2013 Portland Thorns FC season

The 2013 season was the Portland Thorns' inaugural season in the newly created National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of women's professional soccer in the United States. The Thorns ended the 22-game regular season with a 10-6-6 record, qualifying them for the NWSL playoffs. In their semi-final game the team beat FC Kansas City 3-2 in extra time, qualifying them to play Western New York Flash in the championship. The Thorns beat the Flash 2–0, making Portland Thorns FC the NWSL champion.

Portland Thorns FC

2013 season
President	Merritt Paulson
Head coach	Cindy Parlow Cone
Stadium	Jeld-Wen Field Portland, Oregon (Capacity: 20,438)
National Women's Soccer League	3rd
NWSL Playoffs	Champions
Top goalscorer	Alex Morgan Christine Sinclair (8 goals)
Highest home attendance	16,479
Lowest home attendance	10,886
Average home league attendance	13,320
Home colors Away colors
2014 →

Background

in 2013

The league's founding was announced on November 21, 2012, with Portland as a host for one of eight teams.^[1][2] At that time it was announced by Portland Timbers' owner Merritt Paulson that the Timbers would own the team.^[2]

The chosen team, Portland Thorns FC, was announced on December 13, 2012, accompanied by the unveiling of its logo.^[3][4][5] Both the name and logo were intended to invoke Portland's nickname of the Rose City.^[3][6]

Cindy Parlow Cone was announced as the first head coach on December 19, 2012.^[7]

Club

Executive staff

Majority Owner & President	Merritt Paulson
Chief Operating Officer	Mike Golub
General Manager / Technical Director	Gavin Wilkinson
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	Jeld-Wen Field (20,438 / 110x70 yards)

Updated to match played February 11, 2013
Source: Portland Timbers

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Cindy Parlow Cone
Assistant Coach	John Galas

Last updated: February 11, 2013
Source:

Roster

In the National Women's Soccer League's (NWSL) inaugural season, the eight founding clubs filled out their rosters through numerous mechanisms. First, teams are allocated national team players from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Next, teams go through the NWSL College Draft, a free agency period, the NWSL Supplemental Draft, and the signing of Discovery Players.^[8]

No.	Name	Nationality	Date of Birth (Age)	Previous Club	Signed Via / Notes
Goalkeepers
1	Karina LeBlanc		(1980-03-30) 30 March 1980 (age 45)	magicJack (WPS)	National team allocation[9]
23	Adelaide Gay		(1989-11-03) 3 November 1989 (age 35)	University of North Carolina	Discovery player[10]
Defenders
2	Marian Dougherty		(1984-11-25) 25 November 1984 (age 40)	magicJack (WPS)	Supplemental draft[11]
4	Emilee O'Neil		(1983-03-26) 26 March 1983 (age 42)	Stanford University	Discovery player[10]
15	Casey Ramirez		(1989-12-08) 8 December 1989 (age 35)	Fortuna Hjorring	Discovery player[10]
5	Kathryn Williamson		(1989-08-01) 1 August 1989 (age 36)	University of Florida	NWSL College Draft[12]
7	Nikki Marshall		(1988-06-02) 2 June 1988 (age 37)	Western New York Flash	Free agent[13]
11	Jazmyne Avant		(1990-01-30) 30 January 1990 (age 35)	New York Fury	Discovery player[14]
16	Rachel Van Hollebeke		(1985-08-26) 26 August 1985 (age 39)	Boston Breakers	National team allocation[9]
Midfielders
3	Elizabeth Guess		(1985-01-11) 11 January 1985 (age 40)	Boston Breakers	Waivers[15]
6	Meleana Shim		(1991-09-25) 25 September 1991 (age 33)	Santa Clara University	Discovery player[10]
8	Angie Kerr		(1987-03-29) 29 March 1987 (age 38)	Sky Blue FC	Supplemental draft[11]
10	Allie Long		(1987-08-13) 13 August 1987 (age 38)	New York Fury	Free Agent[13]
12	Becky Edwards		(1988-05-22) 22 May 1988 (age 37)	Kristianstads DFF	Free agent[13]
17	Tobin Heath		(1988-05-29) 29 May 1988 (age 37)	Paris Saint-Germain	National team allocation[9][16]
20	Courtney Wetzel		(1989-02-25) 25 February 1989 (age 36)	Oregon State University	Discovery player[10]
21	Nikki Washington		(1988-08-01) 1 August 1988 (age 37)	Canberra United FC	Free agent[13]
Forwards
9	Danielle Foxhoven		(1989-11-08) 8 November 1989 (age 35)	FC Energy Voronezh	Discovery player[17]
12	Christine Sinclair (captain)		(1983-06-12) 12 June 1983 (age 42)	Western New York Flash	National team allocation[9]
13	Alex Morgan		(1989-07-02) 2 July 1989 (age 36)	Seattle Sounders Women	National team allocation[9]
18	Jessica Shufelt		(1990-05-29) 29 May 1990 (age 35)	Ottawa Fury Women	Supplemental draft[11]

