**BRIDGEVIEW, Ill.** – Portland Thorns FC was able to hold off a late comeback effort by the Chicago Red Stars for a 3-2 win on Sunday, with four goals between the two sides preceded by Portland forward Sophia Smith’s opener in the 43 ^rd minute. The win catapults Portland back to the top of the league standings with 22 points from 12 games, while Chicago remains bottom with 10 points from the same amount of games played.
A match full of action from the opening minute, forward Sophia Smith had a chance in behind after just 67 seconds. Smith got on the end of a clipped ball forward into the box, but as she went to settle the ball and fire on goal, her touch skewed to the right and she was unable to get on the other end of it and the move ended.
In the 13 ^th minute, Chicago found their first chance of the night as defender Bianca St-Georges had a half-cross, half-shot parried away by Portland goalkeeper Bella Bixby. St-Georges had worked her way down the right side of the field to near the endline where she was able to whip in a low ball toward the center of the box. The cross forced Bixby to send it back out and it was temporarily cleared. Then, 30 seconds later, Chicago’s Arin Wright had a beautiful headed effort from the left side of the box saved by Bixby in dramatic fashion as the hosts began to play their way in.
However, Portland would go on to dominate the amount of quality chances produced through the duration of the first half, with Smith forcing Naeher into action multiple times. In the 36 ^th minute, Smith got into a 1v1 with a Chicago defender and despite hitting the floor through the battle, she was able to get back up and pluck a right-footed shot toward the near post. Naeher was able to arrive in time to push it away, but Portland’s momentum had begun to swing heavily. In the 40 ^th minute, a loose ball in the box eventually broke to midfielder Sam Coffey about 21 yards outside the box. Coffey swung hard with her right boot and launched a shot that ricocheted off the post and back into play, eventually finding itself in the hands of Naeher as the Thorns had their best chance yet.
Unable to be deterred for much longer, though, Portland took the lead in the 43 ^rd minute as Sophia Smith eventually got her goal after testing Naeher time and time again. Smith received a pass in the middle of the park and turned toward goal, dribbling a good few yards before pulling up from about 20 yards out and curling a left-footed shot down past Naeher to her right to reward her side’s hard work with a goal before the break.
Into the second half, Chicago forced Bixby into a save in the opening minute of their return to play as St-Georges broke down the right again and made Bixby produce a kick save with her right foot from close in. As Bixby kicked the ball back into play in the middle of the box, her defenders in front did enough to get it away and end the chance.
Then, four goals in the final 30 minutes of the match saw these two teams trade blows beginning with Portland attacker Hina Sugita’s strike in the 61 ^st minute. A fluid move forward by Portland saw attacker Morgan Weaver end up on the ball inside the box on the left side. Approaching the endline, she cut a low pass back for Sugita near the center of the area and Sugita finished off the move with a smooth finish from 10 yards out.
In the 72 ^nd minute, Chicago forward Ella Stevens converted a penalty kick to bring her team back level after Bixby was judged to have illegally brought down Wright inside the box after a heavy collision between the two following a through ball in. Stevens stepped up from 12 yards after a lengthy delay due to injury and sent Bixby the wrong way with a precise penalty finish to the bottom left corner.
Wasting no time to put another stamp on the match, though, Portland re-established its two goal lead through forward Christine Sinclair in the 75 ^th minute. Crystal Dunn picked out Sinclair with a cross to the left side of the box, and after cutting up and around a defender toward goal, Sinclair lifted a line drive past Naeher and into the back of the net to help her team go further in front.
Chicago was by no means done however, with attacker Ally Schlegel bringing her team back within a goal one more time in the 82 ^nd minute through a headed effort on a Julia Bianchi corner. Bianchi placed a ball directly into the center of the penalty area where Schlegel was able to rise above her marker and place her header into the bottom left corner of goal and give her chance a potential shot at a positive result.
Instead, Portland’s Olivia Moultrie nearly found the back of the net with a distance effort in the 86 ^th minute that landed narrowly wide of Naeher’s far post, and that was the closest either team would get to adding another goal on the evening. The result helped Portland bounce back from a loss last weekend to Orlando, but it’s a third straight defeat for Chicago who have now been outscored 12-2 in all competitions in that stretch.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights