**Portland, Oregon** – The first of two semifinals across the NWSL playoffs on Sunday evening saw a dramatic late winner from Portland’s Crystal Dunn lift the Thorns over San Diego Wave FC, ending the expansion side’s hopes of an appearance in the Final in year one. The goal, which came in the third minute of added time at the end of the second half, thrusts Portland back into the Championship for the first time since 2018.
Though Portland came out on top, it was an early score from the visiting side that silenced the home crowd as San Diego’s Taylor Kornieck put home an Alex Morgan cross in the eighth minute to open the scoring and send shockwaves through Providence Park. In possession on the right side of the field, Morgan did well to cut back up field and onto her left foot where she was able to swing in a cross. Morgan’s ball in picked out Kornieck in the center of the box near the six-yard area, and she headed home powerfully to beat Thorns goalkeeper Bella Bixby and put her side in front.
Portland wasted very little time pushing the San Diego defense, though, and nearly found an equalizer two minutes later through forward Sophia Smith. The Thorns had worked the ball down the left flank and, after a cross had not been properly cleared, found its way into the path of the forward Smith just inside the 18-yard box. Smith then ripped a snapshot from that position but watched in agony as it soared low and just past the outside of San Diego goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan’s goal for a goal kick. Then, in the 18 ^th minute, a shot from a similar position to the same corner forced a save out of Sheridan, but the Thorns were knocking on the door and didn’t have to wait much longer for their equalizer.
In the 21 ^st minute, Portland had won a corner and saw the initial delivery from that set piece cleared to the back post where attacker Hina Sugita was waiting to collect. Sugita then lifted a cross in from the opposite side that was also dealt with well by the San Diego defense as the ball was headed clear and outside the box. Fortunately for Portland, though, midfielder Rocky Rodriguez was awaiting an opportunity and, as the ball bounced from the clearance, she unleashed an effort worthy of winning any game. Swinging her right foot with precision, Rodriguez hit the ball on the half-volley and saw her effort sail across goal and into the top right corner to beat Sheridan and bring her side level as momentum began to even out.
Six minutes later, Smith was again on the receiving end of a pass played forward, this time by attacker Morgan Weaver, but as she strove into the box she was unable to properly collect the pass and Sheridan came off her line to collect and quell the chance. As the first half wore on, the closest either side would come to separating the two sides came just on the stroke of halftime and this time for San Diego. Having won a corner, the ball into the box was initially won by Morgan at the back post but was headed down into a scramble of bodies. Latching onto it first was the forward Kornieck, and though she did well to get her foot over the ball and send it toward goal, Bixby did even better as she pushed the shot onto the post and eventually clear to keep the score level heading into the halftime interval.
The second half saw chances few and far between for both teams immediately out of the break. A one-on-one for Weaver in the 78 ^th minute after Smith spotted her run through the defense saw the attacker fire back across goal and safely into the palms of Sheridan, and the hosts would test Sheridan multiple times over in the next few minutes as they attempted to find a winner in regulation time.
Just as all had seemed destined for extra time, though, substitute Crystal Dunn did what only she could do in the third minute of added time as she created something out of nothing and fired past Sheridan for a late winner. Again following a corner, Portland’s initial ball in was cleared by San Diego but not nearly to proper effect as the ball bounced toward the top of the box. Rushing onto the loose ball, Dunn got ahold of every seam as she rocketed an unstoppable shot past Sheridan and into the top left corner to send her side through in the game’s dying moments.
Portland now advances to the NWSL Championship and will face the Kansas City Current next Saturday, October 29 at Audi Field, with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and televised on CBS.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights