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Match Preview | Sky Blue FC Takes on Portland Thorns FC at Providence Park

August 2, 2019 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Sky Blue FC News Release


Howell, N.J. - Sky Blue FC takes on Portland Thorns FC for the third time this season on Saturday, August 3 at 11:00 p.m. ET at Providence Park.

Streaming

The match will be streamed live on Yahoo Sports and in the NWSL app. International fans can watch on NWSLsoccer.com.

Preview

Sky Blue FC holds ninth place in the NWSL standings with eight points. The Thorns sit eight spots ahead in first place with 26 points. This season, Sky Blue FC holds a 0-1-1 record against Portland Thorns FC. In the last two seasons Portland is undefeated against Sky Blue with three wins and two draws. The Thorns six overall losses to Sky Blue are second-most against any active NWSL team, Reign have seven overall losses to Sky Blue.

Sky Blue FC will be without Carli Lloyd and Raquel Rodriguez on this road trip due to international duty. Lloyd will be representing the U.S. Women's National Team on their Victory Tour game on August 3rd in Pasadena, California and Rodriguez is representing Costa Rica at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. With the top two leading goal scorers out for the weekend, Sky Blue will turn to Jen Hoy (two goals), Sarah Killion (one goal, two assists), and Imani Dorsey (one goal) to lead the attack.

Opponent

Portland is coming off a 5-0 win over the Houston Dash at Providence Park. The Thorns have gone undefeated in their last three games. Portland has put in 11 goals in the three games that were played in July, most in the league. The Thorns averaged 3.7 goals a game in that run, having scored 1.9 per game in the 10 games before July 1st. Portland has scored 11 goals from set plays this season, the most in the league.

Thorns players to watch are Christine Sinclair, Midge Purce, Caitlin Foord, and Meghan Kilngenberg. These four core players have had four or more goal involvements this year. Leading the Portland attack is Sinclair and Purce, both have six goals and one assist on the season. Foord has score three goals and two assists. Klingenberg has been vital to the attack with the most assists on the team, notching four assists total.

The Thorns will be missing a few key players due to international duty. Adrianna Franch, Tobin Health, Lindsey Horan, and Emily Sonnett will be with the U.S. Women's National Team.

Sky Blue FC vs. Portland Thorns Rewind

In the last matchup, Sky Blue lost to the Thorns 0-1. Sky Blue FC held the Thorns scoreless throughout the first half of the match. Thorns forward Midge Purce scored the winning goal in the 69th minute.

Looking Ahead

On Wednesday, August 7, Sky Blue heads to Utah to play the Royals at Rio Tinto Stadium at 10:00 p.m. ET. Following that match, Sky Blue FC will return home to Yurcak Field on Wednesday, August 14th to play the Chicago Red Stars at 7:00 p.m. ET for the club's Back to School night.

Tickets

Tickets to all Sky Blue FC home games are available now by calling 888-SBFC-TIX or by visiting skybluefc.com. All fans at the game will receive a Sky Blue FC game day program with player poster insert.

Season Ticket Memberships are still available. Call 888-SBFC-TIX today to learn about our No Unused Ticket Policy. All memberships receive an exclusive 2019 Season Ticket Membership scarf.

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from August 2, 2019


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