Sarah Lowdon added to Portland Thorns coaching staff
Former interim head coach of the Houston Dash, joins Mike Norris' staff for the 2024 season.
In one of their best moves of the offseason, the Portland Thorns have added Sarah Lowdon to join the coaching staff as an assistant coach.
Sarah Lowdon’s resume speaks for itself. She served as the Dash’s interim head coach twice for the past two seasons. Houston went 6-6-3 with Lowdon at the helm, including a club-record six-game unbeaten run in 2022. Houston also clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time in club history in 2022 with a fourth place finish.
She recently received her U.S. Soccer Pro License, the highest coaching level in the United States. She is the youngest female ever to do so and only the seventh all-time.
Karina LeBlanc and Mike Norris on the new addition to the coaching staff:
“Sarah has already been such a great addition to our staff, she brings a wealth of NWSL knowledge and experience, and is fully bought into our vision,” Portland Thorns FC general manager Karina LeBlanc said.
“We are very excited for Sarah’s arrival in Portland, she comes to us with coaching experience in the NWSL, an incredible work ethic and passion for people and player development. She will be a great addition to our staff and will complement the skill sets we already have in place within our technical staff. We look forward to her challenging and pushing our club to new standards” said head coach Mike Norris.
Grade: A++
Sarah Lowdon was arguably the best assistant coach to be available and the fact she chose the Portland Thorns is incredible.
Her wealth of experience will be a huge boost for Mike Norris and co which lacked a lot of it in 2023. There could not have been a better fit for this coaching staff. Her time in Houston drew rave comments from ownership, staff, players, and supporters.
Before coaching in the National Women’s Soccer League, she was at Penn State, Sam Houston State, the University of Florida, Wayland Baptist University and McNeese State University. Her time coaching in the college ranks will be a massive help for the upcoming NWSL draft.
Bev Yanez took over for Racing Louisville after being a highly sought after assistant coach. Set to have a spell in Portland, Sarah Lowdon will likely have her pick of head coaching jobs whenever she wants the opportunity as well.
This is kinda the WoSo equivalent of hiring Sir Alex Ferguson as assistant to Big Sam Allardyce, or a pitchbot remake of "Who's The Boss".
I expect a technical box coup before midseason.
Yes, absolutely earned Liv!
PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Thorns FC midfielder Olivia Moultrie has been named the 2023 Chipotle U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year, awarded to the top player within the United States’ Youth National Team System.
“I’m just super excited and thankful to everyone who voted for me for this award, it’s really special,” Moultrie said. “To see the list of those players who have won it before, and what they’ve gone on to accomplish in their careers, is inspiring and motivating for me. It was a hard year but a fun year and I’m so appreciative of all the older players on the Thorns and the National Team who embraced me and helped me along the way. To grow as a person and a player, you really need your teammates, your coaches and your family, so thanks to all of them. It was a big year of growth for me, and I just hope it’s a step in the right direction. I promise I’m going to work even harder in the coming years.”
Moultrie, 18, wins the award after being nominated for a second consecutive year. In 2023, Moultrie helped lead the United States at the U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which saw her earn a call-up to the Senior National Team in October and subsequently make her debut against China PR on December 2 in the team’s 3-0 victory. Three days later, in Frisco, Texas, Moultrie earned her second cap, a 2-1 win over China PR.
This past year with Thorns FC, Moultrie recorded a career-high 1,205 minutes across 22 matches, 12 of which were starts. Offensively, Moultrie contributed two goals and three assists for the Thorns, helping the team secure a second-place finish in the NWSL regular season and a semifinal berth in the postseason. The third-year midfielder also appeared in six NWSL Challenge Cup matches, scoring one goal.
Moultrie becomes the second Thorns FC rostered player to be given such an award, joining forward Sophia Smith who earned the title in 2017.