2017 Portland Thorns FC season

The 2017 Portland Thorns FC season was the team's and the league's fifth season of existence. The Thorns played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of women's soccer in the United States. The Thorns had finished in first place in the 2016 season, but failed to advance from the semifinals in the 2016 NWSL playoffs. With a slogan of "Unfinished Business", they qualified for the NWSL playoffs as the 2nd ranked team in the 2017 regular season. In the playoffs, they defeated the Orlando Pride and then the North Carolina Courage to become 2017 NWSL Champions. It was their second championship, following the first in 2013.

This page covers from the day after the 2016 NWSL final to the day of the 2017 NWSL final.

Background

Season review

Off-season

On October 17, 2016, defender Kat Williamson announced her retirement from soccer.

On October 19, 2016, Portland Thorns FC exercised contract options on goalkeeper Adrianna Franch; defenders Meg Morris and Katherine Reynolds; midfielders Celeste Boureille, Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, Amandine Henry, and Kendall Johnson; and forwards Nadia Nadim, Hayley Raso, and Mallory Weber. Goalkeeper Michelle Betos, defender Emily Menges, and midfielder Meleana Shim went out of contract and were extended new contract offers. Michelle Betos would later confirm on her Twitter account that she did not accept the offer, while Menges and Shim did.

On October 27, 2016, Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan, Allie Long, Meghan Klingenberg and goalkeeper Adrianna Franch were called up for USA for two friendly matches against Romania.

On November 2, 2016, Emily Menges received her first USA call up due to Meghan Klingenberg suffering from a back injury.

On November 8, 2016, Portland Thorns FC head coach Mark Parsons signed a long-term contract extension. Director of goalkeeping Nadine Angerer also signed a contract extension.

On December 13, 2016, Tobin Heath was named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year.

On December 15, 2016, Christine Sinclair was named Canadian Player of the Year.

On January 4, 2017, Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan and Allie Long, Emily Sonnett and goalkeeper Adrianna Franch were called up by USA for an evaluation period for the upcoming SheBelieves Cup.

On January 12, 2017, Portland Thorns FC selected midfielders Rachel Hill and Caroline Flynn and forwards Savannah Jordan and Tyler Lussi from the 2017 NWSL College Draft.

On January 18, 2017, Portland Thorns FC acquired Orlando Pride's first-round and fourth-round 2018 NWSL College Draft picks for the rights to forward Rachel Hill, who was chosen by Portland in the 2017 NWSL College Draft.

On January 27, 2017, Amandine Henry was sent on a short-term loan to French side Paris Saint-Germain.

On February 8, 2017, Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan and Allie Long, and defenders Meghan Klingenberg and Emily Sonnett were called up to the USA training camp ahead of the SheBelieves Cup.

On February 22, 2017, Portland Thorns FC re-signed defender Emily Menges and midfielder Meleana Shim.

On March 8, 2017, Portland Thorns FC traded two fourth round picks in the 2018 NWSL College Draft to the North Carolina Courage for goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom.

Preseason

On March 13, 2017, Portland Thorns FC announced their 2017 preseason roster, which included 5 non-roster invites.

On March 26, 2017, Portland Thorns FC began their preseason tournament against the Chicago Red Stars. There would be no cards and a single goal from Nadia Nadim in the 26th minute from a converted penalty. Portland would go on to win their first preseason match 1–0.

On April 14, 2017, the Thorns signed defender Meghan Cox, who was an undrafted non-roster invitee to preseason camp.

April

On April 15, 2017, Portland Thorns FC hosted the Orlando Pride for the start of the 2017 NWSL campaign. In the 32nd minute, Nadia Nadim successfully converted a penalty kick after an Orlando handball in the box. In the 67th minute, Allie Long sent a cross to Christine Sinclair, who scored to put the Thorns up another goal. After the 2–0 win, they were tied for first place with Houston Dash and FC Kansas City.

On April 22, 2017, Portland Thorns FC went on the road for the first time to take on the North Carolina Courage, formerly the Western New York Flash, relocated and rebranded in the offseason. North Carolina won 1–0 on a late goal from Debinha in the 81st minute.

On April 29, 2017, the Thorns returned home to defeat the Chicago Red Stars 1–0 on a Nadia Nadim penalty kick after a Christen Press handball in the box.

