CHICAGO – Portland defeated Chicago 1-0 in Week 3 of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season when the Thorns were awarded a penalty kick in the 27th minute.
Portland received the first opportunity in the first minute of the match with a cross into the box, but Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher came up with a huge play and was able to punch it out of the attacking third.
Chicago nearly got an early lead as Jen Hoy was able to slip a ball past the Portland backline to captain Christen Press making a run in the box, only for the shot to end up going straight to Portland goalkeeper Adrianna Franch.
Minutes later, Casey Short made a run down the left side and perfectly hit a ball into the box that found Press making a run near post. Press reached for the ball, but was tripped up by Franch, but the ball ended up out of bounds with no penalty awarded in Chicago’s favor.
Portland would take the lead when Press was called for a hand ball in the box and Nadia Nadim converted, putting the Thorns up 1-0.
The Red Stars earned the final chance of the first half when Julie Ertz intercepted a turnover in the final third and found Press at the top of the 18-yard box. Press chipped the ball inside the box to Sofia Huerta, but the shot went just over the crossbar.
Minutes into the second half, Huerta had the confidence to take on the Portland defense, but her strike found the side netting.
In the 59th minute, defender Arin Gilliland found herself with the ball toward the end line and managed to find a cross into the box. The ball was cleared off the line by Franch and was eventually cleared by Portland’s backline. The Thorns immediately went on the counter attack when Christine Sinclair created space to take a shot that went just wide of the goal.
Moments later, Chicago narrowly found the back of the net as Huerta set a perfect back pass to Ertz, shooting toward goal. Franch dove on the ball, but couldn’t hold it, while Jen Hoy tried to beat the Portland goalkeeper to the rebound, but Franch smothered it before the dangerous opportunity could unfold.
Chicago’s final chance came with ten minutes remaining as defender Katie Naughton found the end of a corner kick, only to be headed just wide of the net, unable to equalize to leave the match 1-0 in favor of Portland.
Chicago returns to action on a two-game home stretch starting May 6 against the Houston Dash at 3 p.m. CT. Tickets for May 6 are available here or by calling 773-697-8699. The match marks the Red Stars second broadcast game as Lifetime’s Game of the Week.
– CHICAGO RED STARS MATCH REPORT –
MATCH: Chicago Red Stars vs. Portland Thorns FC
DATE: April 29, 2017
VENUE: Providence Park; Portland, OR
KICKOFF: 3 p.m. CT
ATTENDANCE: n/a
WEATHER: 58 degrees, cloudy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
CHI 0 0 0
POR 1 0 1
POR – Nadia Nadim (penalty kick) 27’
Chicago Red Stars Lineup: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 3-Arin Gilliland (9-Stephanie McCaffrey, 74), 5-Katie Naughton, 16-Samantha Johnson (7-Taylor Comeau, 64), 6-Casey Short; 24-Dannielle Colaprico, 10-Vanessa DiBernardo; 11-Sofia Huerta, 8-Julie Ertz, 2-Jen Hoy (4-Alyssa Mautz, 66), 23-Christen Press (capt.)
Substitutes: 13-Morgan Proffitt, 14-Sarah Gorden, 18-Michele Dalton, 30-Lauren Kaskie, 34-Mary Luba
Head Coach: Rory Dames
Portland Thorns FC Lineup: 24-Adrianna Franch; 30-Celeste Boureille, 16-Emily Sonnett, 4-Emily Menges, 27-Meghan Cox; 28-Amandine Henry, 10-Allie Long, 7-Lindsey Horan (15-Kendall Johnson, 90+2), 9-Nadia Nadim (26-Mallory Weber, 75), 12-Christine Sinclair (capt.), 21-Hayley Raso
Substitutes: 14-Ashleigh Sykes, 25-Meghan Klingenberg, 32-Meg Morris, 33-Britt Eckerstrom
Head Coach: Mark Parsons
Stats Summary: CHI / POR
Shots: 14/9
Shots on Goal: 5/3
Saves: 2/5
Corner Kicks: 3/7
Fouls: 14/12
Offside: 6/1
Misconduct Summary:
POR – Emily Sonnett (caution) 51’
CHI – Julie Ertz (caution) 64’
POR – Celeste Boureile (caution) 67’
CHI – Christen Press (caution) 90+2’
Officials:
Referee: Ramy Touchan
Asst. Referee: Chris Elliott, Eduardo Jeff
4th Official: Cephas Quartson
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