Tag: Portland Thorns

USWNT’s Sophia Smith suffers MCL sprain, is ‘week-to-week’

It’s not the best news, but it could have been worse for Smith

Sophia Smith, the Portland Thorns, and the U.S. women’s national team can all breathe a modest sigh of relief.

The USWNT star was on Wednesday diagnosed with what Portland called “a mild medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain.” The Thorns termed Smith “week-to-week” as she recovers from the injury.

Smith went down with a serious-looking knock in the final seconds of the first half of Portland’s 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit at Audi Field on Sunday. The USWNT forward reached for an attempted through ball, only for her plant foot to slip, causing an awkward fall.

Smith was treated briefly before being replaced by Hannah Betfort. Once both teams headed off for the halftime break, Smith slowly made her way to the locker room on crutches, later returning to the bench with a knee stabilizing brace.

Smith’s status for USWNT friendlies in question

While worries about a longer-term injury that could jeopardize Smith’s status for the 2024 Olympics appear to be misplaced, the knee issue makes her a doubt for Twila Kilgore’s USWNT roster for a pair of September friendlies against South Africa.

MCL sprain recovery times can vary widely from a few days to three months, and realistically Smith only has a couple of weeks to recover before that squad has to be finalized. The USWNT will face South Africa in Cincinnati on September 21, followed by a second meeting three days later in Chicago.

As for the Thorns, losing this season’s NWSL MVP frontrunner is a massive challenge. Betfort is the most likely option for head coach Mike Norris, based on a rich vein of recent goalscoring form. However, a team that has the challenge of finding playing time for Crystal Dunn, Olivia Moultrie, Christine Sinclair, Hina Sugita, and Morgan Weaver could end up getting creative as well.

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NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Sophia Smith injury looms as playoff pressure ramps up

Bad news for Portland, while Angel City picked up a huge win

The NWSL regular season returned from its World Cup slumber last week, but with several big names not truly ready to come back just yet, it was only this past weekend where the league felt truly “back.”

There were major developments: multiple draws for teams in the top six, paired with Angel City’s win over OL Reign, breathed life into the race for the final playoff spots. However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t start off with the league-wide show of support for Jenni Hermoso and the players of Spain’s World Cup-winning national team.

“Contigo Jenni” was on wrist tape all over the league, while fans — and not only those in supporters’ groups — brought banners reading the same. This is a league that knows all too well how vital it is to push abusive figures out of the game, and the resumption of club play isn’t going to mean the issues with Luis Rubiales, Jorge Vilda, and their enablers in Spain are going to be pushed aside.

That said, a different unfortunate piece of news bubbled up this weekend, with Sophia Smith suffering a knee injury of (as yet) unknown severity. An injury to the runaway MVP favorite is hardly the news anyone out there wanted, and it could change the entire complexion of this season’s stretch run.

Let’s sort through the good and the bad:

NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Orlando Pride serves notice, broadcast woes are back

We see you, Orlando Pride

The World Cup is over, but the drama is not, because the NWSL is already back.

We’re not just getting to loosen up and ease into the league’s return, either. The NWSL stretch run is literally here, with each team down to its final six games. The standings are packed tightly, and the next few weeks before the September FIFA window are going to feel like a full-on sprint.

Some teams were fully prepared to get moving at full speed. With four teams outside the playoff places hosting games over the weekend, this was a huge opportunity for most of the league to either get seriously into the mix, or for teams in the top six to keep the chasing pack at bay.

The Orlando Pride got off the line fastest with a blowout victory, while the Kansas City Current came up with a gutsy win that effectively kept their playoff hopes alive. Racing Louisville and the Houston Dash came back to get draws, but neither side is in a place where home draws are going to get the job done.

We’re going to be attempting a format experiment here, at least with the next couple of Take-Offs. The hope is that with a little streamlining, the column is more easily digested. We’re thinking less of a minivan and more of a hatchback.

And with that in mind, let’s get this car on the road.

