Morgan Weaver buried her penalty kick after Portland goalkeeper Adrianna Franch stopped Nahomi Kawasumi’s attempt and the Thorns won the Challenge Cup tournament on a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw with Gotham on Saturday.
Franch and Weaver deliver in penalties, Thorns win NWSL Challenge Cup
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Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/ISI Photos/Getty Images
Adriana Franch and Morgan Weaver deliver the one-two punch in the penalty shootout to win the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup for the Portland Thorns.
The Portland Thorns immediately took control of the Challenge Cup final. Gotham FC sat deep and the Thorns pinned them back in the final third. Christine Sinclair opened the scoring with her second goal in as many games. She won the ball back, turned, and launched a curler into the back of the net.
Gotham almost responded in the 14th minute. Kelli Hubly and Becky Sauerbrunn attempted to play the ball out of the back and gave it away to Margaret Purce. She and Carli Lloyd were not on the same page and the opportunity was squandered.
Sinclair, Thorns win Challenge Cup
Morgan Weaver buried her penalty kick after Portland goalkeeper Adrianna Franch stopped Nahomi Kawasumi s attempt and the Thorns won the Challenge Cup tournament on a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw with Gotham on Saturday.
The Canadian Press
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PORTLAND, Ore. Canada captain Christine Sinclair added to her legend Saturday, helping the Portland Thorns win the NWSL Challenge Cup tournament in a penalty shootout over Gotham FC.
Sinclair opened the scoring in the eighth minute to became the National Women s Soccer League s active leader with 60 career goals. North Carolina s Lynn Williams has 59.
The Portland skipper picked up the ball after a heavy touch by Carli Lloyd and turned for goal. As defenders backpeddled, she curled a left-footed shot into the corner from just outside the penalty box.
What We Learned from the Pros
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Three weeks ago, Washington State Legends of Soccer hosted a live webinar with five local pros, each of them having developed their game, or some stage of it, here in Washington. The objective: To share insight into what it takes to reach the highest levels of the sport.
Learning from the Pros is now available to view on the WA Legends YouTube channel.
Here are a few takeaways from the panel, which was comprised of Samantha Hiatt (OL Reign), Katherine Reynolds (recently retired, Portland Thorns), Cristian Roldan (Sounders), Kelyn Rowe (Sounders) and Morgan Weaver (Portland Thorns).
Portland Thorns settle for up-and-down draw to Houston Dash, look ahead to NWSL Challenge Cup final
Updated 7:48 PM;
Today 6:36 PM
Portland s Christine Sinclair lines up a shot with Houston s Sophie Schmidt defending as the Thorns take on the Dash in the NWSL Challenge Cup on Sunday, May 2, 2021, at BBVA Stadium in Houston. Sinclair scored in the 76th minute as the Thorns and Dash tied 1-1. Photo by ISI/Trask Smith
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Getting a result against the Houston Dash didn’t actually matter for the Portland Thorns, but with the NWSL regular season starting in two weeks, at least the Thorns found some things to work on.