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We’re in the men’s World Cup knockout stage, and even as Jordan—who set up their national team base in Portland—leaves the tournament, soccer is still very much in town. (And at Providence Park, they’re only doing hydration breaks when the heat necessitates them.)
Take yesterday, when over 17,000 turned out to watch the Portland Thorns take on the San Diego Wave in a friendly that showcased two of the NWSL’s top teams before the second half of the season begins next weekend.
The match also served as the Thorns’ Juneteenth celebration, with a duet performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before the national anthem and the club releasing a limited-edition scarf designed by local artist Herbert Beauclere.
“We wanted to have a tough friendly game before we started up again,” Thorns head coach Robert Vilahamn said after the match.
They got one. The back-and-forth affair saw Portland fall 3–4 to the Wave—certainly not the result the Thorns would’ve hoped for, even in a match where the scoreline doesn’t count for anything besides bragging rights. Still, it’s a game they can learn from.
“Obviously, a few things that we need to find ways to get better at,” Vilahamn said, “but I think overall it was nice to see all players in the roster. Many of them showed their best side today.”
If the result didn’t actually matter, something that did was getting to see the depth of the Thorns roster; since there wasn’t the usual five-player substitution limit, Vilahamn cycled his entire bench onto the field, two goalkeeper subs and all.
That meant getting everyone—including Colombian teenager Valerin Loboa and third-string goalkeeper Mackenzie Wood, neither of whom has earned minutes for Portland this year—onto the pitch. Both looked solid in their half hour of play.
“It was a good game for a coach to get,” Vilahamn said. “Obviously, you want to win, but I’m overall very happy with a lot of players’ performances.”
Those performances included goals by star striker Sophia Wilson (assisted by a fantastic counterattacking run from Pietra Tordin) and German winger Marie Müeller—and a San Diego own goal that resulted from an Olivia Moultrie shot. And they included assists from players like Deyna Castellanos and Jennie Immethun, who collaboratively have less than two games’ worth of playing time this year.
That Immethun, specifically, showed well Sunday afternoon is one of the biggest takeaways of the match. Vilahamn opted to start the midfielder over Swedish youth international Cassandra Bogere—a decision borne out of Immethun’s impact as a substitute in Portland’s last league game against the Utah Royals.
Since captain and U.S. international Sam Coffey left the Thorns in the offseason, the club has been looking at options to shore up their defensive midfield. Bogere has shown herself to be a strong defensive presser, but she clearly struggles with passing, and Immethun’s ability on the ball adds a different element to Portland’s game. Assuming the Thorns extend Immethun’s short-term contract beyond July, she and Bogere seem poised to duel it out for a starting role—hopefully to both of their benefits.
Though the Thorns are in a good place—tied for second place and only one point behind the league-leading Wave isn’t too shabby—midfield growth will be essential in helping the team through the second half of the season. “We’re going to make sure we focus on the build-up,” Vilahamn said of his goals for the team in the coming months, “and make sure we can actually penetrate and hurt opponents in their press against us.”
Vilahamn’s also working out how to best utilize his abundance of attacking talent, being more clinical on set pieces and defending Portland’s goal box.
And he’s excited for what Sunday’s matchup shows about his options. “Maddie Padelski, Renee [Lyles], Jennie [Immethun], all these players that haven’t played too much, you can tell that they want to play the way we want to play,” he said. “More and more players on this roster are ready to compete. That’s probably the biggest takeout from today.”
The Thorns resume their NWSL season when they host Racing Louisville next Sunday, July 5, at Providence Park.