When will World Cup players return for NWSL teams?

Notes on returning World Cup players from all 12 NWSL teams

The World Cup may still have a final and third-place game to finish, but the NWSL is done waiting.

The league’s break from regular season play concludes Friday, with the Kansas City Current and OL Reign kicking off a full slate of matches.

It’s awkward timing, with a few players still participating at the World Cup, others still recovering from a physically and mentally grueling process, and yet more having come back quickly after the group stage. With 61 different NWSL players going to the World Cup, there are probably 61 unique situations to deal with here.

Pro Soccer Wire knows fans want to know when their team’s internationals will be back in uniform, so we’ve done the relevant social media research and Zoom press conference recording. Consider this a status update for all 61 World Cup participants as the NWSL playoff chase truly gets underway.

Horan calls out Portland double standard: ‘How do the Timbers have it but the Thorns don’t?’

Horan: training on turf is a “huge deal”

Lindsey Horan says that unequal training conditions in Portland were a part of her reason to pursue a move to Lyon.

Speaking on ESPN show Fútbol Americas, the U.S. women’s national team captain was asked why she sought to make her loan to the French champions permanent, a move that Horan sealed late last month.

Some of her answers weren’t a particular surprise. The 29-year-old cited a more measured, possession-oriented style of play that she has been vocal about preferring, and also brought up the unrivaled glamour of playing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

However, per Horan, there was another, more prosaic reason: Lyon trains on grass, while her old club the Portland Thorns are on artificial turf.

“I think for me, also health-wise, physically, I wanted to be in a place where I could be training on grass every single day,” said Horan. “I think that’s a major component that is not seen as much in the NWSL and where certain teams are training, and especially in Portland. I would hate myself if I didn’t say that, because they deserve better as well.”

At Lyon, Horan trains at the Groupama OL Training Center, which features five grass fields. With the Thorns, training is generally held at their home stadium Providence Park on the same FieldTurf playing surface they use on gamedays. While Portland has occasionally trained elsewhere in Oregon, including a few days in Bend during preseason this year, they generally only get sessions on grass when they hit the road.

For Horan, there are two clear issues with this: basic player health, and a double standard at a club that contains both an NWSL side and the Portland Timbers of MLS.

Horan called the daily grind of being on turf a “huge deal,” adding that “it [does] a number on your body.”

“Every team that comes in and plays at Portland, you know that you feel it worse,” added Horan. “You go play 90 minutes there, and it’s so much harder in your body. And I don’t think a lot of people realize it, but it’s just a different kind of impact.”

As for the lack of equal treatment in Portland, Horan said the training situation is a clear manifestation of the issue. “You have to think about the women training there every single day. It’s just, it’s not good. So they need to have a facility for the women as well. How do the Timbers have it but the Thorns don’t?”

While the Thorns train at Providence Park, the Timbers have a dedicated facility in Beaverton that includes a grass field, a kitchen and commissary, a theater-style film room, and the club’s gym and treatment spaces.

The use of artificial turf has long been a pressure point in women’s soccer, with the issue coming to a head in 2015. FIFA approved multiple venues for that year’s World Cup that had turf surfaces, a development that many women’s players said would never happen in an elite men’s tournament. No men’s World Cup match has ever been played on an artificial surface.

The Thorns are in the process of being sold, a major part of the fallout from multiple investigations into misconduct and abuse around the NWSL. However, that sale process — announced in December 2022 — has not come with any public movement.

Watch the full Lindsey Horan interview

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NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Racing Louisville, Orlando Pride serve notice with statement wins

Heading into the World Cup break, and the chaos is back

The NWSL is heading into its World Cup break, and the vibes are all over the place.

Some teams could use the break to make some tweaks, get healthy, or even go for a wholesale adjustment. By contrast, a few others may just be hitting their stride, and will be understandably frustrated to have a couple of weeks without more games to build on their current momentum.

