It's too bad the Thorns are going younger, otherwise they could have really leaned into this. Timely homage to the passing of Betty White this past year, too. Maybe fake out the opposition by making the Thorns seem old and decrepit.
After VPN-ing the recording of the Denmark-Austria game this evening, I think I've watched or rewatched 10-12 Obaze games since she signed so I feel alright about making some some broad observations:
1. Girl's cool as a cucumber. Rarely flustered, and --the thing that stands out most, sometimes to a fault-- is that she REALLY doesn't like to make clearances to nobody. She'll scan and scan until she sees something she likes and usually makes the right pass, but she'll occasionally play a ball into pressure because she doesn't want to boot the ball up field or out of play.
2. Her style of defending is very positional in that she reads angles well and is rarely caught in the wrong space. She'll make tackles, has some size, and doesn't shy away from contact; but I wouldn't call her game overly physical. Not a lot of crunching tackles or booming headers in her game tape.
3. Isn't a speed demon necessarily, but definitely has athleticism and covers ground very easily. You'll see her run into frame and clean up overhit balls quite a lot.
Anyhow, we have literally no idea what the Thorns' plans are for her, but I think the ceiling of the team goes up if she's good enough to get some starts. I can't imagine we'll see a lot of her early on because we have two VERY experienced (if flawed) CBs, but I hope she shows enough that she eventually breaks into the team.
Good analysis! As I read it I was thinking that captures her to a "t." She didn't seem super fast but not slow, and Yes very calm and in the right spot most of the time. She definitely looks like she could be the future and I hope they use her to spell both Becky and Hubly. She should be starting mid-season.
That was fun! I was on the fence about going so very glad I chose to, despite the 39 degrees and sleet we got nearly the entire second half. View was totally unobstructed from the NW corner, about 30 feet from the field. A few takeaways:
- OWK probably player of the match for me. Really impressed with her composure in the midfield, won a ton of tackles, and most noticeably.....girl hits BOMBS. She put one in the top left corner one-time from 20 yards in the first half, hit a 20 yard twisting half volley just wide of the same corner, and had a curler headed top right that the UP keeper made a really nice save to tip off the bar in the second half.
- Müller was the best player on the field. Took her foot off the gas in the second, but completely dominated the first half. She's really, really skilled and played a number of excellent balls to Weaver down the left.
- Kafusi and Payne both struggled with the wet grass a little- A number of missed touches from both.
- Müller, OWK, and Payne played the full 90. Sinc played 80 and then got pulled (and the Thorns played with 10 for the last 10 for unknown reasons).
I feel like a traitor because even though I live literally ten minutes walk from Merlo I looked out at the rain and snow and decided I was too cowardly to stand out in it for an hour and a half.
The only caution I take away from this (and the Wave match) is Sinc staying on well over an hour. That's been the thing the past two seasons and the result has always been the same; a couple or three good games in March or April, and then the old legs start to go. By early summer she's moving in geologic time.
For the others, I'd love to see OWK provide a long-distance threat. One issue Smith has had to deal with is that opposing defenses can collapse on her because there hasn't been anyone she can kick the ball out to that has an effective long shot. Allie Long used to be that player for us, and Rocky Rodriguez at times. It helps the CF a LOT if the defense has to stay more spread forward to guard against that long strike.
Now it makes me want make up for my shirking yesterday by sneaking up on the MAC Club roof to see how Norris runs out against the Reign.
Yeah I'm hoping that Sinc playing so much is just down to our lack of attackers with Hina and Smith gone and Linnehan (presumably) and Beckie both injured. Without them, it's just Weaver, Izzy, Sinc, and Sheva. That said, I do think Sinc is probably going to be our backup striker/10.....so better than starting, but she will probably get minutes ahead of Izzy and Linnehan.
(I did enjoy the Thorns friendly in the snow for free a hell of a lot more than whatever the Timbers 2nd half was...which I also attended!)
The writeups from the DCU game have a reeeeal Gioesque flavor; going up against the run of play then the inability to possess and see out the game grinds holes in back and ships crap goals. Still a work in progress, obviously…
I thought the same thing about OWK regarding her long-distance rockets. If she can threaten consistently with them, it definitely helps our offense get a bit more space because the CB's are gonna be questioning whether to step when OWK gets the ball, which will help against teams who love to bunker (looking at you San Diego Wave.)...I think we do have that a bit in the other Olivia, but she wasn't playing as much, and she was still pretty inconsistent. Either way, would love to be known for rockets from the Olivias!
Re: the Reign game....I wanted to make my PT apt at Prov Sports Care for the same day as the game lol, but they're doing it on the weekend unfortunately. If anyone has MAC access, take it!
Moultrie has been similar to Rodriguez; never really a consistent threat from distance. She’ll take a crack now and then, but…it’d be nice to have someone who can consistently put a hammer on frame from 20-25 yards. As you say; it keeps the opponents backline honest. They have to either push a CB up or pull a MF back to mark the sniper.
