The Portland Thorns had the visiting Chicago Red Stars on their heels early, netting three goals in the first 16 minute on the way to an easy 4-0 victory. Kelly Hubly, Crystal Dunn, Olivia Moultrie, and Natalia Kuikka all scored for the Thorns, while Bella Bixby had the shutout in goal.
It only took until the 8th minute for the Thorns to take the lead, when a free kick curled to the far post, where Kelly Hubly did not allow the ball to touch the turf and redirected the shot back across the goal mouth behind goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and just inside the right post, and the Thorns had a 1-0 lead.
Just six minutes later, the Thorns doubled the lead when Hina Sugita made a nice cutback, then slipped a pass inside the Red Stars box to a wide-open Crystal Dunn, who one-timed the shot past Naeher, and the lead was now 2-0.
And the goals just kept coming for the Thorns. It only took two minutes to widen the lead even further when Dunn played a pass into the box that Olivia Moultrie ran onto and directed it past the Chicago keeper and into the net, and the lead had increased to 3-0. Before the half was over the Thorns had great chances on a header attempt by Hubly, and a shot from the top of the box by Morgan Weaver, but did not score again in the first half, and held a 3-0 lead at the break.
But as it had been in the first half, it only took a few minutes for the Thorns to score in the second half when in the 48th minute, Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey sent a cross to the far post that was met by the head of Natalia Kuikka, whose header from just a few yards out was into the upper left corner of the Chicago net, and the Thorns lead had widened to 4-0.
A 52nd minute shot by Portland’s Sophie Smith was tipped just wide, with Weaver putting the rebound shot off the left upright.
In the 66th minute Chicago had one of their best scoring chances of the day when Bianca St-Georges slipped in behind the Thorns defense, but her shot from just a few yards out was off the right post. Portland’s Sugita herself hit the right post on a shot in the 82nd minute. Neither team would threaten again and the game ended with a 4-0 Thorns victory.
Thorns dominate Chicago Red Stars in 4-0 win at Providence Park | Thorns website