Naturally for this topsy-turvy league, the teams that need the break are closer to the top of the table, while most of the teams that are settling into a groove are the ones just outside the playoff places. In a couple of weeks, the NWSL has gone from the brink of “we might not have a serious race for postseason spots” to “everyone’s in the mix.”

For one last time before the World Cup gauntlet begins, here’s your Weekend Take-Off.

NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Shim returns as league parity verges on parody

The only predictable thing in the NWSL is its unpredictability

The National Women’s Soccer League is not a normal league.

Last week, the major through-line for this column was that the league’s six playoff teams were already threatening to separate themselves. This past weekend’s schedule paired the teams in playoff places with teams on the outside, and could have more or less sealed a haves and have-nots stretch run (give or take the Houston Dash clinging to the contending pack).

Instead:

The “we are SO back!” vibes are off the charts.

The teams entering the weekend sitting seventh or worse went 3W-2D-1L against the top six. The Kansas City Current and Orlando Pride got road wins against the Portland Thorns and Washington Spirit (arguably the two most consistently good teams in the NWSL in 2023). The Chicago Red Stars got a shutout! Up is down, left is right. That’s our league.

We talk all the time about NWSL parity, but this was parity to the point of parody. Of course the NWSL had a weekend where the teams that can’t win all rise up to beat the teams that can’t lose.

This league knows no other way to be.

NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Top-of-table clash delivers, crunch time arrives for playoff outsiders

The game of the year may have already happened

The World Cup break isn’t quite here yet, but for this NWSL season, it feels like we’ve hit an inflection point.

The 13th round of matches is clearly past the halfway point in a 22-game season, but it does serve as a sort of act break for the drama that is this league. With players leaving for the World Cup, it’s a moment to take stock on where teams are, and what the stretch run might start to look like.

In short, we really have two groups: a top seven who should be in the battle for six playoff spots through the end of the season, and a bottom five whose hopes are already surprisingly dim.

That might seem harsh on Racing Louisville, just three points out of that top seven, but consider this: the San Diego Wave hold the final playoff spot, and their current points-per-game (PPG) pace has them on course for a 34-point total.

Louisville would need 19 points from their final nine games to match that total, which is 2.11 PPG. A hypothetical team on 2.11 PPG through 13 games this season would have 27 points and be two points clear of the Portland Thorns, who have been outstanding this season.

Barring a collapse from the playoff contenders (none of whom look like they have a lengthy losing run on their bingo card), the teams on the outside have already hit their It’s Go Time moment.

Sophia Smith looks ready to dominate the World Cup for the USWNT

Note to the world: It’s bad to play against Sophia Smith

If Sophia Smith brings her current form to the World Cup, the rest of the world should be on the high alert.

Smith, projected to start for the U.S. women’s national team in New Zealand and Australia, bolstered her NWSL MVP candidacy with a jaw-dropping hat trick as her Portland Thorns won 4-2 in a top-of-the-table clash with the Washington Spirit.

It took something special: the Spirit came into the match with one of the league’s best defensive records, and walked away feeling like they’d largely played well. In an electric 90 minutes that could serve as a calling card for the NWSL as a league, no one had more wattage than Smith.

“[I] thought we turned up and we were fantastic in being brave, and making this more like a game that we wanted to control,” said Washington head coach Mark Parsons.

“But, we played against Sophia Smith.”

Smith’s first goal was a masterpiece. Picking up a smart pass from Sam Coffey, it seemed like the job was to hold onto the ball and wait for support. There were five Spirit players in proximity, and Smith’s angle to her closest teammate Crystal Dunn was blocked.

Normally this isn’t a huge problem for opposition defenses. Best case, you make a tackle. Worst, you contain and win the ball later.

Against Smith? Seven seconds later, she’s celebrating one of the best goals anyone will score this season.

The Spirit equalized within two minutes after Ashley Sanchez — who was one of several players to put in a top-tier performance in this game, only for all to be overshadowed by Smith going supernova — delivered a spectacular backheel to Ashley Hatch on the doorstep.

