the win, Portland (1-0-0, 3pts) is unbeaten in its last five regular-season matches (5-0-0), dating back to the 2016 season, and improved to 5-0-0 all-time in home openers, while outscoring its opponents 13-4 in those matches.

Nadim opened the scoring for Thorns FC, converting from the penalty spot after Orlando defender Alanna Kennedy was whistled for a handball in the box. The goal was Nadim's 10th goal since joining Portland ahead of the 2016 season. With the goal, Nadim claimed the fifth spot on Thorns FC's all-time scoring list. Sinclair's goal was her 24th career goal for the club, moving into a tie sixth place on the NWSL's all-time scoring list, while Nadim moved into a tie for eighth place (23 goals) on the league's career goal-scoring list.

Sinclair doubled Portland's lead in the 67th minute. After taking the ball away from an Orlando player near midfield, Allie Long made a surging run down the field before splitting a pair of defenders with a perfectly weighted pass for Sinclair, who tucked her shot into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Thorns FC created several scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes of the match. In the 16th minute, Sinclair collected a long pass from Adrianna Franch outside the box. Sinclair squeezed between two defenders and fired a shot from close range on the right side of the box, but Orlando goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris came off her line quickly to make the save. Less than five minutes later, defender Meghan Klingenberg and midfielder Lindsey Horan combined near the edge of the box. Horan slotted a pass down the middle to Klingenberg making a run, but Klingenberg's shot skipped wide of the left post.

Franch recorded nine saves in the match, earning the 11th clean sheet of her NWSL career. Franch made several critical saves in the contest, including a diving stop to deny Pride defender Steph Catley's left-footed shot from close range after quick restart on a free kick near the left side of the box. Additionally, Franch is now unbeaten in her last 14 regular-season NWSL matches.

Next up, Portland heads to North Carolina for its first road match of the season against the Courage on Saturday, April 22. The match kicks off at 4:30 p.m. (Pacific) and can be viewed on the go90 app.

Notes:

* Saturday afternoon's crowd of 16,145 was the largest crowd for a Thorns FC home opener in club history.

* Midfielder Allie Long made her 80th career appearance for the club in the match.

* Long tallied her 14th career assist in the match and is just one assist behind Tobin Heath for first place on Thorns FC's list for all-time career assists.

* Adrianna Franch is unbeaten in her last 14 regular-season matches, dating back to her 2013 season with the Western New York Flash.

* Long and midfielder Mana Shim are the only two players in club history to appear in every home opener since the team's inaugural 2013 season.

* Saturday's match marked the third all-time meeting between Portland and Orlando. Additionally, Thorns FC and the Pride met in Portland's home and season opener at Providence Park for a second straight season.

* Nadia Nadim notched her 23rd career NWSL goal, and her 10th career goal for Portland. With the goal, Nadim becomes the fifth player in Thorns FC history to have scored 10 or more goals.

* Sinclair has scored in four consecutive home regular-season matches for Portland, dating back to 20176. The goal was the 24th of Sinclair's career.

* Sinclair moved into a tie for sixth-place on the NWSL's all-time scoring list, while Nadim is now tied for eighth (23 goals).

* Portland improved to 8-0-4 all-time in the month of April, outscoring its opponents 22-9.

* Thorns FC are 5-0-0 all-time in home openers and 4-0-1 in season-opening matches. Portland has outscored its opponents 13-4 in five home openers.

Portland Thorns FC (1-0-0, 3pts) vs. Orlando Pride (0-1-0, 0pts) April 15, 2017 - Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Goals by Half 1 2 F Orlando Pride 0 0 0 Portland Thorns FC 1 1 2

Scoring Summary POR: Nadim (penalty kick), 32 POR: Sinclair (Long), 67

Misconduct Summary None

Lineups & Stats POR: GK Franch, D Boureille, D Sonnett, D Menges, D Klingenberg, M Henry, M Long, M Horan (Shim, 69), F Nadim (Morris, 79), F Sinclair (c), F Weber (Raso, 61)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Eckerstrom, D Cox, D Johnson

TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Nadim, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Nadim, Sinclair, 2); FOULS: 10 (Three players, 2); OFFSIDES: 6; CORNER KICKS: 0; SAVES: 9

ORL: GK Harris (c), D Fields (D. Evans, 72), D Krieger, D Kennedy, D Catley, M Edmonds, M Monica (Pressley, 78), M Weatherholt (M. Evans, 63), F Spencer, F Ubogagu, F Camila

Substitutes Not Used: GK Bledsoe, D Levin, D Alleway, F Burkenroad

TOTAL SHOTS: 19 (Ubogagu, 7); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Catley, Ubogagu, 3); FOULS: 11 (Kennedy, 3); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3

Referee: Danielle Chesky Assistant Referees: Deleana Quan, JJ Blodgett 4th Official: Jason Perlewitz Attendance: 16,145 Weather: Sunny, 52 degrees

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.

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