Position at the end of April

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
3	Portland Thorns FC	3	2	0	1	3	1	+2	6

May

Thorns FC opened May by hosting their rivals Seattle Reign FC. In the 1st minute, Seattle's Jess Fishlock scored a long-range shot from 24 yards out. In the 37th minute, Fishlock scored again but instead this time in Seattle's own net, equalizing Portland 1–1. Shortly after in the 29th minute,^{[clarification needed]} Merritt Mathias, with an assist from Rebekah Stott, put Seattle back up, 2–1, at the end of the first half. Portland equalized again with a goal from Allie Long, assisted by Meghan Klingenberg, in the 82nd minute. Both teams settled with a point from a final score of 2–2.

Position as of May 6

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
2	Portland Thorns FC	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2	7

Competitions

Competition	Record								Started round	First match	Last match	Final position
	G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
NWSL	24	14	5	5	37	20	+17	058.33	1	April 15, 2017	September 30, 2017	Second place
NWSL Playoffs	2	2	0	0	5	1	+4	100.00	1	October 7, 2017	October 14, 2017	Winners
Total	26	16	5	5	42	21	+21	061.54

Updated to match played Jan. 15, 2018
Source: Competitions

NWSL

Preseason

Providence Park Preseason Tournament
  Win   Draw   Loss   Upcoming fixture

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Houston Dash (C)	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
2	Portland Thorns FC	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
2	U.S. U-23s WNT	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
3	Chicago Red Stars	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4

Regular season

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	North Carolina Courage	24	16	1	7	38	22	+16	49	NWSL Shield
2	Portland Thorns FC (C)	24	14	5	5	37	20	+17	47	NWSL Playoffs
3	Orlando Pride	24	11	7	6	45	31	+14	40
4	Chicago Red Stars	24	11	6	7	33	30	+3	39
5	Seattle Reign FC	24	9	7	8	43	37	+6	34
6	Sky Blue FC	24	10	3	11	42	51	−9	33
7	FC Kansas City	24	8	7	9	29	31	−2	31
8	Houston Dash	24	7	3	14	23	39	−16	24
9	Boston Breakers	24	4	7	13	24	35	−11	19
10	Washington Spirit	24	5	4	15	30	48	−18	19

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss   Upcoming fixture

The 2017 NWSL Regular Season schedule was released on March 1, 2017.^[1] On June 12, the league changed kickoff times for several matches to accommodate hydration breaks during television broadcasts and implemented new guidelines for playing in extreme heat, and also allowed teams to reschedule backup games for television to later kickoff times.^[2][3][4]

Results by round

Home/away results

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
24	14	5	5	37	20	+17	47	10	1	1	25	8	+17	4	4	4	12	12	0

NWSL Playoffs

  Win   Draw   Loss   Upcoming fixture

Semifinal:

Final:

Following the win in the Final, the Thorns were crowned 2017 NWSL Champions.^[5]

Club

Executive staff

Owner and Chief Executive Officer	Merritt Paulson
President of Business	Mike Golub
General Manager/President of Soccer	Gavin Wilkinson

Updated to match played October 2, 2017
Source: Portland Timbers

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Mark Parsons
Assistant Coach	Rich Gunney
Assistant Coach/Equipment Manager	Sophie Clough
Assistant Coach/Community Youth Development Coach	Carly Copplestone
Goalkeeper Coach	Nadine Angerer
Fitness Coach	Garga Caserta
Head Athletic Trainer	Beckie Kruse

Stadiums

Ground (capacity and dimensions)	Providence Park (21,144 / 110x75 yards)
Training Ground	Providence Park

Source: Providence Park

Kits

Primary kit

The Thorns primarily wear red Nike Vapor match kit with gray shoulders, red shorts, and red socks. Providence Health & Services remains their kit sponsor as in past seasons. The Lifetime logo is printed in a white circle on the right sleeve, and the league logo is printed on the left sleeve. A 5th-anniversary logo is printed above the shirt's lower-left hemline.^[6]

Secondary kit

The Thorns' alternate kit are white Nike Laser shirts with black sleeve cuffs, white shorts, and white socks. This is unchanged from 2016, with the exception of the Lifetime logo printed in a red circle on the right sleeve and the 5th-anniversary logo.^[7]

Squad information

First team squad

Last updated: September 2, 2017^[8]