Washington has been good all year at turning these potential momentum-swing moments to their advantage. But, again, they played Sophia Smith.

The 22-year-old got a bit lucky after blocking USWNT teammate Andi Sullivan’s attempt to flick an awkward bounce out of danger. Instead, the ball fell kindly for Smith, and in a flash, it was 2-1.

“When I’m dribbling towards the goal, if I see a sliver of an open net, I’m taking a shot,” Smith told reporters after the game before adding a casual remark that may read as a terrifying threat to the other 31 teams at this World Cup. “Recently, I’ve had some good luck with shots from distance. So, I’m gonna keep doing that.”

Sanchez would equalize seconds after the halftime break ended, but once again, Smith had the immediate answer. This time, she ran into an improvisational toe-poke from Hina Sugita that caught the Spirit back line stepping up. Smith’s finish was a little easier this time around, but no less clinical.

“Obviously, Sophia Smith’s a great player,” said Sanchez after the match. “When you give her time on the ball, you know bad things are gonna happen.”

Smith ‘the one percent tonight’

Following the game, Parsons acknowledged that his team were punished for some very small mistakes by a very special player.

“Let’s be honest: In those moments, I think 99%, you don’t concede a goal,” said Parsons. “And Sophia Smith decided that she was gonna be the 1% tonight.”

“I have to go into this tournament feeling like my best self, feeling like my most confident self, and I knew this game was important in doing that,” said Smith in evaluating her own performance. “Because if I were to leave this field and feel like I didn’t do what I needed to do, and I wasn’t myself, it’d be a stressful time.”

It seems like she’ll be completely relaxed, then, as her second hat trick in a season that has only seen 13 rounds of games was possibly her best showing as a professional. Even Christine Sinclair, her club teammate and playful banter target, was left wondering if playing a USWNT with Smith would be a good or bad thing at the World Cup.

“I believe the path [for both teams] would mean we’d be playing in the World Cup final, so why not? Let’s go for it,” reasoned the most prolific international goalscorer on the planet, before having a second thought. “Maybe not if she’s in the form that she was in tonight.”

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Sauerbrunn coped with World Cup heartbreak by ripping shots of Jameson with a stranger

“Some random person came up to us at the bar and was like crying for me. So I was almost crying”

Becky Sauerbrunn has been going through it.

The U.S. women’s national captain announced last week that she would not recover from a foot injury in time to make the World Cup roster, a devastating blow to player and team.

Sauerbrunn’s teammates reacted to the news on Wednesday after the 23-player roster was announced, and all four USWNT players who spoke to the press used the word “heartbroken” to describe the loss of the veteran center back.

Never one to shy away from her commitments, Sauerbrunn still fulfilled a scheduled appearance on the “Snacks” podcast with teammates Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams, and the defender opened up on how she’s been handling the disappointment of not playing in a fourth World Cup.

“It sucks, like, it’s such a bummer,” she said. “I really thought that I was going to get back in time. Had a setback, you know, we gave them timelines where I could feasibly have played minutes at the World Cup. But the variability of it was, they just didn’t want to have to deal with that.

“And you don’t want somebody, a center back in particular, that can only play 15 minutes later on in the tournament. So I totally understood. I kind of hoped I was going to squeak in maybe as just a presence, as a leader that could just keep the locker room hopefully in a really positive good vibe state.”

With her Portland Thorns teammates on a long road trip, Sauerbrunn said she’s been back in Portland spending time with the players who didn’t travel. After the news of her absence dropped, she and her teammates decided they needed to go out and blow off some steam.

“I’ve just been with the non-traveling crew and they’ve been unbelievable friends. We went out after the games this weekend for a few drinks and it was like, I needed the outlet, they needed the outlet,” Sauerbrunn said.

“Some random person came up to us at the bar and was like crying for me. So I was almost crying. And then we just wound up taking a couple shots of Jameson. So that’s basically what it’s been like.”

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