Defenders Meghan Klingenberg and Gabby Provenzano sign for one more year with Portland
Two more Thorns are staying in Portland!
The Portland Thorns announced today that free agent and defender Meghan Klingenberg signed with the Thorns for one more year. In addition to that, the club extended defender/midfielder Gabby Provenzano’s contract through 2024, the club announced yesterday.
Klingenberg, a USWNT World Champion and NWSL championship-winning defender , joined the Thorns back in 2016. Since then, she has played an essential role for the team not only as a left-back, but also with her motivational speeches before every Thorns game.
Her accolades in the club are numerous: She’s a two-time NWSL champion (2017, 2022), has won the Shield twice (2016, 2021), the Fall Series and Community Shield in 2020, and the Challenge Cup and the Women’s International Champion’s Cup in 2021.
The veteran expressed her happiness about staying in Portland for one more year when she said: “Portland is a special place to be. There is so much hope and joy to be found here and I’m truly excited to be part of this new beginning. It’s what the players and this town deserve, and I can't wait to be reunited on the pitch with all of you this year.”
After the news about Natalia Kuikka’s departure to Chicago today, there was some expectation from the fans for good news, and the news about one of Portland’s most beloved players returning couldn’t have had a better timing.
The club still needs to make moves in regards to the status of Christine Sinclair, Becky Sauerbrunn, Taylor Porter, and Tegan McGrady, all of whom are free agents.
In the case of Provenzano, she joined the Thorns in 2022 but hasn’t played much since. She’s only registered nine games across all competitions in her two years with the club. However, despite this, she already has a championship under her belt.
“We are pleased that Gabby has chosen to continue as a Thorn for the 2024 season. She continues to show growth in her game and is a fantastic presence and personality within our roster,” Head Coach Mike Norris said. “We are excited to have the opportunity to continue to push and challenge her and see even more growth.”
Hopefully, the Rutgers graduate will have more playing time this season now that the right-back starting position is open.
With the pre-season getting closer and closer, it is good to see Portland securing the backline, although more news about the free agents and the final roster additions are expected.
From the Desk of Lisa Bhathal
TO DO LIST:
1) Fly up to Portland to see what the hell we bought, maybe meet a few of the unwashed fans for photo ops.
2) Get rid of the lady in the red coat and bubbly personality
3) Dismiss the tall dude Coach- name the Wednesday Addams girl head coach
4) Call the Mark Parsons fellow everyone talks about- thoughts on being a GM?
5) Find the one they call Sophia Smith and offer her more money than she can imagine
6) Having ensured the "football" product on the field remains up to par, go have fun with the real estate stuff.
"U.S. Navy announces the successful not-sinking of a floating drydock, three fleet oilers, two harbor tugs, and a submarine chaser in surprise December 7th Pearl Harbor attack"
Sorry. The snark was irresistible.
Kling is a sparkplug in the locker room, so that's great. Got skinned a lot last season, tho, so her fight with the sports-reaper may be finally coming to an end. Provenzano? Enh. Hard to say more than she's a warm body at this point. Wish she was more, but nothing to show for it yet.