I think Moultrie is a significantly better ball striker than Rocky from a technique perspective- It's just a matter of getting enough time to build up the confidence. She's one of those player that I want to shoot more than she does, because when she has a hit it's usually a pretty good effort.
Neither shot enough from distance to make me confident of picking one over the other, frankly. The N for either of them is probably in the low single digits.
The real question is whether Norris can incorporate Moultrie or OWK or Sinc (FFS !) sniping from distance into his tactics. It’s not enough to have a random long shot at goal; the squad needs to practice setting that up, following the shot, etc.
How’d the rest of the team look? Shelby, Hubly, Kling, Weaver, and Beckie I’m curious about. I imagine Sinc was the same Sinc…dear lord I hope Soph stays healthy because I’m not sure I could watch multiple games with Sinc going full games at the 9. No D’Aquila? Or rotations at half?
Really hope Linnehan doesn’t have anything major…bummer she’s not getting any major minutes before the season starts.
Everyone looked good, but they're also pros playing college kids so it's hard to take all that much away. It was really noticeable just how much bigger and faster the Thorns looked all over the field watching from close up. Hogan barely touched the ball, Hubly was so much bigger than the UP forwards that she wasn't really challenged, Weaver was clearly not going full gas but did some good stuff, Kling looked good in midfield. Didn't see much from Beckie- I got there about 12 minutes in and she only played 30 or so.
Sinc was fine- She talks and directs A LOT on the field, which I guess makes sense but I hadn't fully realized until being able to hear the players communicate. Izzy came on for Beckie about 30 minutes in (the bench looked really happy for Janine btw) and played on the RW the rest of the match, though she shifted inside a decent amount. Actually thought Izzy looked really good and she had a nice goal called offside, I thought somewhat questionably. She also looks stronger and faster than she did last season, though that might have just been because she was playing against college students.
Other than that, Aylmer came on for Kling at half and looked half decent, they brought on a blonde (maybe McKenzie?) who played at CB for Hubly halfway through the second half that didn't have much to do, Duong was decent (but she's tiny and slow lol), Sheva was meh.
Thanks for the game recap. Glad to hear Beckie was on the field for a bit. When she did the interview when the team was at Coachella she sounded pretty cautious about when she’d be back.
Now that Linnehan is signed I wonder why she didn't play. a knock? Thanks for the information. I am really amped to see these players play. Well not so amped as to stand outside in the cold and the rain. So a big thanks to you.
The bad? Both utterly meh, and agree that the primary red is…not Thorns red. I have no strong opinions on the yellow highlight color; it makes the kits marginally less meh but not enough. (Edit; except the shape? DORITOS!!!! Thanks, Nick!) Very corporate feeling. Nothing organic, nothing distinctive. Unlike the tattoo kits there’s not even anything hateable about them, except…
The ugly: …BLUE? Exfuckingscuse me…did a Reign fanboi sneak that shit in the house? Where did THAT come from?
I hated the idea of green kits after finally breaking from the Timbers…but at least red, black, and green are in our badge. Blue? Where’s that nonsense? “Blue Roses” sounds like a bad country song.
Hell to the no. No blue. Just no. C’mon Nike. Get yer heads out. No.
I agree lol, it’s just a bit safe…I’m wondering if it wasn’t a reaction to the terrible response to the away kits last season...the Doritos socks are hilarious lol. Wondering if the kits for next season will be the Bhathals making the decisions…
Enh…”safe” would have been green, or black. Blue (or blue-gray, or blue-green, or whatever these are)? That’s more like “who knows more about the club, you Portland proles or my graphic designer from San Bernardino?”
Ten minutes with a random fan would have clued these people that whatever this is, it’s not a Thorns shirt.
Posting here too cause I know some people don't comment on the paid articles:
Hey y'all- Now that the access to games and data availability is so much better, I've been thinking about re-starting the weekly NWSL recap column I used to freelance in the NWSL 1.0 days before I started commenting here. Wouldn't be Thorns specific (don't want to step on Chief's corner!), but interested to see if people would want to read!
I'd read it if each recap wasn't too long. I'd love to learn more about the other teams and players, but I don't have time for much more than highlights (and sometimes not even those).
To me the thing that has made the Thorns jerseys of the past pretty great, even the ones I didn't really care for, Is that they always had a bit of bite, a little sting - barbed wire, black roses, tire tracks, even. These red ones look like a kids birthday party at the ice cream parlor, or, like everyone says, Doritos. What says, "My rose is beautiful, but watch out!"?
Sam Coffey was outstanding in this W Gold Cup final W. In fact all the kids, plus Horan, stood out as the deciding factor in the game. Coffey, Girma, Shaw, Albert, and Fox (all 25 and under) looked a step above Dunn, Morgan, and Lavelle, and I say that as a longtime admirer of all three of them.