Last updated: May 20, 2013
Source:

Competitions

All times Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−07:00)

Preseason

Portland Thorns FC v University of Portland

March 30, 2013	Portland Thorns FC	2—1	University of Portland	Portland, Oregon
19:00	Foxhoven 52' Long 73'	Report	Frisbie 30'	Stadium: Merlo Field Attendance: 4,892 Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva

Regular season

FC Kansas City v Portland Thorns FC

April 13, 2013 1	FC Kansas City	1–1	Portland Thorns FC	Overland Park, Kansas
17:35	Cuellar 3' Mewis  43'	KC Report Portland Report	Sinclair 66' (pen.) Washington  70' Williamson  82'	Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium Attendance: 6,784 Referee: Kari Seitz

Portland Thorns FC v Seattle Reign FC

April 21, 2013 2	Portland Thorns FC	2–1	Seattle Reign FC	Portland, Oregon
14:00	Dougherty 45' Morgan 52' Kerr  8' Long  11' Washington  68'	Portland Report	Fishlock 74'  78' Reed  30' Nairn  33'	Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 16,479 Referee: Josh Wilkens

Chicago Red Stars v Portland Thorns FC

April 27, 2013 3	Chicago Red Stars	0–2	Portland Thorns FC	Lisle, Illinois
17:00	Mautz  69'	Portland Report	Foxhoven 70' Sinclair 81'	Stadium: Village Sports Complex Attendance: 2,855 Referee: Donovan Noocha

Washington Spirit v Portland Thorns FC

May 4, 2013 4	Washington Spirit	1–2	Portland Thorns FC	Boyds, Maryland
16:00	Matheson 86' (pen.) Harris  13'	Portland Report	Morgan 12' (pen.) Washington 51' Long  70' Edwards  82'	Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 5,011 Referee: Christina Unkel

Chicago Red Stars v Portland Thorns FC

May 12, 2013 5	Chicago Red Stars	0–2	Portland Thorns FC	Lisle, Illinois
15:00	Mautz  54'	Portland Report	Morgan 3' Long 34' Buehler  52'	Stadium: Village Sports Complex Attendance: 1,329 Referee: Kari Seitz

Portland Thorns FC v Sky Blue FC

May 16, 2013 6	Portland Thorns FC	0–1	Sky Blue FC	Portland, Oregon
19:30	Sinclair  80'	Portland Report	Lytle 80'	Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 11,055 Referee: Josh Wilkens

Portland Thorns FC v Washington Spirit

May 19, 2013 7	Portland Thorns FC	2–0	Washington Spirit	Portland, Oregon
14:00	Sinclair 41' Morgan 86' Marshall  65'	Portland Report	Gayle  83'	Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 12,474 Referee: Robert Sibiga

Seattle Reign FC v Portland Thorns FC

May 25, 2013 8	Seattle Reign FC	0–1	Portland Thorns FC	Tukwila, Washington
19:00		Portland Report	Sinclair 84' (pen.) Edwards  30' Morgan  38' Dougherty  51'	Stadium: Starfire Stadium Attendance: 3,324 Referee: Margaret Domka

Portland Thorns FC v Chicago Red Stars

June 1, 2013 9	Portland Thorns FC	0–2	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
19:30	Edwards  41' Guess  90'	Portland Report	Bywaters 35' Santacaterina 61' Chalupny  56'	Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 12,446 Referee: Christina Unkel

Portland Thorns FC v FC Kansas City

June 6, 2013 10	Portland Thorns FC	4–3	FC Kansas City	Portland, Oregon
19:30	Morgan 13'  80' Wetzel 20' Foxhoven 48' Long 66'	Portland Report	Cheney 34' (pen.), 56' Tymrak 81' Mathias  88'	Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 10,886 Referee: Miguel Panduro, Jr.

