The Portland Thorns never found their form in their first match after the summer break, and ended up on the short end of a 2-0 loss to Gotham FC. Ella Stevens and Rose Lavelle had the goals for the hosts.
In the 7th minute, before the Thorns had really even entered the Gotham half of the pitch, the hosts were on the board when Bruninha made a nice cross that Ella Stevens got her head to and Thorns goalkeeper Shelby Hogan had no chance, and Gotham had a 1-0 lead. The home side had the better chances through the rest of the half but neither team really threatened to score again, and Gotham had a 1-0 lead at the break.
Olivia Moultrie had a good chance in the 52nd minute after a steal by Hina Sugita in front of the Gotham goal, but her shot was saved by a tip save by Ann-Katrin Berger.
In the 61st minute the Thorns came close to scoring when a cross from Jessie Fleming was headed by a Gotham defender but continued towards goal and ricocheted off the left post before being cleared.
In the 70th minute, Gotham doubled the lead when Yasmeen Ryan blasted a low, perfectly placed shot from outside the box past Hogan, and the home side now had a 2-0 lead.
In the 86th minute Gotham nearly scored again when Rose Lavelle had a blast from outside the box that was off the crossbar and bounced down just in front of the goal line, but the ball was cleared by the Thorns. The Thorns never were able to convert on their few good scoring chances in the second half and Gotham emerged with the 2-0 win.