Emily Fox was WOTM for me, Horan a close second, then Coffey. I'm really excited to watch Coffey play this season.
Agree about Dunn and Lavelle, but Morgan was a very important factor off the ball, bodying up, obstructing, and generally sending the message that the US wasn't going to be pushed around. Her physicality was constantly on the edge of what the ref would allow. Maybe she was lucky not to be sent off for that shove on the Brazil defender (Kilgore obviously thought so, since she pulled her right after.) But without her, I don't think Fox's cross ever reaches Horan's head.
She played the same enforcer role against Colombia, with all their physical mind games. It's not my favorite part of international soccer, but it's reality, and Morgan's example is important for the development of the younger players.
Yeah with the CONCACAF reffing - inconsistent and allowing dangerous amounts of physicality - having someone as a physical presence was important. Morgan definitely did this, including holding off a defender on Horan's goal, so she gets credit for that. I guess I expected more attacking from her though - there were several times when she got a look at goal and I thought, "Shoot, Alex, shoot!" and she didn't.
I've never seen Horan forecheck like she did yesterday.
Fun match, but still concerning. Thank God for Lindsey's aerial game, because the Nats rely on it a lot now. How many times do other countries need to see her do this before they figure out DO NOT EVER LEAVE HORAN UNMARKED FOR A HEADER?
TBF it wasn't a set piece and the look on the keeper's face from the endline camera says it all. The Fox cross was perfection and Sam's getting the ball to her was just as sweet.
We're seeing a team gel and I think Sam has grabbed her ticket to Paris.
Picking 18 will be an intimidating task and Hayes isn't even in the building yet.
Was very impressed with Rodman on that sequence too. The whole thing was a thing of beauty. And... that was pretty much our offensive output on the day! 7 shots, including 2 Horan headers.
Krueger did herself a solid in short minutes, helping keep Brazil off the board. Good to see her get some minutes.
I have NO idea what Kilgore was doing with some of those subs, tho.
Shaw for Coffey when you're trying to hold onto a 1-0 lead and the other side can still bring on Debinha (who did) and Ary Borges (who did not)?
I know Horan then dropped back, but Shaw is the one who committed that foul which gave Debinha a direct kick just outside the box.
It was a good test for a mixed group to see out a win against a good opponent, but also a bit weird, almost as if not taking Brazil seriously enough.
Oof, yeah, Shaw's scant minutes were not to the plus side of the ledger and pulling Sam seemed ill-timed unless she was on a mileage limit. To your point, not a like-for-like substitution.
Purce, too, did herself no favors--skying a wasted rare shot instead of passing was old Purce, not the one who had that very good early tournament.
The Williams sub seemed very positive, because she kept Brazil honest and needing to repeatedly drop and cover her late runs. You could see their exasperation.
Hey y'all, there's been a youtube upload of the preseason game against SDW. It's only the first 70 mins and the quality is garbage, but at least most of the interviews have been removed and you can rewatch with a little less distraction...
Also because we don't have anyone covering the team and the team doesn't even release info themselves, Seattle Reign announced today they're playing the Thorns in a closed door match (along with an open-to-the-public match against UW):
"Seattle Reign FC vs. Portland Thorns FC on March 9 at 3:00 p.m. PT at Providence Park (closed to the public)"
From the Coachella press release: "Next up, Thorns FC will return to Portland, Ore. to finish off the preseason, next facing the University of Portland in a closed-door preseason match against the University of Portland on Saturday, March 2 at 11:00am PT."
The Willamette Drive side of Merlo is walk-up accessible. Not sure how cranky the club would be about lookie-lous on UP property - the fence is a good ways from the public sidewalk - but that's a possibility, anyway...
The place to be would probably be outside the NW corner of the stadium- Wouldn't be surprised if they put up an extra fence or something, but that's by far the best view for a closed door imo. I think there's also a gap on the SE side by the bleachers.
(or tucked back by the Chiles Center on the NE end if you can get there, but I doubt they'd let that happen given that's on the path to the locker rooms)
There are obviously more important things to improve on from the Paulson era, but social media clarity about things like this (and minor roster decisions, coaching hires, etc) is SUCH AN EASY THING TO DO and I really hope they start soon.
(I know the Merlo game was in the Coachella press release, but nothing about the Reign game as far as I know)
If you've got Twitter, Ameé Ruszkai usually posts where you can find streams, whether Youtube or wherever. I also just found the Germany-Netherlands game via Google linking me to some random Youtuber's unofficially mirroring a local feed
I actually like the home kit (though I could do without the Bugle socks). But it's not a THORNS kit. It's some other club, about whom I'd say "I really like their new kits." To me, it looks something you'd see for a team in SD, LA, Orlando, even SF. Not Portland, not the LFG THORNS!