No.	Name	Nationality	Positions	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Year with club (year signed)
Goalkeepers
24	Adrianna Franch		GK	(1990-11-12) November 12, 1990 (age 32)	Avaldsnes IL	2 (2016)
33	Britt Eckerstrom		GK	(1993-05-28) May 28, 1993 (age 30)	North Carolina Courage	1 (2017)
Defenders
2	Katherine Reynolds		RB	(1987-09-14) September 14, 1987 (age 36)	Washington Spirit	2 (2016)
4	Emily Menges		CB	(1992-07-28) July 28, 1992 (age 31)	2014 NWSL College Draft	4 (2014)
16	Emily Sonnett (FP)		CB	(1993-11-25) November 25, 1993 (age 29)	2016 NWSL College Draft	2 (2016)
25	Meghan Klingenberg (FP)		LB	(1988-08-02) August 2, 1988 (age 35)	Houston Dash	2 (2016)
32	Meg Morris		LB / FW	(1992-05-11) May 11, 1992 (age 31)	Sky Blue FC	2 (2016)
Midfielders
7	Lindsey Horan (FP)		CM	(1994-05-26) May 26, 1994 (age 29)	Paris Saint-Germain	2 (2016)
10	Allie Long (FP)		LW / CM	(1987-08-13) August 13, 1987 (age 36)	New York Fury	5 (2013)
11	Dagný Brynjarsdóttir		MF	(1991-08-10) August 10, 1991 (age 32)	UMF Selfoss	2 (2016)
15	Kendall Johnson		MF / DF	(1991-04-24) April 24, 1991 (age 32)	Sky Blue FC	3 (2015)
17	Tobin Heath (FP)		LW	(1988-05-29) May 29, 1988 (age 35)	Paris Saint-Germain	5 (2013)
28	Amandine Henry		CM	(1989-09-28) September 28, 1989 (age 34)	Olympique Lyonnais	2 (2016)
30	Celeste Boureille		MF	(1994-04-20) April 20, 1994 (age 29)	UMF Selfoss	2 (2016)
Forwards
9	Nadia Nadim		CF / RW	(1988-01-02) January 2, 1988 (age 35)	Sky Blue FC	2 (2016)
12	Christine Sinclair		CF	(1983-06-12) June 12, 1983 (age 40)	Western New York Flash	5 (2013)
14	Ashleigh Sykes		FW	(1991-12-15) December 15, 1991 (age 31)	Canberra United FC	1 (2017)
21	Hayley Raso		FW / RW	(1994-09-05) September 5, 1994 (age 29)	Washington Spirit	2 (2016)
26	Mallory Weber		FW / CB	(1994-04-04) April 4, 1994 (age 29)	2016 NWSL College Draft	2 (2016)
34	Tyler Lussi		FW	(1995-01-26) January 26, 1995 (age 28)	2017 NWSL College Draft	1 (2017)
13	Savannah Jordan		FW	(1995-01-24) January 24, 1995 (age 28)	2017 NWSL College Draft	1 (2017)

• (HG) = homegrown player
• (FP) = Federation player
• (Loan) = on loan
• (AP) = amateur player

Player transactions

National Team/Federation player allocation

Date	Player	Positions played	New/returning	Notes	Ref.
April 5, 2017	Tobin Heath	LW	Returning	2017 U.S. Women's National Team allocation process	[9]
April 5, 2017	Lindsey Horan	CM	Returning	2017 U.S. Women's National Team allocation process	[9]
April 5, 2017	Meghan Klingenberg	LB	Returning	2017 U.S. Women's National Team allocation process	[9]
April 5, 2017	Emily Sonnett	CB	Returning	2017 U.S. Women's National Team allocation process	[9]
April 5, 2017	Allie Long	LW / CM	Newly allocated	2017 U.S. Women's National Team allocation process	[9]

Transfers in

Date	Player	Positions played	Previous club	Fee/notes	Ref.
March 7, 2017	Ashleigh Sykes	FW	Canberra United	Sykes was added to the roster on June 13.	[10][11]
March 8, 2017	Britt Eckerstrom	GK	North Carolina Courage		[12]
April 14, 2017	Meghan Cox	DF			[13]

Loans in

Date	Player	Positions played	Previous club	Fee/notes	Ref.

