Providence Park | Portland, Oregon – Saturday, April 29 at 10:30 PM ET
Players to watch:
Portland forward Sophia Smith has delivered a remarkable four goals and four assists in four regular season games so far this season. The eight goal contributions are the most ever by an NWSL player in a team’s first four games of a season, breaking the old record of six, set by the Thorns’ Meleana Shim and Chicago’s Christen Press, both in 2015. Smith leads the league in both categories with a host of players just behind her with three goals, but she is two clear in the assists category with Kansas City’s Hailie Mace and Gotham FC’s Midge Purce the only other players in the league with multiple assists. Smith also leads the league in shots (22), with teammate Morgan Weaver sitting tied for third (12) in that category, which has led to two goals.
Angel City midfielder Julie Ertz made her regular season debut for the side in its 2-0 loss to San Diego on Sunday. It was just Ertz’s second league appearance since the end of the 2019 season, having also played on May 16, 2021, for the Red Stars. In the goals department, only forward Katie Johnson has scored multiple goals (2) on the year, with fellow forwards Alyssa Thompson and Claire Emslie as well as midfielder Savannah McCaskill chipping in with one each.
Match facts: The Portland Thorns face Angel City at Providence Park to round out Saturday’s action across the NWSL, with Portland looking to build on a league-best four unbeaten (W3 D1) against the Los Angeles-based side, while Angel City will look to bounce back following its loss against San Diego.
Following their 2-0 win over Racing Louisville, the Thorns are now unbeaten in each of their last 11 regular season and playoff games (W8 D3). Of the seven unbeaten streaks of more than 10 games in league history (regular season and playoffs), three have been by the Thorns, the most by any single team. That run features three wins and a draw this season, with the only match they failed to win coming in a 1-1 home draw against the Houston Dash. In all, though, Portland has outscored opponents 11-2 in that four game run to sport the best differential in the league by a +4 margin.
Angel City will be playing on the road for just the second time in 2023 after defeating the host Pride, 2-1, at the beginning of the month. In that match, Angel City relied on what was the latest regular season goal in NWSL history as forward Katie Johnson netted a winner in the 10th minute of added time. Angel City is one of just two current NWSL teams (along with Racing Louisville) that has never won consecutive NWSL road games.
The Thorns won both of their home games against Angel City in 2022 in all competitions with victories in both league and Challenge Cup play. Both of those wins came by 3-0 scorelines, the only two games Angel City has ever lost by three or more goals (all competitions).