I don't understand either. It's like design was handed off to a completely new crew with no history or understanding of the Thorns. After the red smoke kit, the black roses, and the tattoo kit (all of which I own), these feel so generic and heartless. I mean, they're not terrible, but they could be any club. Not a single thing about them says Thorns to me.
Why can’t they just reverse the red and the black in that 2021 kit? Darker red with a blended lighter version for the roses. Black lettering. That kit is iconic and could have been creatively used
I had the excuse that I didn’t want to support our former owner with jersey purchases. Now I gotta buy two of these. Been told I only have to buy one by my family I’ll still buy two
Awe shit! Damn wish we k ew ahead of time that they wouldn’t turn folks away. I chose to do a matinee viewing of Dune this am… Looking forward to catching up with your other comments!
Sheva is real short with dark hair…if that helps any lol. Beckie on the L and Weaver on the R is interesting…both of them are better on the opposite sides.
Whew, I thought it was excellent! I'm a huge fan of the books (and of dystopian fiction), and while I thought the first one (though I loved the visuals and the score) lacked some detail and plot-building (almost felt like half a movie to me), this one dove fully into the details. It was super dense with character and world-building without being overwhelming, dove into the darker themes like the heavy religious aspects (and more about the Bene Gesserit), and was visually stunning. It was dark without trying too hard, imo...just like very bleak and I love that it seems like the director was actually a fan of the books and really channeled how weird and dark the books were. Really loved the art direction of the Harkonnen-related characters, world, and the visuals. Just like, stark and brutal and I loved it. I could say so much more, but I don't wanna give any spoilers...I'd just say go see it in theaters. I'm honestly not a huge movie-goer because most things I just don't have any interest in, but I'll go when Dune or Star Wars are there. Already wanna see it again so I can try to pick up something new in it. 9.5 or maybe even 10/10 for me...
Canada v Costa Rica is on P+, with captains Rocky Rodriguez and Jessie Fleming battling in the midfield. Interesting dynamic considering Rocky was likely traded because of Fleming coming in...
They had the pre-match captains handshake and all....wonder if Fleming was thinking "sorry for taking your job" lol...
A friend pointed out that the Forever kit looks like a bag of Doritos and now I can't unsee it.
I'd also say it looks like something from the Golden Girls's condo.
It's too bad the Thorns are going younger, otherwise they could have really leaned into this. Timely homage to the passing of Betty White this past year, too. Maybe fake out the opposition by making the Thorns seem old and decrepit.
I'd say more like Bugles, but poTAYto, poTAHto (Chips. Yes, I know they're both corn :-).
https://ibb.co/d5zTStH
Will definitely call it the Doritos kit now
Nacho cheese and Cool Ranch Doritos shirts.
I'll never not see that now, haha
All that and a bag of chips!
YES! The shirt not as much, but when I went to the website and saw the socks I was like...hmmm, those are...they look like...what the hell...DORITOS!
Cheese that goes crunch!
Muy Caliente!
After VPN-ing the recording of the Denmark-Austria game this evening, I think I've watched or rewatched 10-12 Obaze games since she signed so I feel alright about making some some broad observations:
1. Girl's cool as a cucumber. Rarely flustered, and --the thing that stands out most, sometimes to a fault-- is that she REALLY doesn't like to make clearances to nobody. She'll scan and scan until she sees something she likes and usually makes the right pass, but she'll occasionally play a ball into pressure because she doesn't want to boot the ball up field or out of play.
2. Her style of defending is very positional in that she reads angles well and is rarely caught in the wrong space. She'll make tackles, has some size, and doesn't shy away from contact; but I wouldn't call her game overly physical. Not a lot of crunching tackles or booming headers in her game tape.
3. Isn't a speed demon necessarily, but definitely has athleticism and covers ground very easily. You'll see her run into frame and clean up overhit balls quite a lot.
Anyhow, we have literally no idea what the Thorns' plans are for her, but I think the ceiling of the team goes up if she's good enough to get some starts. I can't imagine we'll see a lot of her early on because we have two VERY experienced (if flawed) CBs, but I hope she shows enough that she eventually breaks into the team.
Thanks for the scouting report. It's great to have some information about her.
Good analysis! As I read it I was thinking that captures her to a "t." She didn't seem super fast but not slow, and Yes very calm and in the right spot most of the time. She definitely looks like she could be the future and I hope they use her to spell both Becky and Hubly. She should be starting mid-season.
FT: Thorns 3-0 UP
That was fun! I was on the fence about going so very glad I chose to, despite the 39 degrees and sleet we got nearly the entire second half. View was totally unobstructed from the NW corner, about 30 feet from the field. A few takeaways:
- OWK probably player of the match for me. Really impressed with her composure in the midfield, won a ton of tackles, and most noticeably.....girl hits BOMBS. She put one in the top left corner one-time from 20 yards in the first half, hit a 20 yard twisting half volley just wide of the same corner, and had a curler headed top right that the UP keeper made a really nice save to tip off the bar in the second half.
