2019 Portland Thorns FC season

The 2019 Portland Thorns FC season was the team's and the league's seventh season of existence. The Thorns play in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Due to construction at Providence Park, the Thorns would start the season with six consecutive away matches.^[1]

Portland Thorns FC

2019 season
Several Thorns players were on the U.S. national team that won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Pictured here, those players greeted the then-record size audience upon their return, prior to a match against the Houston Dash.
Chairman	Merritt Paulson
Manager	Mark Parsons
Stadium	Providence Park Portland, Oregon
National Women's Soccer League	3rd
NWSL Playoffs	Semifinals (eliminated by Chicago Red Stars)
Top goalscorer	Christine Sinclair (9 goals), Margaret Purce (8 goals)
Highest home attendance	25,218 August 11 vs. North Carolina Courage
Lowest home attendance	15,581 June 21 vs. Utah Royals FC
Average home league attendance	20,098
Biggest win	5–0 (July 24 vs. Houston Dash)
Biggest defeat	0–6 (Sep. 11 vs. North Carolina Courage)
Home colours Away colours
← 2018 2020 →

Team

Squad

Updated July 28, 2022, referencing same, to add #36 Angela Salem

Updated May 8, 2019 ^[2] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  USA Katherine Reynolds 4 DF  USA Emily Menges 7 FW  SUI Ana-Maria Crnogorčević 8 MF  BRA Andressinha 9 FW  AUS Caitlin Foord 10 MF  USA Lindsey Horan 11 MF  ISL Dagný Brynjarsdóttir 12 FW  CAN Christine Sinclair 15 DF  AUS Ellie Carpenter 16 DF  USA Emily Sonnett 17 MF  USA Tobin Heath 20 DF  USA Kelli Hubly 21 FW  AUS Hayley Raso

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 MF  USA Margaret Purce 24 GK  USA Adrianna Franch 25 DF  USA Meghan Klingenberg 27 DF  USA Elizabeth Ball 30 MF  USA Celeste Boureille 31 GK  USA Bella Bixby 33 GK  USA Britt Eckerstrom 34 FW  USA Tyler Lussi 35 DF  USA Gabby Seiler 36 MF  USA Angela Salem 37 MF  USA Emily Ogle 38 FW  USA Simone Charley 41 DF  USA Madison Pogarch

Competitions

Preseason

Thorns Spring Invitational

Portland Thorns FC v Chicago Red Stars

March 24, 2019	Portland Thorns FC	2–1	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
17:00	Lussi 6' (Sonnett) Sinclair 74' (Heath)	Report	Sharples 54' (Sánchez)	Stadium: Merlo Field Attendance: 3,420

Portland Thorns FC v United States U-23

March 27, 2019	Portland Thorns FC	0–1	United States U-23	Portland, Oregon
19:30		Report	Macario 6' (pen.)	Stadium: Merlo Field Attendance: 1,943

Portland Thorns FC v Reign FC

March 30, 2019	Portland Thorns FC	0–0	Reign FC	Portland, Oregon
19:30		Report		Stadium: Merlo Field Attendance: 4,100

Regular season

Orlando Pride v Portland Thorns FC

April 14 1	Orlando Pride	0–2	Portland Thorns FC	Orlando, Florida
14:00 PST	Camila  90+1'	Report	Foord 45' Heath 49'	Stadium: Orlando City Stadium Attendance: 7,189 Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva

Chicago Red Stars v Portland Thorns FC

April 20 2	Chicago Red Stars	4–4	Portland Thorns FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
12:30	Nagasato 18' (pen.), 90+1' Kerr 20' Vasconcelos 78'	Report	Sinclair 16', 51', 87' (pen.) Crnogorčević 33'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 12,967 Referee: Karen Abt

Sky Blue FC v Portland Thorns FC

April 28 3	Sky Blue FC	2–2	Portland Thorns FC	Piscataway, New Jersey
15:00	Lloyd 6', 18' James  60'	Report	Sonnett 32' Heath 34'	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 1,321

Orlando Pride v Portland Thorns FC

May 11 4	Orlando Pride	1–3	Portland Thorns FC	Orlando, Florida
7:30pm	Pressley 10' Hill  35' Pickett  74'	Report	Brynjarsdóttir 28' Andressinha 36' Foord 57' Boureille  61'	Stadium: Orlando City Stadium Attendance: 4,369 Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin
Note: Play suspended for inclement weather in second half stoppage time

Washington Spirit v Portland Thorns FC

May 18 5	Washington Spirit	3–1	Portland Thorns FC	Boyds, Maryland
16:00	Hatch 16' Dougherty Howard  25' Brynjarsdottir 47' (o.g.) DiBiasi 71' Staab  87' Logarzo  90+4'	Box	Foord 67'	Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 3,049

Sky Blue FC v Portland Thorns FC

May 25 6	Sky Blue FC	0–1	Portland Thorns FC	Piscataway, New Jersey
15:00		Box	Purce 69' Brynjarsdottir  87'	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 1,472

Portland Thorns FC v Chicago Red Stars

June 2 7	Portland Thorns FC	3–0	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
15:00	Purce 27', 31' Ball  37' Everett 85'	Box	Short  66'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 19,461 Referee: Victor Rivas

North Carolina Courage v Portland Thorns FC

June 15 8	North Carolina Courage	1–1	Portland Thorns FC	Cary, North Carolina
16:45	Kurtz  19' Spetsmark 59'	Box	Purce 26'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 6,172
Note: doubleheader with North Carolina FC.

