The Portland Thorns became the first team to win three NWSL Championships, defeating the Kansas City Current 2-0 in Saturday night’s final at Audi Field in Washington, DC League MVP Sophia Smith opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the game during his period. A move to a fast break sees her in a one-on-one spot with goalkeeper Adrianna Franch. The keeper was no match for Smith, who was also the game’s MVP, as he scored the winner with a sharp left and low finish. The Thorns continued to press Kansas City’s defense well into the second half when an Addisyn Merrick own goal tied the score. Yazmeen Ryan did the damage by finding Smith in the box and Merrick fired a cross past Franch to double Portland’s lead and seal the title for the favourites.
Here is the winning goal:
From start to finish, Portland’s experience in competitive play showed as they played like a team that had gone before. Kansas City was not allowed to shoot the goal, Bella Bixby was able to sit on the bench for parts of the game when the defense of Thorns came to play. The current mid-term is not allowed to enter a song. On top of that, the attack created many opportunities for Kansas City’s defense.
Here are some takeaways from the game:
Spectacular Smith
Cutting through barriers and doing it with a smile is what Smith did as he became the youngest player to score in an NWSL final with his debut goal against the Thorns in the win Named the last MVP to go along with his league MVP award, Smith earned his chance. The scary thing is, while he got into the air with ease and was able to help force an own goal for Portland’s insurance goal, there was plenty of room for Smith to grow.
He is learning from his good career in Cristine Sinclair who has the most international goals of any player with 190 for Canada, but there are many improvements in Smith’s future. During the game, he committed just three fouls, put two of his four shots on goal, and completed three dribbles along the way to give Kansas City a the night. It’s only up from here, and it’s up.
Current can raise their head
While it was disappointing for the Current to not register a shot on target as they looked out of their depth in the game, it was a good opportunity to compare the teams. Not only do the Thorns have two players on the roster in each of the 10 NWSL seasons so far in Becky Sauerbrunn and Sinclair, but several players have won NWSL Championships. passed away. A team can gain experience in big games by playing in them and that’s what the Current can take from the night. In the second season of their tenure, the Current went from the bottom of the league to the final, got the name and the badge, and got some valuable assets in their possession. houses and list.
This is a growing company and this latest is the first of many for now. Making more additions to get a deeper seat and a year of collaboration will see the current improvement in leaps and bounds in the future.
Past, present, and future
The Thorns have the deepest roster in the league and are good at transitioning from club records to the next players to carry the torch. While we’ve covered Smith and Sinclair, Olivia Moultrie can still build on her season. At the age of 17, Moultrie became the youngest player to appear in the NWSL tournament after scoring three goals and assisting on three during the season. With the world at his feet, Moultrie will continue to push for playing time because the future is in good hands.