- Müller was the best player on the field. Took her foot off the gas in the second, but completely dominated the first half. She's really, really skilled and played a number of excellent balls to Weaver down the left.
- Kafusi and Payne both struggled with the wet grass a little- A number of missed touches from both.
- Müller, OWK, and Payne played the full 90. Sinc played 80 and then got pulled (and the Thorns played with 10 for the last 10 for unknown reasons).
Nice! Thanks for this.
I feel like a traitor because even though I live literally ten minutes walk from Merlo I looked out at the rain and snow and decided I was too cowardly to stand out in it for an hour and a half.
The only caution I take away from this (and the Wave match) is Sinc staying on well over an hour. That's been the thing the past two seasons and the result has always been the same; a couple or three good games in March or April, and then the old legs start to go. By early summer she's moving in geologic time.
For the others, I'd love to see OWK provide a long-distance threat. One issue Smith has had to deal with is that opposing defenses can collapse on her because there hasn't been anyone she can kick the ball out to that has an effective long shot. Allie Long used to be that player for us, and Rocky Rodriguez at times. It helps the CF a LOT if the defense has to stay more spread forward to guard against that long strike.
Now it makes me want make up for my shirking yesterday by sneaking up on the MAC Club roof to see how Norris runs out against the Reign.
Yeah I'm hoping that Sinc playing so much is just down to our lack of attackers with Hina and Smith gone and Linnehan (presumably) and Beckie both injured. Without them, it's just Weaver, Izzy, Sinc, and Sheva. That said, I do think Sinc is probably going to be our backup striker/10.....so better than starting, but she will probably get minutes ahead of Izzy and Linnehan.
(I did enjoy the Thorns friendly in the snow for free a hell of a lot more than whatever the Timbers 2nd half was...which I also attended!)
The writeups from the DCU game have a reeeeal Gioesque flavor; going up against the run of play then the inability to possess and see out the game grinds holes in back and ships crap goals. Still a work in progress, obviously…
I thought the same thing about OWK regarding her long-distance rockets. If she can threaten consistently with them, it definitely helps our offense get a bit more space because the CB's are gonna be questioning whether to step when OWK gets the ball, which will help against teams who love to bunker (looking at you San Diego Wave.)...I think we do have that a bit in the other Olivia, but she wasn't playing as much, and she was still pretty inconsistent. Either way, would love to be known for rockets from the Olivias!
Re: the Reign game....I wanted to make my PT apt at Prov Sports Care for the same day as the game lol, but they're doing it on the weekend unfortunately. If anyone has MAC access, take it!
Moultrie has been similar to Rodriguez; never really a consistent threat from distance. She’ll take a crack now and then, but…it’d be nice to have someone who can consistently put a hammer on frame from 20-25 yards. As you say; it keeps the opponents backline honest. They have to either push a CB up or pull a MF back to mark the sniper.
We’ll have to see if Norris has a plan for that.
I think Moultrie is a significantly better ball striker than Rocky from a technique perspective- It's just a matter of getting enough time to build up the confidence. She's one of those player that I want to shoot more than she does, because when she has a hit it's usually a pretty good effort.
Neither shot enough from distance to make me confident of picking one over the other, frankly. The N for either of them is probably in the low single digits.
The real question is whether Norris can incorporate Moultrie or OWK or Sinc (FFS !) sniping from distance into his tactics. It’s not enough to have a random long shot at goal; the squad needs to practice setting that up, following the shot, etc.
How’d the rest of the team look? Shelby, Hubly, Kling, Weaver, and Beckie I’m curious about. I imagine Sinc was the same Sinc…dear lord I hope Soph stays healthy because I’m not sure I could watch multiple games with Sinc going full games at the 9. No D’Aquila? Or rotations at half?
Really hope Linnehan doesn’t have anything major…bummer she’s not getting any major minutes before the season starts.
Everyone looked good, but they're also pros playing college kids so it's hard to take all that much away. It was really noticeable just how much bigger and faster the Thorns looked all over the field watching from close up. Hogan barely touched the ball, Hubly was so much bigger than the UP forwards that she wasn't really challenged, Weaver was clearly not going full gas but did some good stuff, Kling looked good in midfield. Didn't see much from Beckie- I got there about 12 minutes in and she only played 30 or so.
Sinc was fine- She talks and directs A LOT on the field, which I guess makes sense but I hadn't fully realized until being able to hear the players communicate. Izzy came on for Beckie about 30 minutes in (the bench looked really happy for Janine btw) and played on the RW the rest of the match, though she shifted inside a decent amount. Actually thought Izzy looked really good and she had a nice goal called offside, I thought somewhat questionably. She also looks stronger and faster than she did last season, though that might have just been because she was playing against college students.
