What to know about the Portland Thorns as they kick off 2021 against Kansas City in NWSL Challenge Cup
Updated Apr 08, 2021;
Posted Apr 08, 2021
“I’m thinking we’re taking this trophy home, Portland Thorns midfielder Crystal Dunn said of the NWSL Challenge Cup. Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Thorns
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For the first time in more than a year, soccer will be played in front of fans at Providence Park.
The Portland Thorns take the field Friday night to kick off the Challenge Cup, a new tournament that will precede the NWSL regular season later this year.
They’ll host Kansas City, a new (old) expansion team joining the NWSL after the sale of the Utah Royals, who used to play as FC Kansas City. (For now, the new Kansas City team is unnamed due to the short turnaround for the 2021 season.)
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Future Portland Thorns set to clash in Big 10 season opener
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Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Rutgers and Penn State last met in Piscataway, NJ in a hotly contested affair. Both teams had aspirations of securing the Big Ten title and knew that this was an important match against another contender.
The Nittany Lions took the lead in the 21st minute. Rutgers made it 1-1 in the 62nd minute through Brittany LaPlant. The Scarlet Knights quickly added another but their advantage was erased with a Penn State equalizer in the 86th minute.
The match entered extra time in search of the golden goal that would decide the match. In the 101st minute Rutgers won a penalty and Amirah Ali stepped to the spot.
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.
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.