Portland Thorns FC v Seattle Reign FC

June 16, 2013 11	Portland Thorns FC	2–0	Seattle Reign FC	Portland, Oregon
14:00	Foxhoven 48' Shim 66' Guess  39' Washington  43'	Portland Report		Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 13,802 Referee: Robert Sibiga

Sky Blue FC v Portland Thorns FC

June 22, 2013 12	Sky Blue FC	0–0	Portland Thorns FC	Piscataway, New Jersey
16:00		Portland Report		Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 3,002 Referee: Kari Seitz

FC Kansas City v Portland Thorns FC

June 30, 2013 13	FC Kansas City	2–0	Portland Thorns FC	Overland Park, Kansas
13:10	Cheney 10' Mathias 71'			Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium Attendance: 4,774 Referee: Christina Unkel

Portland Thorns FC v Boston Breakers

July 6, 2013 14	Portland Thorns FC	0–2	Boston Breakers	Portland, Oregon
19:30		Report	Leroux 11', 39'	Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 12,436 Referee: Robert Sibiga

Portland Thorns FC v Western New York Flash

July 14, 2013 15	Portland Thorns FC	1–1	Western New York Flash	Portland, Oregon
14:00	Shim 39'	Report	Wambach 38'	Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 13,021 Referee: Ted Unkel

Boston Breakers v Portland Thorns FC

July 21, 2013 16	Boston Breakers	1–2	Portland Thorns FC	Somerville, Massachusetts
13:00	Sanderson 13'	Report	Morgan 23' Shim 86'	Stadium: Dilboy Stadium Attendance: 2,978 Referee: Robert Sibiga

Portland Thorns FC v Chicago Red Stars

July 28, 2013 17	Portland Thorns FC	3–3	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
14:00	Sinclair 23', 63' Shim 55'	Report	Mautz 60', 75' Sitch 86'	Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 12,534 Referee: Kari Seitz

Portland Thorns FC v Sky Blue FC

July 31, 2013 (2013-07-31) 18	Portland Thorns FC	3–1	Sky Blue FC	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PST	Morgan 37' Shim 65' Long 73'	Report	Marshall 18' (o.g.)	Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 13,769 Referee: Margaret Domka

Portland Thorns FC v FC Kansas City

August 4, 2013 19	Portland Thorns FC	2–3	FC Kansas City	Portland, Oregon
14:00	Foxhoven 51' Morgan 89' Buehler  90+4'	Summary	Holiday 23', 55' Mewis 74'	Stadium: Jeld-Wen Field Attendance: 17,619 Referee: John McCloskey

Boston Breakers v Portland Thorns FC

August 7, 2013 20	Boston Breakers	2–1	Portland Thorns FC	Somerville, Massachusetts
16:00	Sanderson 68' O'Reilly 84'	Summary	Weimer 52'	Stadium: Dilboy Stadium Attendance: 3,012 Referee: Elvis Mahmutovic

Western New York Flash v Portland Thorns FC

August 10, 2013 21	Western New York Flash	0–0	Portland Thorns FC	Rochester, New York
16:35	Adriana Martín  67'	Summary	Dalmy  90+1'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium Attendance: 7,606 Referee: Maraget Domka

Seattle Reign FC v Portland Thorns FC

August 17, 2013 22	Seattle Reign FC	1–2	Portland Thorns FC	Tukwila, Washington
20:00	Rapinoe 3'	Summary	Sinclair 8', 83' Marshall  69' Shim  78'	Stadium: Starfire Stadium Attendance: 3,855 Referee: Christina Unkel

Final round

FC Kansas City v Portland Thorns FC

24 August 2013 Semi Final	FC Kansas City	2—3 (a.e.t.)	Portland Thorns FC	Overland Park, Kansas
21:00	Tymrak 12' Henderson 25' Scott  72' Buczkowski  86'	Summary	Heath 33' Dalmy  50' Long  60' 103' Weimer 65'	Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium Attendance: 4,016 Referee: Christina Unkel

Western New York Flash v Portland Thorns FC

31 August 2013 Final	Western New York Flash	0—2	Portland Thorns FC	Rochester, New York
21:00	Johnson  33' Adriana Martín  73'	Summary	Heath 40' Williamson  49'  57' Long  88' Sinclair 90+2'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium Attendance: 9,129 Referee: Kari Seitz

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
22	38	11	6	5	32	25	+7	5	4	2	19	17	+2	6	2	3	13	8	+5

Last updated: August 18, 2013
Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Stadium	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	A
Result	D	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	L	W	W	D	L	L	D	W	D	W	L	L	D	W
Position	2	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3

Updated to match(es) played on August 18, 2013. Source: ^{[citation needed]}
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Statistics