Other than that, Aylmer came on for Kling at half and looked half decent, they brought on a blonde (maybe McKenzie?) who played at CB for Hubly halfway through the second half that didn't have much to do, Duong was decent (but she's tiny and slow lol), Sheva was meh.
Thanks for the info. I was worried about Beckie’s fitness since she missed out on the gold cup roster and first preseason game.
Thanks for the game recap. Glad to hear Beckie was on the field for a bit. When she did the interview when the team was at Coachella she sounded pretty cautious about when she’d be back.
Now that Linnehan is signed I wonder why she didn't play. a knock? Thanks for the information. I am really amped to see these players play. Well not so amped as to stand outside in the cold and the rain. So a big thanks to you.
The good? A red primary again finally.
The bad? Both utterly meh, and agree that the primary red is…not Thorns red. I have no strong opinions on the yellow highlight color; it makes the kits marginally less meh but not enough. (Edit; except the shape? DORITOS!!!! Thanks, Nick!) Very corporate feeling. Nothing organic, nothing distinctive. Unlike the tattoo kits there’s not even anything hateable about them, except…
The ugly: …BLUE? Exfuckingscuse me…did a Reign fanboi sneak that shit in the house? Where did THAT come from?
I hated the idea of green kits after finally breaking from the Timbers…but at least red, black, and green are in our badge. Blue? Where’s that nonsense? “Blue Roses” sounds like a bad country song.
Hell to the no. No blue. Just no. C’mon Nike. Get yer heads out. No.
Agreed about the blue away kit. If im gonna pick one to get up in arms about, it’s definitely that one.
I just don’t hate the red; like I said, it’s so blah it’s hard to even bother. But blue? GTFO! That’s a hill I’m okay dying on.
Agreed. Blue? That's some other team.... and the red is not red enough. Needs some black too
It's almost like hot pink rather than red.
Weaver’s mom said in a comment that it’s more coral than red…so def more orangey-red/pink it sounds like…
Either way it's sort of boring. The Doritos give it a tiny hint of crunchiness, but otherwise? Yawn.
The blue (gray, green, whatever) secondary is even yawn-ier. Nike was just not even trying with these.
I agree lol, it’s just a bit safe…I’m wondering if it wasn’t a reaction to the terrible response to the away kits last season...the Doritos socks are hilarious lol. Wondering if the kits for next season will be the Bhathals making the decisions…
Enh…”safe” would have been green, or black. Blue (or blue-gray, or blue-green, or whatever these are)? That’s more like “who knows more about the club, you Portland proles or my graphic designer from San Bernardino?”
Ten minutes with a random fan would have clued these people that whatever this is, it’s not a Thorns shirt.
They couldn’t be bothered.
Safe was in response to the home kit. I was just agreeing with you!
Posting here too cause I know some people don't comment on the paid articles:
Hey y'all- Now that the access to games and data availability is so much better, I've been thinking about re-starting the weekly NWSL recap column I used to freelance in the NWSL 1.0 days before I started commenting here. Wouldn't be Thorns specific (don't want to step on Chief's corner!), but interested to see if people would want to read!
I'd read it if each recap wasn't too long. I'd love to learn more about the other teams and players, but I don't have time for much more than highlights (and sometimes not even those).
To me the thing that has made the Thorns jerseys of the past pretty great, even the ones I didn't really care for, Is that they always had a bit of bite, a little sting - barbed wire, black roses, tire tracks, even. These red ones look like a kids birthday party at the ice cream parlor, or, like everyone says, Doritos. What says, "My rose is beautiful, but watch out!"?
Sam Coffey was outstanding in this W Gold Cup final W. In fact all the kids, plus Horan, stood out as the deciding factor in the game. Coffey, Girma, Shaw, Albert, and Fox (all 25 and under) looked a step above Dunn, Morgan, and Lavelle, and I say that as a longtime admirer of all three of them.
Emily Fox was WOTM for me, Horan a close second, then Coffey. I'm really excited to watch Coffey play this season.
Agree about Dunn and Lavelle, but Morgan was a very important factor off the ball, bodying up, obstructing, and generally sending the message that the US wasn't going to be pushed around. Her physicality was constantly on the edge of what the ref would allow. Maybe she was lucky not to be sent off for that shove on the Brazil defender (Kilgore obviously thought so, since she pulled her right after.) But without her, I don't think Fox's cross ever reaches Horan's head.
She played the same enforcer role against Colombia, with all their physical mind games. It's not my favorite part of international soccer, but it's reality, and Morgan's example is important for the development of the younger players.
Yeah with the CONCACAF reffing - inconsistent and allowing dangerous amounts of physicality - having someone as a physical presence was important. Morgan definitely did this, including holding off a defender on Horan's goal, so she gets credit for that. I guess I expected more attacking from her though - there were several times when she got a look at goal and I thought, "Shoot, Alex, shoot!" and she didn't.