Loans out

Date	Player	Positions played	Destination club	Fee/notes	Ref.
October 20, 2016	Hayley Raso	FW	Canberra United	Returned for the start of the 2017 season.	[14]
October 20, 2016	Celeste Boureille	MF	Canberra United	Returned for the start of the 2017 season.	[14]
January 27, 2017	Amandine Henry	MF	Paris Saint-Germain	Returned for the start of the 2017 season.	[15]

Transfers out

Date	Player	Positions played	Destination club	Fee/notes	Ref.
October 17, 2016	Kat Williamson	LB	N/A	Retired from soccer.	[16]
October 19, 2016	Jen Skogerboe	DF	Suwon FMC	Option declined.	[17]
October 19, 2016	Michelle Betos	GK	Vålerenga	Out of contract. Offered extended contract but declined.	[18]

Contract extensions

Date	Player	Positions played	Year with club (year signed)	Notes	Ref.
October 19, 2016	Emily Menges	DF	4 (2014)		[17]
October 19, 2016	Meleana Shim	MF	5 (2013)		[17]

Player's rights purchased

Player's rights sold

Date	Player	Positions	To	Notes	Ref
January 18, 2017	Rachel Hill	FW	Orlando Pride	Traded rights for first-round and fourth-round picks in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.	[19]

National Women's Soccer League College Draft

Round (overall pick)	Player	Positions played	Previous club	Notes	Ref.
2 (14)	Rachel Hill	MF / FW	UConn Huskies		[20]
2 (18)	Savannah Jordan	FW	Florida Gators	Portland Thorns FC traded up to acquire the No. 18 overall selection from the North Carolina Courage, who picked up the No. 20 and No. 27 picks in exchange.	[20]
3 (21)	Tyler Lussi	FW	Princeton Tigers	Portland Thorns FC traded up to acquire the No. 18 overall selection from the North Carolina Courage, who picked up the No. 20 and No. 27 picks in exchange.	[20]
4 (40)	Caroline Flynn	MF	Nebraska Cornhuskers		[20]

The draft was held on January 12, 2017.

Staff in

Date	Name	Position	Previous club	Notes	Ref.
May 25, 2017	Tobin Heath	Assistant Youth Technical Director	Portland Thorns FC (Current Player)	Not playing due to lingering back injury, no timeline for when she will play again.	[21]

Staff contract extensions

Date	Name	Position	Notes	Ref.
November 8, 2016	Mark Parsons	Head Coach	Re-signed long-term contract.	[22]
November 8, 2016	Nadine Angerer	Director of goalkeeping	Re-signed contract extension as Director of goalkeeping.	[22]

Staff out

Date	Name	Position	Destination club	Notes	Ref.

National team participation

Seven Thorns players have been called up to play for their national teams during this season.

Team	Players	Positions	# of call-ups	Ref.
United States	Lindsey Horan	MF	5	[23][24][25][26][27]
United States	Allie Long	MF	5	[23][24][25][26][27]
United States	Meghan Klingenberg	DF	4	[23][25][26][27]
United States	Tobin Heath	MF	4	[23][24][25][26]
United States	Adrianna Franch	GK	2	[23][24]
United States	Emily Sonnett	DF	2	[24][25]
United States	Emily Menges	DF	1	[28]

Honors and awards

NWSL Player of the Month

Month	Result	Player	Ref.

NWSL Weekly Awards

NWSL Player of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref
8	Won	Lindsey Horan	[29]
18	Won	Hayley Raso	NWSL 2017 Weekly Awards

NWSL Goal of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
1	Nominated	Christine Sinclair	[30]
4	Nominated	Allie Long	[31]
8	Won	Lindsey Horan	[32]
11	Nominated	Hayley Raso	[33]
12	Won	Hayley Raso	[34]
20	Won	Christine Sinclair	NWSL 2017 Weekly Awards

NWSL Save of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
3	Won	Adrianna Franch	[35]
4	Nominated	Adrianna Franch	[36]
5	Nominated	Adrianna Franch	[37]
8	Won	Adrianna Franch	[38]
15	Won	Adrianna Franch	NWSL 2017 Weekly Awards
16	Won	Adrianna Franch	NWSL 2017 Weekly Awards

Other awards

Award	Player	Result	Ref.
CONCACAF Female Goalkeeper of the Year	Adrianna Franch	Won	[39]
CONCACAF Best XI	Lindsey Horan, Allie Long, Emily Menges	Team Member	[39]
NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year	Adrianna Franch	Won	[39]
NWSL Best XI	Adrianna Franch	Team Member	[39]
NWSL Second XI	Lindsey Horan, Emily Menges	Team Member	[39]