Portland Thorns FC v Utah Royals FC

June 21 9	Portland Thorns FC	0–0	Utah Royals FC	Portland, Oregon
20:00	LaBonta  56'	Box	Boureille  30'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 15,581

Houston Dash v Portland Thorns FC

June 29 10	Houston Dash	1–2	Portland Thorns FC	Houston, Texas
17:30	Simon 51' Murray  75'	Report	Ball  60' Lussi 70' Purce 75'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 3,379

Portland Thorns FC v Reign FC

July 5 11	Portland Thorns FC	0–1	Reign FC	Portland, Oregon
20:00	Brynjarsdóttir  54'	Box Report	Barnes  22' Groom  52' Celia 55'  64'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 19,116

Portland Thorns FC v Orlando Pride

July 14 12	Portland Thorns FC	4–3	Orlando Pride	Portland, Oregon
12:00	Raso 3' Purce 58' Sinclair 66' Seiler  83' Lussi 90+4'	Report	Hill  36' Marta 61' Menges 68' (o.g.) Greening  69' 90' Elinsky  90+2'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 18,909

Utah Royals FC v Portland Thorns FC

July 19 13	Utah Royals FC	2–2	Portland Thorns FC	Sandy, Utah
19:00	Press 43' Corsie 90'	Report	Sinclair 9' Foord  83' Sauerbrunn 87' (o.g.)	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 15,931

Portland Thorns FC v Houston Dash

July 24 14	Portland Thorns FC	5–0	Houston Dash	Portland, Oregon
19:30	Horan 7' Raso 12', 23' Sinclair 18' (pen.) Campbell 71' (o.g.)	Report	Chapman  70'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 22,329

Portland Thorns FC v Sky Blue FC

August 3 15	Portland Thorns FC	1–1	Sky Blue FC	Portland, Oregon
20:00	Sinclair 39' (pen.)	Report	Dorsey 69' Pierre-Louis  73'  90+2'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 19,070

Reign FC v Portland Thorns FC

August 7 16	Reign FC	1–0	Portland Thorns FC	Tacoma, Washington
19:00	Catley  31' White 55' Taylor  78'	Box Report		Stadium: Cheney Stadium Attendance: 5,865

Portland Thorns FC v North Carolina Courage

August 11 17	Portland Thorns FC	2–1	North Carolina Courage	Portland, Oregon
12:00	Foord  19' Labbé 56' (o.g) Erceg 82' (o.g)	Report	Dunn 4'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 25,218
Note: Game was broadcast on ESPNews

Portland Thorns FC v Washington Spirit

August 17 18	Portland Thorns FC	3–1	Washington Spirit	Portland, Oregon
19:30	Raso 5' Sonnett 19' Sinclair 63'	Report	Kellond-Knight  58' Sullivan 68'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 20,895

Portland Thorns FC v Chicago Red Stars

August 25 19	Portland Thorns FC	3–0	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
12:00	Sinclair 12' Purce 24', 56' Heath  70'	Report	Stanton  63' Nagasato  84'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 17,542

Utah Royals FC v Portland Thorns FC

September 6 20	Utah Royals FC	1–0	Portland Thorns FC	Sandy, Utah
18:30	Sauerbrunn 36' Corsie  65' Rodriguez  78'	Report	Sonnett  61'  77' Horan  80'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium

Portland Thorns FC v North Carolina Courage

September 11 21	Portland Thorns FC	0–6	North Carolina Courage	Portland, Oregon
19:30	Klingenberg  57' Horan  58'	Report	Debinha 15' L. Williams 21', 24', 68' Dunn 61' Hinkle  69' Hamilton 89'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 17,517

Portland Thorns FC v Houston Dash

September 21 22	Portland Thorns FC	1–0	Houston Dash	Portland, Oregon
19:30	Heath 48'	Report		Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 21,022

Reign FC v Portland Thorns FC

September 29 23	Reign FC	2–0	Portland Thorns FC	Tacoma, Washington
13:00	Taylor 27' Nielsen  36' Yanez  51' Balcer 81'	Box	Foord  34' Dagný  57' Sonnett  89'	Stadium: Cheney Stadium Attendance: 7,370

