Match Preview - The PNW clash: Portland Thorns vs. OL Reign

Megan Rapinoe returns to the Rose City in her last regular season rivalry game.

Media Caption: Thorns FC

As the regular season dwindles to the final few matches, the Portland Thorns return to Providence Park to take on OL Reign.

The match will air at 7:30 p.m. PT and can be streamed on Paramount+

Two notable things: Sophia Smith is still out due to a sprained MCL, and this will be Megan Rapinoe’s last battle in the Rose City (for the regular season, at least).

A Brief History: The Cascadia Clash

• The rivalry even predates the NWSL, tracing its beginnings to the established Cascadia rivalry between the Timbers and the Sounders. So from the very first NWSL season in 2013, the teams treated each meeting as a grudge match

• The two teams will meet for the 38th time in all competitions on Saturday. This is the most games of any fixture in league history

  • OL Reign currently leads the head-to-head battle with 15 wins compared to Portland’s 13. Nine of the matches were draws.

• Their last meetup found the Thorns winning 2-0 with goals coming from Sophia Smith and Christine Sinclair.

  • The teams are matched in wins this season as the Reign won on June 28th 1-0.

  • They also tallied a 0-0 draw in the Challenge Cup match in August.

Kling Says it Best:

“I think the greatest compliment that I, and we, could give her (Megan Rapinoe) as the Thorns is to kick her ass when she comes to Providence Park.”

Players to Watch:

Seattle:

Media Credit: OL Reign

I mean these may seem obvious but there are so many notable players for OL Reign:

Megan Rapinoe — She needs no introduction…. however, as this will be her last rivalry match she’s probably rearing to say goodbye to PDX in a memorable way.

Jess Fishlock — Always solid for the reign and similar to Pinoe, she’s got a healthy fire burning for Portland.

Alana Cook — Has proved herself on the international stage as well as the domestic. She’s a solid center-back.

Quinn —They are a solid distributor in the midfield and one of Christin Sinclair’s Canadian teammates, so that could be a fun matchup to watch.

Jordyn Huitema — Another impressive Canadian in the PNW, she’s a force in the air.

Portland:

Morgan Weaver — she’s been solid in her attacking prowess, and especially with Sophia Smith still out she’ll really need to step up.

Natalia Kuikka — I never mention Kuikka in the who to watch section because I often take her for granted — she’s a great defender and makes impressive runs up the pitch. She was recently called up to Finland’s national team for their set of friendlies.

Sam Coffey — I’ve said it once I’ll say it again, the Thorns are lucky to have a force like her in the midfield. She’s also received a USWNT call-up recently as well.

Predicted Lineups and Final Score Prediction:

Seattle

Ivory

Huerta-Cook-Hiatt-Barnes

Rapinoe-Sonnet-Quinn-Fishlock

Balcer-Huitema

Portland

Bixby

Kuikka-Hubly-Sauerbrunn-Klingenberg

Rocky-Coffey-Moultrie-Sugita

Weaver-Betfort

Score Prediction

Hmmm, this hopefully going to be a match for the history books… Portland hasn’t beaten Seattle at home since 2018. I say it’s time for a change.

I’m going to go big and say 3-2 Thorns with goals from Weaver, Betfort, and a subbed on Sinclair. The Seattle goals I’m saying Pinoe and Fishlock.

What do you all think?