BMO Stadium | Los Angeles, California – Sunday, October 15 at 5:00 PM ET
Players to watch:
Angel City playmaker Savannah McCaskill provided the assist for Angel City’s equalizer and scored the game-winner against Houston on Sunday. McCaskill has two games with multiple goal contributions this regular season after having three total such games over her first five NWSL seasons.
Portland attacker Hina Sugita scored her fifth goal of the season on Saturday, becoming the fourth different Thorns player with at least five goals, the most in the league this season. The only season where Portland had more players to score at least five goals was in 2016 when the club had five different players register five goals on the year.
Match facts: It has all come down to this… one final regular season weekend left, and four playoff positions up for grabs with all six NWSL matches kicking off at 5 PM ET on Paramount+ and other outlets. For most details on the league’s broadcast plan, check out where to view expanded coverage here.
Angel City FC is desperate for a win as the club sits in 8th place with 28 points from 21 games played. Currently outside the playoff win, Angel City would need a win to have the best shot at sneaking in, but a draw would then relay on results for OL Reign, Orlando, Louisville and Houston in other games.
Angel City has lost just one of its last 13 matches in all competitions (W7 D5) after having eight losses over the team’s first 14 games of 2023 (W2 D4). Angel City’s next-longest span of games with a single loss was a stretch of eight games from July to September last season (W3 D4).
However, the Portland Thorns FC are in 1st place and have secured their playoff spot already, but have not secured a first-place finish. Only a win against Angel City would do that, but a draw would then depend on San Diego’s result against Louisville elsewhere around the league.
Portland is winless over its last five road matches in all competitions, though, with two draws and three losses. The last time the Thorns went as many away matches in a row without a win was a run of six straight spanning 2019 and 2020 (D2 L4, including the 2019 NWSL playoffs and the 2020 Fall Series).
In all three 2023 meetings against Portland in all competitions, Angel City has managed to score multiple goals. The Los Angeles-based side has never scored multiple goals in three consecutive matches against any other opponent, while Portland has not allowed an opponent to score multiple goals in four straight meetings since Boston in 2013-14.
