The Portland Thorns held onto a late lead for a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Red Stars. Sophia Smith, Hina Sugita, and Christine Sinclair scored for the Thorns, while Ella Stevens and Allison Schlegel had goals for the hosts.
The Thorns largely controlled the first half, and had some good chances, especially from Sophia Smith, but couldn’t put the shots on-target. Their first really good chance would come in the 40th minute when Sam Coffey‘s chance from the top of the box rebounded off the left post.
But three minutes later, the Thorns were finally on the board when Smith made a run down the center of the pitch, then her curling shot from near the top of the box beat goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, and the Thorns had a 1-0 lead that they would hold at the half.
In the 63rd minute, the Thorns would double their lead when Morgan Weaver made a nice move to make a run to the end line, then passed back to Hina Sugita, who toe-poked the shot past Naeher, and the Thorns had a 2-0 lead.
Just a few minutes later, Chicago were awarded a penalty kick when Bella Bixby was called for a foul at the end of her box. Ella Stevens would take the penalty, and slotted it into the lower left corner, and the Thorns lead was now 2-1.
But in the 75th minute the Thorns would re-take their two goal lead, when Christine Sinclair did well to shift the ball onto her right foot inside the Chicago box, then blasted a shot into the right side of the net, and the Thorns now led by a 3-1 score.
In the 82nd minute, Chicago would pull back a goal once again when Allison Schlegel got a nice header onto a corner kick, and the score was 3-2 Thorns.
In the 89th minute, Chicago nearly tied the score when Bianca St-Georges had a breakaway chance, but her shot was off the right post. The Thorns would hold on for the 3-2 victory.
