Community Discussion Post: Where will the Timbers and Thorns finish?
Share your thoughts on where the Timbers and Thorns will finish at the end of the season.
In just a few short weeks time, the NWSL and MLS regular seasons will be all wrapped up. That means that the Portland Thorns and Portland Timbers will have their final places in the standings and should both be preparing for postseason action in the playoffs (now go knock on every wooden object in your home for luck).
Because both league tables are denser than an MRE protein bar, those final places could be any number of positions. As ardent and impassioned followers of PTFC, we want to hear your take*, dear reader, on where you think each team will finish.
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Before I turn the microphone over, let me share my predictions:
Portland Thorns
Current position: 2nd place
Matches remaining: 2
Final position prediction: 2nd place
As pessimistic as it is, I think the Thorns just miss out on the NWSL Shield once again. The Thorns haven’t found a ton of consistency this season, and so while I am fairly confident they can win their home finale, their final game at Angel City worries me. A win on the road in LA against a hot Angel City team feels unlikely, and San Diego’s run-in is a little more favorable than Portland’s.
And so, the Thorns finish second yet again. Which of course means they will get a bye in the quarterfinals of the NWSL Playoffs and host the semifinal — on their way to repeating as NWSL Champs (go knock on wood again).
Portland Timbers
Current position: 7th place in the Western Conference
Matches remaining: 2
Final position prediction: 7th place in the Western Conference
Yeah, yeah — call me boring for standing pat on both teams. But the Timbers’ position depends a bit more on the teams around them than their own games. I do have a decent level of confidence in Portland netting four points from their final two games. But almost all of the teams around them have a game in hand, and I do think those teams will make them count. So I don’t see a clear enough path for the Timbers to jump anyone in the standings.
But a seventh place finish would still avoid the Play-In round and get Portland back into the postseason, which would be a massive turnaround from where this team was just a few months ago.
But I’ll turn it over to you, dear subscriber: Where do you think both teams will finish? Can the Thorns find consistency and capture the NWSL Shield? Will the Timbers streak all the way to the playoffs and steal a top-four finish? Let us know your predictions and prognostications in the comments!
As far as the rest of the teams chasing the playoffs go:
- Dallas is stuck in neutral, one win in five alongside four draws, and has a game in hand
- San Jose is mildly threatening, only two losses in five, but has played the same number of games as the Timbers
- SKC has won three of their last five and is turning their season around, if not quite as dramatically as the Timbers, but again has no games in hand
- MNU is a hot mess with a game in hand, but is winless in five and has lost three in a row.
- Austin has a game in hand, but is eight points back and is winless in seven (four losses, three draws)
- LAG has two games in hand, but is also eight points back and has only one win in five
Dallas' game in hand is tonight against Colorado, at home, and will drop the Timbers to 8th place assuming they win that game. LAFC plays MNU, and if they win that puts some more air between Portland and MNU.
San Jose plays Dallas this weekend in Dallas, and Dallas plays LAG in their last game of the season. I can see a scenario where Portland finish 9th, particularly if they don't get points in Montreal this weekend. I don't - and I can't believe I am writing this - think they will miss the playoffs, but I think 7th is a tad optimistic.
I kind of think how the Thorns do with the shield will determine whether they win the Championship again or not. If the Thorns win on Saturday and San Diego loses, the Thorns just need a point, given the goal difference. But even if that doesn't happen and San Diego drops points, the Thorns need to show the capability to win two games in a row to win the Championship. It's not happened in the league since June. If San Diego wins out, then fair enough. But I think it's likely they drop points in one of their last two, and the Thorns have to show an edge to take advantage.