Kind of recall Albert doing this last night but rewatching gives me a definite WTF?!? moment.
https://twitter.com/AttackingThird/status/1767002285375115566?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1767002285375115566%7Ctwgr%5Ed259768db77ec9d7166ba2aabe503f5eec29ef61%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2Fuswnt-wins-gold-cup-lindsey-horan-sam-coffey-korbin-albert-021934721.html
I'm gonna say that's beating the Brazilians at their own beautiful game.
I've never seen Horan forecheck like she did yesterday.
Fun match, but still concerning. Thank God for Lindsey's aerial game, because the Nats rely on it a lot now. How many times do other countries need to see her do this before they figure out DO NOT EVER LEAVE HORAN UNMARKED FOR A HEADER?
TBF it wasn't a set piece and the look on the keeper's face from the endline camera says it all. The Fox cross was perfection and Sam's getting the ball to her was just as sweet.
We're seeing a team gel and I think Sam has grabbed her ticket to Paris.
Picking 18 will be an intimidating task and Hayes isn't even in the building yet.
Was very impressed with Rodman on that sequence too. The whole thing was a thing of beauty. And... that was pretty much our offensive output on the day! 7 shots, including 2 Horan headers.
Krueger did herself a solid in short minutes, helping keep Brazil off the board. Good to see her get some minutes.
I have NO idea what Kilgore was doing with some of those subs, tho.
Shaw for Coffey when you're trying to hold onto a 1-0 lead and the other side can still bring on Debinha (who did) and Ary Borges (who did not)?
I know Horan then dropped back, but Shaw is the one who committed that foul which gave Debinha a direct kick just outside the box.
It was a good test for a mixed group to see out a win against a good opponent, but also a bit weird, almost as if not taking Brazil seriously enough.
Oof, yeah, Shaw's scant minutes were not to the plus side of the ledger and pulling Sam seemed ill-timed unless she was on a mileage limit. To your point, not a like-for-like substitution.
Purce, too, did herself no favors--skying a wasted rare shot instead of passing was old Purce, not the one who had that very good early tournament.
The Williams sub seemed very positive, because she kept Brazil honest and needing to repeatedly drop and cover her late runs. You could see their exasperation.
Yeah, I liked the Williams sub. She not only did well, but it made sense in the context of the match.
Also she is a good defender and showed it.
Hey y'all, there's been a youtube upload of the preseason game against SDW. It's only the first 70 mins and the quality is garbage, but at least most of the interviews have been removed and you can rewatch with a little less distraction...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkFrmmkFf_A
Also because we don't have anyone covering the team and the team doesn't even release info themselves, Seattle Reign announced today they're playing the Thorns in a closed door match (along with an open-to-the-public match against UW):
"Seattle Reign FC vs. Portland Thorns FC on March 9 at 3:00 p.m. PT at Providence Park (closed to the public)"
I am not totally above peeking through the tiny little gaps in the stadium on 20th to watch. Who’s with me?
As far as fence peeking goes, the scrimmage up here at Merlo this weekend looks more promising …
Tell me more!
From the Coachella press release: "Next up, Thorns FC will return to Portland, Ore. to finish off the preseason, next facing the University of Portland in a closed-door preseason match against the University of Portland on Saturday, March 2 at 11:00am PT."
The Willamette Drive side of Merlo is walk-up accessible. Not sure how cranky the club would be about lookie-lous on UP property - the fence is a good ways from the public sidewalk - but that's a possibility, anyway...
I’m sort of surprised they give the exact times and dates if they don’t want at least a few curious onlookers
The place to be would probably be outside the NW corner of the stadium- Wouldn't be surprised if they put up an extra fence or something, but that's by far the best view for a closed door imo. I think there's also a gap on the SE side by the bleachers.
(or tucked back by the Chiles Center on the NE end if you can get there, but I doubt they'd let that happen given that's on the path to the locker rooms)
There are obviously more important things to improve on from the Paulson era, but social media clarity about things like this (and minor roster decisions, coaching hires, etc) is SUCH AN EASY THING TO DO and I really hope they start soon.
(I know the Merlo game was in the Coachella press release, but nothing about the Reign game as far as I know)
If you’re involved in public relations for the Thorns, shouldn’t you be embarrassed?
Reserve your window-side elliptical at the MAC now!
https://x.com/dbulandshold/status/1762843757429375008?s=20
Obaze seems to be a starter for Denmark at CB nowadays- Not bad for a 21 year old. It would be a total game changer if she popped for us this year
Ohhh, do you know if we can watch this anywhere?
Already finished, but it looks like there might have been a few YouTube live streams. I’ll try to find a link this evening.
