Portland Thorns 2, Houston Dash 0 | Recap and Highlights

Six wins in a row!

Photo: Thorns FC / Craig Mitchelldyer

After a 2 hour and a half-hour weather delay in the always humid Houston, the Thorns got things done at Shell Energy Stadium.

Even though the Dash has never made things easy for Portland, Cascadia teams have usually done well when playing them, with the Thorns registering 15 wins and Seattle 17 over Houston. Well, the league’s book records will have to add one more win for Portland after this game.

It’s quite amazing how this team has left its terrible start of the season behind and gave way to Thorns 2.0 under Rob Gale’s tenure. Last week, they broke the club’s record by getting five wins in a row but after the victory against the Dash, they broke a league record. According to Opta, they’ve become the first team in the NWSL to score multiple goals in every game of a six-match winning streak.

An speaking about goals, for this match Portuguese forward Ana Dias got her first start of the season as a Thorn and she didn’t disappoint. Even though Portland went to halftime scoreless, she opened her tab in the 56th minute off ofHina Sugita’s assist. Later in the 68th minute, Olivia Moultrie got her revenge (VAR overturned a PK after a foul on her inside the box) and doubled the lead with Janine Beckie’s assist.

Dias’ goal was significant not only for the club but for the league because it meant that 22 players from different countries have tallied a goal this season in the NWSL, the most in a single season in the league history. Pretty amazing, uh?

We will dive deep about what and how this team and his coach have done to turn things around later, but for now let’s also give it up for former Houston assistant and interim head coach Sarah Lowdon who has also contributed in a big way to get this historic sixth win. She has been a huge addition to the coaching staff and the club overall. "Sarah's been working her socks off to put the game scouting reports together in short turnarounds," said Gale about her after the game.

Highlights

3’ Campbell denies Sophia Smith with a foot.

7’ Campbell with another save, denies Janine Beckie this time.

16’ Beckie HITS THE POST!

23’ Olivia Moultrie is fouled inside the box!

27’ VAR and the referee determined that there was no foul inside the box.

35’ Beckie breaks free and tests Campbell again but the goalkeeper prevails.

40’ It’s Beckie against Houston's goalie again and still she can’t beat her. VAR checked a potential handball but in the end, there’s no PK for Portland.

46’ POST! The wood denies Houston!

56’ GOOOAAALLL! Ana Dias scores her first goal as a thorn in her first start of the season!

59’ Here comes the subs: Christine Sinclair enters for Dias.

61’ Shelby Hogan denies CeCe Kizer.

68’ OLIVIA MOULTRIE DOUBLES THE LEAD!

69’ A pair of subs: Jessie Fleming enters for Olivia and Paige Linnehan replaces Janine Beckie.

87’ Campbell denies Smith.

90+3’ Substitutions: Marissa Sheva and Meghan Klingenberg replace Hina Sugita and Sophia.

90+7’ End of the match: Portland Thorns 2, Houston Dash 0

Some final thoughts

Portland remain unbeaten in six games now and they’re far from reaching their ceiling. Sophia Smith is in a different level compared to what she’s done in 2023 and we haven’t even reached the middle of the 2024 season yet.

And it’s not only her but the entire roster that is playing with more confidence. What is also cool about this new era is that the coach has been rotating personnel — maybe not that heavily — but nonetheless, the Thorns have been producing good results no matter who’s on the field. Even those players who didn’t have a good start of the season have found a renewed confidence.

Among them is Hina Sugita. We’ve seen since she arrived in Portland what she can do and the Japanese has amazed us with her ‘fútbol champagne’ (meaning: her class). However, she wasn’t starting in the beginning of the season for different reasons but it’s good to see that that is in the past. Sugita is second in assists with three so far, only behind Smith (six),and it seems she’s going to be one of the league’s finest midfielders this year too.

The next game will be a good test to see what these Thorns are made of. They’re playing one of the best teams this season, the Orlando Pride. The Florida club has found a true gem in Barbra Banda and their defense is one of the best in the NWSL, having only received seven goals against, the second fewest after Gotham.

Will the Thorns be up to the task?