As Portland Thorns open preseason camp, ‘the sky’s the limit’
Updated Feb 02, 2021;
Posted Feb 02, 2021
Fans react during the NWSL Championship Game at Providence Park in 2018. “Just to be in the stadium, breathing fresh air, seeing people on the training pitch, it’s just who we are,” Thorns coach Mark Parsons said Tuesday as the team opened preseason camp. Mark Graves/StaffMark Graves
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With the Portland Thorns back on the field for preseason camp Tuesday, coach Mark Parsons was excited to take it all in.
“Just to be in the stadium, breathing fresh air, seeing people on the training pitch, it’s just who we are,” Parsons told reporters.
Fleshed-out roster means exciting possibilities for Thorns FC
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Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Yesterday was a big day and not because of what any groundhog had to say about the current state of winter. No, it was a big day because it was the first time that Portland Thorns FC hit the field for preseason training. The excitement surrounding the team seems to be high as ever and for good reason.
The Thorns fleshed out their roster pretty well this offseason. They added Finnish defender Natalia Kuikka, re-signed players like Simone Charley and Emily Menges, and in the biggest move of all added Crystal Dunn to the roster in a blockbuster trade involving the North Carolina Courage and OL Reign. After finishing 2020 on a high note with their Fall Series victory, Portland is going into the 2021 season with the talent to do some damage.
What to expect when youâre expecting to watch some soccer this year
By
Margaret Seiler
2/2/2021 at 5:40pm
Rocky RodrÃguez and Simone Charley, seen here in a September 2020 game against the Seattle-area OL Reign, are among the players returning to the Thorns this year. After Los Angeles and Sacramento join the league in 2022, these wonât be the only two teams on the West Coast anymore.
National Womenâs Soccer League players reported this week for preseason training. In Portland,
itâs been nearly 16 months since the Thorns last played in front of a crowd at Providence Park. The home games of the 2020 NWSL Fall Series, which the Thorns won, happened in an empty stadium, save for a handful of staff, media, and a lone operator of the red smoke machine in the stadiumâs north end, called into service whenever the Thorns scored a goal.
birthday. happy birthday dear pop pop happy birthday to you major thanking the team. thank you. you re welcome. you re welcome. we love you. and right here tonight hi, david. his granddaughter, holly. telling us he s home, doing well, and marked his birthday today. we are just so blessed to have him home with us and he is going to make it through it. the family grateful for his team at the hospital. hey, david. right here, two of his nurses, shelby hogan and shawn king. even at 104 years old, he s fighting off this coronavirus just like so many other things that he s fought off in his life. he served our country and we re so grateful for that. a fighter, indeed. 104. and we salut help is on the way. there is light at the end of the