Providence Park | Portland, Oregon – Sunday, May 21 at 5:00 PM ET
Players to watch:
Portland forward Christine Sinclair has scored 16 goals against the Red Stars, three more than any other player against a single opponent in NWSL history. Sinclair didn’t score against Chicago in either meeting last year, only her second regular season without a goal against the Red Stars (3 games in 2014). Sinclair has scored just once this season, though, with teammates Sophia Smith and Crystal Dunn having scored four times each to lead the way. Portland has more goalscorers in its seven games than any other team (9), a list that also includes the lone goalkeeper in shotstopper Bella Bixby.
Chicago forward Penelope Hocking attempted eight of Chicago’s 12 shots in its defeat at Louisville on Friday night, Hocking’s seventh career regular season appearance after being drafted earlier in 2023. Only one player has attempted more shots in one of their first 10 career NWSL games: OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe (9) in her second league game in June 2013. Hocking and fellow forward Ella Stevens lead the way in the scoring charts for the Red Stars, each contributing two goals in the same amount of games played.
Match facts: The Portland Thorns FC aims to get back to winning ways when the club hosts the Chicago Red Stars at Providence Park for the first of two games on Sunday evening across the league. The Thorns return home after losing their first of the season last weekend, while Chicago enters after two straight losses and three in their last four in the regular season.
The Thorns saw their 11-match regular season unbeaten run come to an end with a 2-1 loss at Houston on Friday, despite leading at halftime. It was the first time Portland lost a match when leading at half since August 2017 as the Thorns had been unbeaten in 57 straight when ahead at halftime in all competitions.
Chicago has lost a club-record six straight road matches in all NWSL competitions, conceding multiple goals in all six defeats. The Red Stars have managed just one win in their last 11 away from home, recording a 4-0 win at Louisville in August last year. Chicago has now been outscored 14-4 in their last four games (D1 L3) as well, giving up five to OL Reign in one game and only scoring more than a single goal in a game once in that stretch.
Portland hasn’t lost any of its last 11 regular season home matches against Chicago (W8 D), though the Red Stars did knock them out of the 2021 playoffs with a 2-0 road win. The only longer regular season home unbeaten streak by one team against another is Portland’s 12-game run against Washington.
