In front of a record breaking, sold-out crowd of over 21,000 fans, the Portland Thorns hosted rival Seattle Reign at Providence Park Wednesday night, the first women's soccer match in Portland since Carli Lloyd, with a little help of the U.S. team, won the World Cup. It was a night of celebration as much as it was a regular season rivalry game against our neighbors to the north. The much anticipated game featured many familiar faces of the 2015 World Cup both domestic and international.
Even if the face of women's soccer, Thorns' star Alex Morgan, was sidelined after a night with Jimmy Kimmel, she was among many who were honored Wednesday night that included Tobin Heath, England's Jodie Taylor, Canadian stars Christine Sinclair and Kaylyn Kyle, German keeper Nadine Angerer and Australians Stephanie Catley and Clare Polkinghorne. The Seattle Reign featured fan favorite Megan Rapinoe, but fan favorite-villain Hope Solo was not in attendance due to an injury. Mix the return of all these stars along with a Portland-Seattle rivalry game and you have all the makings of a fantastic summer night of soccer in Portland.
Before the game, Alex Morgan gave a nice, heartfelt speech to Portland fans, thanking them for being the best fans in the league. Oregon's governor, Kate Brown, was on hand to congratulate each player individually. Add in a nice fireworks display during the Star-Spangled Banner and you had a fitting tribute to the World Cup players and their achievement.
After all that, there was a game to be played. Unfortunately for the Thorns, it just wasn't meant to be. After a ho-hum first half that had its share of would-be moments, the second half came alive with energy and excitement. The Reign scored early in the second half on an Emily Menges goal to break a 0-0 tie. After that, the Thorns seemed showed more energy and desire, nearly breaking through whatever pre-game hangover they were suffering from. It got testy and a little heated at times, but the Thorns just couldn't break through the Reign's defense, looking a little rusty if not sloppy at times. When it was all said and done, Seattle won the game 1-0.
For the Thorns, this was an important game that could have helped jumpstart the rest of their season. They have struggled for points due to most of their key players having been gone for the World Cup. They currently sit seventh in the standings and if they are going to make a push for one of the four playoff spots, they need to start now with all of their players back besides Morgan who will be out at least another three weeks. There are eight games remaining to move up in the standings, and with this team's talent, all they need to do is capture that fourth spot and anything can happen. The loss to Seattle stings, but there is still the slimmest of time to turn it all around.
As for the league itself, it remains to be seen if the NWSL can keep fan attendance growing outside of Portland, a city that has embraced women's soccer more than any other city on the NWSL map. For one night, that question and other concerns about the future of the league gave way for fans and players to celebrate one more time in record breaking fashion. Soon, all the celebrating, victory tours, and guest appearances on talk shows will be over and the hard work will continue once again to keep women's soccer afloat in the minds and attentions spans of the nation. After the World Cup victory in 1999, women's soccer saw an uplift in followers and support, but momentum soon halted which eventually led to the collapse of the first women's professional soccer league in 2003. Now, in 2015, women's soccer as a much better foundation to stand on, thanks in large part to that '99 squad that first planted the seeds for the growth of the sport. No pro women's soccer league as made it to year four; the NWSL is currently in year three. Hopefully, the momentum from this most recent World Cup can keep the NWSL alive and well and if Providence Park on Wednesday night is any indication, then women's soccer will take that next big step.