Portland Thorns FC v Washington Spirit

October 12 24	Portland Thorns FC	0–0	Washington Spirit	Portland, Oregon
19:30		Report		Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 24,521

Postseason playoffs

Chicago Red Stars v Portland Thorns FC

October 20 (20-10) Semifinal	Chicago Red Stars	1–0	Portland Thorns FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
2:30 p.m. CDT	Kerr 8'	Report	Ball  45+1'	Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 9,218
Note: Televised on ESPN2

Regular-season standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	North Carolina Courage (C)	24	15	4	5	54	23	+31	49	NWSL Shield
2	Chicago Red Stars	24	14	2	8	41	28	+13	44	NWSL Playoffs
3	Portland Thorns FC	24	11	7	6	40	31	+9	40
4	Reign FC	24	10	8	6	27	27	0	38
5	Washington Spirit	24	9	7	8	30	25	+5	34
6	Utah Royals FC	24	10	4	10	25	25	0	34
7	Houston Dash	24	7	5	12	21	36	−15	26
8	Sky Blue FC	24	5	5	14	20	34	−14	20
9	Orlando Pride	24	4	4	16	24	53	−29	16

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
24	11	7	6	40	31	+9	40	7	3	2	22	13	+9	4	4	4	18	18	0

Last updated: October 12, 2019.
Source: NWSLsoccer.com

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	23	24
Stadium	A	A	A	A	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A	H
Result	W	D	D	W	L	W	W	D	D	W	L	W	D	W	D	L	W	W	W	L	L	W	L	D
Position	1	1	4	5	6	3	2	3	3	1	3	2	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	2	3	3	3

Updated to match(es) played on September 29, 2019. Source: NWSLsoccer.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Statistical leaders

Top scorers Rank Player Goals 1 Christine Sinclair 9 2 Margaret Purce 8 3 Hayley Raso 4 4 Caitlin Foord 3 Tobin Heath 6 Tyler Lussi 2 Emily Sonnett 8 Andressinha 1 Ana-Maria Crnogorčević Dagny Brynjarsdottir Marissa Everett Lindsey Horan

Top assists Rank Player Assists 1 Meghan Klingenberg 4 2 Tobin Heath 3 3 Simone Charley 2 Caitlin Foord Lindsey Horan 6 Ana-Maria Crnogorčević 1 Christine Sinclair Dagny Brynjarsdottir Celeste Boureille Tyler Lussi Ellie Carpenter Shutouts Rank Player Clean sheets 1 Adrianna Franch 4 2 Britt Eckerstrom 3

Player Transactions

2019 NWSL College Draft

Source: National Women's Soccer League^[3]

Round	Pick	Nat.	Player	Pos.	Previous Team
Round 3	24		Emily Ogle	M	Penn State

In

Date	Player	Positions played	Previous club	Fee/notes	Ref.
February 13, 2019	Dagný Brynjarsdóttir	MF	Maternity Leave	Signed	[4]
May 8, 2019	Madison Pogarch	DF	Rutgers University	Signed	[5]
May 8, 2019	Simone Charley	FW	Vanderbilt University	Signed	[5]

Out

Date	Player	Positions played	Destination club	Fee/notes	Ref.
October 1, 2018	Meg Morris	MF		Retired	[6]
May 8, 2019	Ifeoma Onumonu	FW	Reign FC	Waived.	[5]
May 8, 2019	Mallory Weber	FW	Utah Royals FC	Waived.	[5]

Awards

As of October 9, 2019.

NWSL Monthly Awards

NWSL Team of the Month

Month	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Ref
April		Meghan Klingenberg	Christine Sinclair	Tobin Heath	[7]
June		Katherine Reynolds		Midge Purce	[8]
July			Gabby Seiler		[9]
August		Emily Menges	Christine Sinclair	Midge Purce	[10]

NWSL Weekly Awards

NWSL Player of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
1	Won	Tobin Heath	[11]
2	Won	Christine Sinclair	[12]
19	Won	Midge Purce	[13]

NWSL Goal of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
1	Won	Tobin Heath	[14]
2	Nominated	Christine Sinclair	[15]
3	Won	Tobin Heath	[16]
5	Won	Andressinha	[17]
7	Nominated	Margaret Purce	[18]
8	Won	Margaret Purce	[19][20]
9	Nominated	Margaret Purce	[21]
11	Won	Tyler Lussi	[22]
13	Won	Tyler Lussi	[23]
14	Nominated	Christine Sinclair	[24]
15	Nominated	Hayley Raso	[25]
23	Won	Tobin Heath	[26]

NWSL Save of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
5	Nominated	Britt Eckerstrom	[27]
6	Won	Britt Eckerstrom	[28][29]
14	Won	Adrianna Franch	[30]
17	Won	Adrianna Franch	[31]
18	Nominated	Adrianna Franch	[32]

Notes