Statistics

Appearances

No.	Pos.	Name	NWSL				NWSL Playoffs				Total
			Apps	Goals			Apps	Goals			Apps	Goals
2	DF	Katherine Reynolds	10	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	12	0	1	0
4	DF	Emily Menges	23	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	25	0	0	0
6	MF	Meleana Shim	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0
7	MF	Lindsey Horan	24	4	4	0	2	1	0	0	26	5	4	0
9	FW	Nadia Nadim	16	6	1	0	2	0	0	0	18	6	1	0
10	MF	Allie Long	21	2	1	0	2	0	0	0	23	2	1	0
11	MF	Dagný Brynjarsdóttir	11	0	4	0	2	0	1	0	13	0	5	0
12	FW	Christine Sinclair	24	8	3	0	2	1	0	0	26	9	3	0
13	FW	Savannah Jordan	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
14	FW	Ashleigh Sykes	15	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	17	1	1	0
15	MF	Kendall Johnson	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
16	DF	Emily Sonnett	24	3	2	0	2	1	0	0	26	4	2	0
17	MF	Tobin Heath	2	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	4	0	1	0
19	MF	Ashley Herndon	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
20	DF	Kelli Hubly	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
21	FW	Hayley Raso	22	6	6	0	2	1	1	0	24	7	7	0
24	GK	Adrianna Franch	24	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	26	0	0	0
25	DF	Meghan Klingenberg	23	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	25	0	1	0
26	FW	Mallory Weber	15	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	15	1	1	0
27	DF	Meghan Cox	10	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	10	2	2	0
28	MF	Amandine Henry	21	3	4	0	2	1	1	0	23	4	5	0
30	MF	Celeste Boureille	15	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	15	0	1	0
32	MF	Meg Morris	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
33	GK	Britt Eckerstrom	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	FW	Tyler Lussi	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0
Players who were transferred/waived from the club during active season or on loan

Goalkeeper stats

No.	Player	NWSL				NWSL Playoffs				Total
		Min	GA	GAA	SV	Min	GA	GAA	SV	Min	GA	GAA	SV
24	Adrianna Franch	2160	20	0.83	80	180	1	0.50	5	2340	21	0.81	85
33	Britt Eckerstrom	0	0	n/a	0	0	0	n/a	0	0	0	n/a	0
	TOTALS	2160	20	0.83	80	180	1	0.50	5	2340	21	0.81	85

Top scorers

Rank	Pos	No.	Player	NWSL	NWSL Playoffs	Total
1	FW	12	Christine Sinclair	8	1	9
2	FW	21	Hayley Raso	6	1	7
3	FW	9	Nadia Nadim	6	0	6
4	MF	7	Lindsey Horan	4	1	5
5	DF	16	Emily Sonnett	3	1	4
	MF	28	Amandine Henry	3	1	4
7	MF	10	Allie Long	2	0	2
Other Thorns with 1 goal each				3	0	3
Own goals by other teams				2	0	2
Total				37	5	42

Top assists

Rank	Pos	No.	Player	NWSL	NWSL Playoffs	Total
1	DF	24	Meghan Klingenberg	6	1	7
2	FW	9	Nadia Nadim	3	1	4
3	FW	21	Hayley Raso	3	0	3
	MF	7	Lindsey Horan	2	1	3
5	FW	7	Tyler Lussi	2	0	2
6	Others with 1 assist each			4	0	4
Total				20	3	23

Clean sheets

Rnk	No.	Player	NWSL	NWSL Playoffs	Total
1	24	Adrianna Franch	11	1	12
Total			11	1	12

Summary

All statistics are for National Women's Soccer League games.

Games played	26
Games won	16
Games drawn	5
Games lost	5
Goals scored	42
Goals conceded	21
Goal difference	+21
Clean sheets	12
Yellow cards	33
Red cards	0
Most appearances	26 (4 players)
Top scorer	Christine Sinclair (9 goals)
Top assister	Meghan Klingenberg (7 assists)
Top goalkeeper	Adrianna Franch (0.81 goals-against average)
Winning percentage	61.5% (16/26)

See also

• 2017 National Women's Soccer League season

References

External links

• Official website