In both teams' last regular season game, the Washington Spirit and the Portland Thorns each look to come out on top and earn three points. Fresh off the international break, the Thorns come into the match with almost two weeks rest. The Spirit defeated the Orlando Pride 3-0 last weekend, a game that was originally scheduled for August 31st but had to be postponed due to Hurricane Dorian.
This will be the third meeting between the two teams with the series split 1-1. In the most recent meeting, the Thorns defeated the Spirit 3-1 at Providence Park in August.
The Thorns
The Thorns currently have 39 points, sitting in third place in the league with Reign FC close behind sitting at 37 points. The easiest path for the Thorns to secure third place is to pick up the win against the Spirit but a Thorns tie/Reign FC loss or Reign FC loss would also do the trick.
Portland has been in a bit of a drought, losing three of their last four games and only scoring one goal in that span of games. The team will look to bounce back from their most recent game where they were defeated by Reign FC, 2-0. In that game against the Reign, Thorns midfielder Lindsey Horan exited with a concussion. It’s uncertain whether Horan will be able to play this weekend but if she is unable to go it will be a big blow for the Thorns defense.
If the Thorns are able to pick up the win then it will set up a meeting with the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL Playoffs next weekend.
Spirit look to finish the season strong
The Spirit are looking to finish the season with their third straight win. In their last two games they were able to defeat the North Carolina Courage 2-1 and the Orlando Pride 3-0. In that last match against the Pride, the Spirit were able to get goals from Ashley Hatch, Crystal Thomas, and Tiffany McCarty who scored in her first appearance of the season.
With a win the Spirit would take the season series against the Thorns and secure a fifth-place finish in the league, just outside the playoffs. Securing a fifth-place finish would be a huge improvement from the team’s eighth-place finish just a season ago. This years Spirit squad has already tripled the point total earned from a year ago. Last season the team finished with just 11 points but with a game left the Spirit already has 33 points on the season.
How to Watch
The game will kickoff at 10:30 p.m. ET at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon. The game can be watched on Yahoo! Sports online or on any device able to get the app.