Team statistics

No.	Pos.	Name	League					Discipline
			GP	GS	MP	G	A
1	GK	Karina LeBlanc	21	21	1890	0	0	0	0
2	DF	Marian Dougherty	19	19	1666	1	1	2	0
3	MF	Elizabeth Guess	4	1	67	0	0	2	0
4	DF/MF	Emilee O'Neil	4	1	141	0	0	0	0
5	DF	Kathryn Williamson	22	22	1944	0	0	1	0
6	MF	Meleana Shim	19	17	1416	5	2	1	0
7	DF	Nikki Marshall	22	22	1871	0	1	1	0
8	MF	Angie Kerr	15	9	762	0	1	0	0
9	FW	Danielle Foxhoven	21	7	997	4	0	1	0
10	MF	Allie Long	22	22	1956	3	3	2	0
11	DF	Jazmyne Avant	4	2	212	0	0	0	0
12	FW	Christine Sinclair	20	20	1783	8	2	2	0
13	FW	Alex Morgan	18	18	1525	8	5	4	0
14	MF	Becky Edwards	10	10	900	0	0	3	0
15	DF/MF	Casey Ramirez	4	1	159	0	0	0	0
16	DF	Rachel Buehler	20	20	1800	0	2	2	0
17	MF	Tobin Heath	7	7	630	0	3	4	0
18	FW	Jessica Shufelt	4	0	31	0	0	0	0
19	FW	Tiffany Weimer	10	5	522	1	1	0	0
20	MF	Courtney Wetzel	16	6	602	1	1	0	0
21	MF	Nikki Washington	11	10	776	1	2	3	0
24	DF	Tina Ellertson	3	0	40	0	0	0	0
26	GK	Cris Lewis	1	1	90	0	0	0	0
Portland Thorns FC			22		1980	32	24	29	0
Opponents			22		1980	25	19	18	0

Statistics accurate as of October 11, 2013^[18]

Goalkeeper stats

Last updated: October 11, 2013

No.	Nat	Player	MIN	GA	GAA	SV
1		Karina LeBlanc	1890	23	1.1	92
23		Adelaide Gay	0	0	0	0
26		Cris Lewis	90	2	2	0

Honors

NWSL Player of the Month

Month	Result	Player	Ref
April	Won	Christine Sinclair	[19]

Player Transactions

National Team Player Allocation

On January 11, 2013, the league held its player allocation for the national team players, with Portland receiving seven players: Rachel Buehler, Tobin Heath, Karina LeBlanc, Alex Morgan, Marlene Sandoval, Luz Saucedo, and Christine Sinclair.^[9] On January 23, 2013, Heath signed a six-month contract with Paris Saint-Germain and expected to join the Thorns FC once the French club's season is concluded.^[16] On March 21, 2013, Sandoval and Saucedo, the two allocated Mexico national team defenders, were removed from the team roster, due to an injury and decision by the Mexican Football Federation, respectively.^[20]

National Women's Soccer League College Draft

Each team in the NWSL got to pick once per round, with the draft order based on how well each team did in allocation. The Thorns picked eighth (last) in each round.^[10]

Date	Player	Pos	Previous Club	Round (Overall)	Ref
January 18, 2013	Kathryn Williamson	DF	University of Florida	1 (8)	[12]
January 18, 2013	Nicolette Radovcic	MF	University of Central Florida	2 (16)	[12][21]
January 18, 2013	Amber Brooks	MF	University of North Carolina	3 (24)	[12]
January 18, 2013	Roxanne Barker	GK	Pepperdine University	4 (32)	[12][21]

Supplemental Draft Picks

Any player that wasn’t selected in the NWSL College Draft, and was done with her college eligibility, was eligible for the NWSL Supplemental Draft. The draft lasted six rounds. Again, the Thorns selected eighth (last) in each round.^[10]

Date	Player	Pos	Previous Club	Pick (Overall)	Ref
February 7, 2013	Tina Ellertson	DF	magicJack (WPS)	1 (8)	[11]
February 7, 2013	Angie Kerr	MF	Sky Blue FC	2 (16)	[11]
February 7, 2013	Michele Weissenhofer	FW	Chicago Red Stars	3 (24)	[11]
February 7, 2013	Marian Dougherty (Dalmy)	DF	magicJack (WPS)	4 (32)	[11]
February 7, 2013	Jessica Shufelt	FW	Ottawa Fury Women	5 (40)	[11]

Transfers In

Date	Player	Pos	Previous Club	Notes	Ref
April 24, 2013	Elizabeth Guess	MF	Boston Breakers	Signed off Waivers	[15]

Transfers Out

Date	Player	Pos	Destination Club	Notes	Ref