NWSL Sky Blue FC

Sky Blue FC Travels to Portland Thorns FC for Midweek Pairing

Published on August 21, 2018 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Sky Blue FC News Release


Sky Blue FC forward Shea Groom
Sky Blue FC forward Shea Groom
(Sky Blue FC, Credit: Jeffrey Auger)

Portland, Ore. - Sky Blue FC (0-14-5, 5 points) will return to National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) action on Wednesday, traveling to play Portland Thorns FC (9-6-6, 33 points) at Providence Park. The match-up gets underway at 11:00 p.m. ET, and fans can watch the action live on NWSLsoccer.com or the NWSL app.

Wednesday night marks the third meeting of the season between these two clubs, with Portland holding a 1-0-1 advantage in 2018. Their first encounter took place on June 27 at Providence Park, with the end result being a 1-1 draw. In that match-up, the Thorns took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Christine Sinclair set up a Lindsey Horan goal in the 45th minute, but Sky Blue FC equalized in the 77th minute on a Carli Lloyd penalty kick conversion to split the points.

The second time these two teams played was on July 21 at Yurcak Field, where Portland edged Sky Blue FC by a tally of 2-1. The Thorns struck twice in the first seven minutes to gain an early 2-0 advantage, but their attack was blanked the rest of the way. Sky Blue FC did pull one back in the 27th minute on a Savannah McCaskill to Imani Dorsey tally, but a count of 2-1 remained when the final whistle was eventually blown.

Sky Blue FC was last on the pitch this past Saturday, coming within seconds of defeating Utah Royals FC at Yurcak Field. A Raquel Rodriguez to Katie Johnson connection in the 14th minute gave the hosts a 1-0 lead, which was later stretched to a pair of goals in the 48th minute when Johnson scored her second of the night. Utah pulled within a single notch in the 58th minute following a Sky Blue FC own goal, and an Amy Rodriguez equalizer leveled the count at 2-2 in the 4th minute of second-half stoppage time. Following her brace in the contest, Johnson received NWSL Player of the Week accolades.

Portland also played to a 2-2 draw in its most recent action when it hosted the Chicago Red Stars last Saturday night at Providence Park.

Historically, this overall series stands at 6-6-3, with Sky Blue FC holding a 4-3-2 advantage at Providence Park.

Wednesday night marks the start of a four-game road stretch for Sky Blue FC. The team returns home to Yurcak Field for its 2018 season finale on Saturday, September 8, hosting the Orlando Pride for a noon kickoff. Tickets for that game are available now online or by calling 888-SBFC-TIX (888-723-2849). The first 1,500 fans through the gates will receive a Carli Lloyd bobblehead, courtesy of Brielle Orthopedics.

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Images from this story

Sky Blue FC forward Shea Groom
Sky Blue FC forward Shea Groom
(Jeffrey Auger)		   



National Women's Soccer League Stories from August 21, 2018


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