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What a disaster.
The Portland Thorns bowed out of the NWSL quarterfinals in a loss to the third-place Washington Spirit on Sunday. It was an unceremonious ending to Portland’s 2026: The club put together a catastrophe of a first half that saw them fall behind 3–0 before eventually losing 4–1 in D.C.
“You could tell in the first half it was a big struggle,” forward Morgan Weaver said postgame, “but I will say the second half was definitely better. We definitely tried. I tried. I tried to give it my all.”
The Spirit commanded the first half, putting up 11 shots to Portland’s three, dominating possession and putting three of their four shots on target past Thorns goalkeeper McKenzie Arnold. The attacking duo of Tanzanian striker Clara Luvanga and U.S. women’s national team star Trinity Rodman wreaked havoc on Portland’s back line, putting up back-to-back goals in the 34th and 35th minutes, respectively.
Down three goals, Thorns head coach Robert Vilahamn made two substitutions in the 38th minute (an uncommon occurrence in soccer, where—barring injury—teams usually wait until at least the 45-minute halftime mark for subs).
“I needed to do that before halftime,” Vilahamn said, “because I felt it was 2–0, 3–0 so quickly. I was trying to help the team to find a way to get back.”
Reilyn Turner and M.A. Vignola helped settle Portland down, but the game was already out of the Thorns’ hands.
Still, the team kept pushing. In the second half, Portland found a goal by way of a nifty ball from Pietra Tordin. Seven minutes later, the Spirit answered with Rodman’s second goal of the afternoon.
“There was some hope there,” said captain Jessie Fleming, who assisted Tordin’s goal, “and we trusted that we could at least score one. But once they scored after that, it took the sting out of things.”
That second Rodman goal would be the final score of the game, with neither team able to score again—but the Thorns picking up a red card to defender Jayden Perry to close out the match.
It was a disappointing end, to put it lightly. Despite the ups and downs of this year, the Thorns ended the regular season with two convincing wins. But it wasn’t enough.
“Sometimes I feel like postseason doesn’t come at the perfect time,” Fleming said. “I think it would’ve benefited us if postseason started two or three weeks later. It didn’t, but I feel like there’s a lot of untapped potential in our group and in how we play as a team.”
Despite how the game went, it’s good to see Fleming—the most consistent player of Portland’s 2026 campaign—looking on the bright side. She noted the strong performances the Thorns have put forth in moments of this year and building relationships with young stars like Tordin and Caiya Hanks.
“We have a lot of talent in this group,” Vilahamn said. “We can build around those players.…We can be competing in these games.” But the team needs to level up on individual and collective defending, he said, because the goals conceded have been far too easy throughout the year.
“We are top eight,” Vilahamn said, “but we’re not top four, and that’s the honest truth.”
Getting the Thorns to a top four team will depend both on the players who are currently on the Thorns and on new signings the club makes in the offseason. Despite their abundance of young talent, Portland lacks a defensive anchor and—despite that being a clear hole in their roster—haven’t been able to find someone to fill that role.
But player signings for the Thorns have been few and far between this year, and how they’ll shore up their back line isn’t the only question Portland needs to answer. (I might be in the minority in thinking that Vilahamn deserves another year at the helm and a chance to implement his tactics with a roster that he has more control over building, but coaching certainly is far from the only uncertainty surrounding the team.)
Specifically, there’s still no news on the status of striker Sophia Wilson, who led the team in goals this season and whose contract with the Thorns ends this offseason. Beyond her goalscoring prowess, Wilson’s a big name with a high salary attached. Whether the club can retain her is a question that comes down to what Portland is willing to offer in terms of a contract and whether Wilson sees the Thorns as a team where she can bring another championship home.
But regardless of Wilson’s buy-in, the Thorns have no excuse but to show they’re investing in world-class talent elsewhere on the pitch. The onus now falls on the Thorns’ front office to figure things out. They’ve had time to do so. Portland shouldn’t put up a disappointing playoff loss a third year in a row.
