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And just like that, it’s over.
The Portland Thorns’ year came to a close in front of 19,365 fans in “Rowdy Audi,” when they fell to the Washington Spirit 2-0 in the NWSL semifinals.
“They outplayed us, for sure,” co-captain Sam Coffey said postgame. “We left it all out there, and it wasn’t for lack of effort, but I think we were simply outplayed.”
That doesn’t make the loss sting any less—especially when both the Spirit’s goals came off plays capitalizing on Portland’s errors.
“Both of their goals, we gave to them in some ways,” Coffey said, “and that’s not to say they didn’t do a good job breaking us down.”
The Spirit largely controlled the momentum of the match, but they found their first goal in the 27th minute on a counterattack off a Thorns corner. Washington’s Hal Hershfelt won the ball near-post, and her header found winger Rosemonde Kouassi on the breakaway. Forward Gift Monday joined in on the attack. Thorns goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold stepped out to close down Kouassi, and Kouassi was able to find Monday’s run as Arnold’s teammates scrambled to get back on defense.
It seemed like the Thorns were starting to put something together toward the end of the match, but Washington was able to squash that, doubling their lead after midfielder Croix Bethune picked off a poor backpass, took a touch around the high-pressed Arnold and dribbled the ball into the goal in the 83rd minute.
And that was it.
“We’ve been through more than anyone even knows,” Coffey said, “and all we ever want to do is win games.”
After the year the Thorns have had—rallying amid the players missing to injury and pregnancy, pulling together a young squad to ride the highs and lows of the season, ending the season in third place, and finishing with a convincing quarterfinal victory over San Diego— this one stings.
Still, they’ve begun to carve out the culture of this next era of Thorns soccer: a talented squad that fights for each other at all costs, a team that refuses to be written off.
“It’s been a hard season, for sure,” a teary Arnold said after the match. “What we had to overcome and the adversity that we had to get through to get to this spot, I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
She added: “Personally, it’s been the hardest year of my career so far, so to get where we did with this team, it’s really special. But disappointing, for sure, to end like that.”
