KANSAS CITY

– Portland Thorns FC spoiled a record crowd at Children’s Mercy Park for the Kansas City Current by beating the hosts, 4-1, in a rematch of the 2022 NWSL Championship. The Thorns, who were propelled by early goals from Crystal Dunn and Sophia Smith in the third and 18 ^th minutes respectively, did well to hang on despite Kansas City attacker CeCe Kizer’s goal near the hour mark and continued pressure from the Current in an action-packed second half. Tying a knot on the end of the match was a spectacular solo efforts from Smith, who scored the game’s final goal in the 83 ^rd minute and 87 ^th minute for her hat-trick.

KANSAS CITY

– Portland Thorns FC spoiled a record crowd at Children’s Mercy Park for the Kansas City Current by beating the hosts, 4-1, in a rematch of the 2022 NWSL Championship. The Thorns, who were propelled by early goals from Crystal Dunn and Sophia Smith in the third and 18 ^th minutes respectively, did well to hang on despite Kansas City attacker CeCe Kizer’s goal near the hour mark and continued pressure from the Current in an action-packed second half. Tying a knot on the end of the match was a spectacular solo efforts from Smith, who scored the game’s final goal in the 83 ^rd minute and 87 ^th minute for her hat-trick. The visiting Thorns took no time getting on the board when a clever corner kick routine saw attacker Morgan Weaver pick out teammate Crystal Dunn at the near post. Settling the cross, Dunn shifted inside then out before rifling a right-footed effort past Current goalkeeper AD Franch to open the scoring. Portland’s pressure only continued to pile on as the first half continued, with both Sophia Smith and Christine Sinclair coming close on separate occasions as their side settled in. The afternoon then went from good to great for the Thorns as Smith was judged to have been tripped just inside the penalty area in the 15 ^th minute. After VAR review, the penalty was then officially awarded two minutes later, and up stepped Smith to the penalty spot. A consistent finisher from 12 yards out, Smith pulled her right-footed effort to the bottom left side of the goal and in, though Franch was just a couple of fingertips away from a spectacular save. The closest Kansas City would come in the first half came right on the half-hour mark when forward Michelle Cooper attempted to get on the end of a set-piece from the left side, but the rookie could not keep her header down. Then, just before the end of the half, Smith nearly scored her second of the night but was denied by a smart save by Franch in the 38 ^th minute. At the break, Portland held onto their two-goal advantage looking to carry momentum into the second half. However, it was Kansas City who came out firing with chances for Cooper, midfielder Kate Del Fava, and attacker CeCe Kizer all within the first five minutes of the second half. The hosts came out with far more pep in their step and put Portland on the back foot, causing a wave of attacks to eventually break the Thorns’ clean sheet. Just before the hour mark, Kansas City won a free kick inside Portland’s half still some distance from goal. With no direct shooting option, a deep ball was floated in from the right side toward the back left post. Though Portland goalkeeper Bella Bixby leapt in attempts to collect, the ball continued to soar and eventually fell on the head of Kizer. Heading on goal from a tight angle, Kizer then pushed the ball into an unguarded goal to help the Current pull one back. A few minutes later, Kansas City’s momentum continued to roll on as Hailie Mace had a well-struck free kick from about 20 yards out saved by Bixby, and the introduction of Debinha only seemed to further both the crowd’s and the team’s response to the direction of the match. However, prone to create something out of nothing as she has before, Portland’s Sophia Smith was at it again as she put two final nails in the Current’s proverbial coffin with back-to-back goals in the 83 ^rd and 88 ^th minutes. First, Smith twisted and twirled past multiple defenders after a mazy run from outside to inside the box guided her to the endline. From there, Smith held up strongly and poked a right-footed effort past Franch to restore her side’s two goal lead. Then, in the 88th minute, it was another solo run that saw Smith cut inside from the left and onto her right foot, where she curled an effort home and put the game to bed. The win is Portland’s second straight as the club has now racked up eight goals in just two regular season matches, again increasing its attacking output. However, for the Current, even a record crowd at Children’s Mercy Park could not prevent them from dropping a second straight after the narrow loss to North Carolina in the season opener.