Oh good, I can search for that also! Just wasn't sure if they were available on ESPN or CBS or something...I should have guessed not lol.
If you've got Twitter, Ameé Ruszkai usually posts where you can find streams, whether Youtube or wherever. I also just found the Germany-Netherlands game via Google linking me to some random Youtuber's unofficially mirroring a local feed
I'll check them out! Great tip, thank youuu!
You can watch with a VPN here: https://tvthek.orf.at/profile/Fussball-Laenderspiel-Frauen/13887897/Fussball-Frauen-Laenderspiel-Oesterreich-Daenemark/14215590
Youtube, but only 10-45 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvNvEHadbA0
I think it would have been P+ if anything, but I don’t think they had it since it was a friendly.
She's on her way up, for sure.
So here's the thing...
I actually like the home kit (though I could do without the Bugle socks). But it's not a THORNS kit. It's some other club, about whom I'd say "I really like their new kits." To me, it looks something you'd see for a team in SD, LA, Orlando, even SF. Not Portland, not the LFG THORNS!
Man, I haven't had Bugles in forever...
https://ibb.co/d5zTStH
I don't understand either. It's like design was handed off to a completely new crew with no history or understanding of the Thorns. After the red smoke kit, the black roses, and the tattoo kit (all of which I own), these feel so generic and heartless. I mean, they're not terrible, but they could be any club. Not a single thing about them says Thorns to me.
Should have called in the Crown of Thorns, there, J.
The warm up kit is waaaay more Portland and better than either of these kits: https://nwslshop.com/products/nwptlz0003-womens-nike-2024-portland-thorns-pre-match-top
Didn't they rock green plaid warmups a season or three ago? Always Jonesed for one of those.
They had the straight greens the last two years and the red and black rose bramble plaids the year before. I actually love and own the latter.
They ran out red-and-black plaid in 2021, I think. This thing: https://i0.wp.com/rivetingpdx.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Plaid.jpg?resize=824%2C464&ssl=1
Not a huge fan personally- Looks like camo paint splashes. Would probably still prefer it to the away kit, however.
It's not great but it's better than the other two. At least you got kind of a rainy cloudy feel too it.
I like it in a geenish camo kind of way
Oooh. Weird. I kinda like it.
Why can’t they just reverse the red and the black in that 2021 kit? Darker red with a blended lighter version for the roses. Black lettering. That kit is iconic and could have been creatively used
100%. And... such a strange pivot from one year to the next too.
I had the excuse that I didn’t want to support our former owner with jersey purchases. Now I gotta buy two of these. Been told I only have to buy one by my family I’ll still buy two
Live reporting:
Payne-Kafusi-Hubly-Muller
Owk-Kling-Sheva(?)
Weaver-Sinc-Beckie
Clear view with no obstruction of anyone wants a second half
Awe shit! Damn wish we k ew ahead of time that they wouldn’t turn folks away. I chose to do a matinee viewing of Dune this am… Looking forward to catching up with your other comments!
Sheva is real short with dark hair…if that helps any lol. Beckie on the L and Weaver on the R is interesting…both of them are better on the opposite sides.
OT: how was Dune?
Whew, I thought it was excellent! I'm a huge fan of the books (and of dystopian fiction), and while I thought the first one (though I loved the visuals and the score) lacked some detail and plot-building (almost felt like half a movie to me), this one dove fully into the details. It was super dense with character and world-building without being overwhelming, dove into the darker themes like the heavy religious aspects (and more about the Bene Gesserit), and was visually stunning. It was dark without trying too hard, imo...just like very bleak and I love that it seems like the director was actually a fan of the books and really channeled how weird and dark the books were. Really loved the art direction of the Harkonnen-related characters, world, and the visuals. Just like, stark and brutal and I loved it. I could say so much more, but I don't wanna give any spoilers...I'd just say go see it in theaters. I'm honestly not a huge movie-goer because most things I just don't have any interest in, but I'll go when Dune or Star Wars are there. Already wanna see it again so I can try to pick up something new in it. 9.5 or maybe even 10/10 for me...
Is this the game at UP? I went to look for it on TV, but couldn’t find it.
Is Kaufusi playing outside back still or is she playing CB?
Yeah it’s closed door at Merlo, but they’re letting people watch from the outside unobstructed.
Kafusi was at left CB.
Thanks for the reports. I’d watch on TV. Wish I would have thought about it. I would have gone there
Canada v Costa Rica is on P+, with captains Rocky Rodriguez and Jessie Fleming battling in the midfield. Interesting dynamic considering Rocky was likely traded because of Fleming coming in...
They had the pre-match captains handshake and all....wonder if Fleming was thinking "sorry for taking your job" lol...
Zadorsky with the brace! She just doubled her career total for Canada.
Jessie with a really nice chipped assist on a Huitema goal for Canada's first.
So THAT"s what it takes for Huitema to score!