MATCH RECAP | Portland Thorns Earn Hard Fought Point in 2-2 Draw Against Gotham FC

PORTLAND, Ore. (Friday, July 24, 2026) – The Portland Thorns drew 2-2 against Gotham FC in a tough battle Friday night at Providence Park, a night that saw the long-awaited return of forward Morgan Weaver and a new club record of 11-straight league matches unbeaten home.

The Thorns faced an early uphill battle when Gotham’s Midge Purce scored two minutes into the match off a volley in the box. However, Portland fought their way back into the match when rookie midfielder Renee Lyles — making her first NWSL start — dribbled around her defender to make space for herself near the far-left side of the box and chipped the ball into the far-right corner to equalize. Forward Pietra Tordin got the assist on the goal, her league-leading seventh of the year.

Both teams remained gridlocked in a back-and-forth fight as they tried to search for a second but that would have to wait until the after the break.

It would not take long after the start of the second half when Lyles would once again help the Thorns get on the scoreboard to regain the lead for the first time in the match, passing the ball to midfielder Jessie Fleming whose shot outside the box deflected into the net in the 53^rd minute.

Gotham though would not go down easy and managed to equalize in the 62^nd minute off a corner. Forward Sam Kerr’s initial header bounced off Portland defender Marie Müller, with Kerr right there to grab the rebound and strike the ball into the goal.

The match would get chippy as the teams looked to get a third, with the Thorns going down to 10 players after defender Jayden Perry was given a red card in the 73^rd minute. Despite that, Portland continued to press forward in search of a winner rather than sitting back against Gotham’s offense.

Although the third never came, Portland walked away with a hard-earned point and remain unbeaten at home in 2026. In fact, their draw tonight set a new club record for unbeaten league homes matches (11 straight since September 2025), beating a record they set in 2025.

UP NEXT: The Portland Thorns hit the road to face Utah Royals FC on Sunday, August 2 at America First Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT on Victory+ and 910 ESPN Portland.

TEAM NOTES

• In her first career start, Renee Lyles (M) registered her first career goal and assist. She played 76 minutes.
• Morgan Weaver (F) made her long-awaited return to the pitch tonight, coming into the match in the 75^th minute. It is Weaver’s first appearance for the Thorns since the 2024 quarterfinal match at Gotham FC on November 10, 2024 and her first at Providence Park since a 3-0 win vs Angel City on November 1, 2024, a game she scored in.
• Jessie Fleming (M) scored her first goal of the season and remains Portland’s sole ironwomen with 1,530 minutes played.
• Pietra Tordin (F) now has seven assists, the most in the NWSL this season.
• Nina Nijstad (M) made her Thorns and NWSL debut, contesting 21 minutes.
• The Thorns had 21, 743 fans in attendance tonight, their highest attendance of 2026 and highest since November 1, 2024 (3-0 W vs Angel City).  
• The Thorns have gone 11 home regular season matches (dating back to September 2025) without losing (7W,4D), a new club record.
• The Thorns have not lost at home in 2026 (5W,3D).

GOAL BREAKDOWN
First Half
GFC – Midge Purce (Guro Reiten) 2’
POR – Renee Lyles (Pietra Tordin) 21’

Second Half
POR – Jessie Fleming (Renee Lyles) 53’
GFC – Sam Kerr 62’

LINEUPS
Portland Thorns (4-2-3-1): Mackenzie Arnold (GK), Marie Müller, Jayden Perry, Sam Hiatt-C, Reyna Reyes (M.A. Vignola 82’), Jessie Fleming, Cassandra Bogere (Nina Nijstad 69’), Pietra Tordin (Morgan Weaver 76’), Olivia Moultrie, Renee Lyles (Carolyn Calzada 76’), Sophia Wilson
Subs not used:  Morgan Messner, Deyna Castellanos, Shae Harvey, Mallie McKenzie, Valerin Loboa

Gotham FC (4-3-3): Ann-Katrin Berger (GK), Guro Reiten, Tierna Davidson-C, Emily Sonnett (Mandy Freeman 11’, Jordynn Dudley 45’), Jess Carter, Savannah McCaskill (Denise O'Sullivan 60’), Rose Lavelle, Jaelin Howell (Sarah Schupansky 78’), Jaedyn Shaw, Sam Kerr (Bruninha 78’), Midge Purce

Subs not used: Shelby Hogan, Talia Sommer, Sofia Cook, Andrea Kitahata

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
POR: Müller (Yellow) 56’, Perry (Red) 73’, Arnold (Yellow) 74’
GFC: Carter (Yellow) 40’, Dudley (Yellow) 57’, Howell (Yellow) 69’

MATCH STATS

POR | GFC‍

Goals: 2|2
Assists: 2|1
Possession: 36.9|63.1
Shots: 16|11
Shots on Target: 6|3
Saves: 1|4
Tackles: 21|22
Tackles Won: 14|13
Interceptions: 11|6
Fouls: 15|8
Offsides: 2|0
Corner Kicks: 3|8

ATTENDANCE: 21,743

Referee: Katja Koroleva
Assistant Referee 1: Eric Krueger
Assistant Referee 2: Bruno Rizo
4th Official: Iryna Petrunok
VAR: Alyssa Pennington
Assistant VAR: Chris Canales

PORTLAND, Ore. (Saturday, August 15, 2026) – The Portland Thorns continued their impressive home form with a 2-1 win over Orlando Pride on Saturday when forward Caiya Hanks — who was making her return to the pitch after missing action for over a year with an ACL injury — scored a stoppage time winner to secure three points for the home side.

Both sides battled back and forth as they tried to search for the opening goal, with Thorns goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold making three saves to ensure the match remained level going into the halftime break.
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The Thorns came out into the second half much more threatening in Orlando’s half and finally broke the deadlock in the 58^th minute when forward Pietra Tordin laid the ball off to forward Deyna Castellanos, who from the top right corner of Orlando’s box placed the ball perfectly into the top left corner of the goal over the hands of Orlando goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse.

The lead was short lived however when Arnold’s diving save to punch out a crossed ball in the 63^rd minute ricocheted off the knees of Orlando forward Jacqueline Ovalle and rolled into the net to level things back up.

From there, Portland and Orlando continued in their fight to search for a second and despite several good looks at goal, the match remained level.

That would all change after Hanks — who subbed on in the 88^th minute — curled the ball into the goal from outside the box in the 96^th to send Providence Park into a frenzy as the Thorns secured three points and extended its home unbeaten streak to 12 matches, nine on the season.

UP NEXT: The Portland Thorns host Denver Summit FC for the first time at Providence Park on Saturday, August 22. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:45 pm PT on ION and 910 ESPN Portland. Purchase tickets for the match HERE.

TEAM NOTES

• Pietra Tordin extended her assist tally to nine, sitting alongside Croix Bethune (KC) for most in the league so far this season. Tordin is one assist away from equalizing the league record for assists which is 10 (Tobin Heath, POR 2016 and Croix Bethune, KC 2024).  
• Deyna Castellanos scored her first goal of the 2026 season.
• Caiya Hanks, who was removed off the Season-Ending Injury list, made her return to the pitch for the first time since June 15, 2025 and scored the game-winner.
• M.A. Vignola got her first assist of the season.
• The Thorns have gone 12 home regular season matches (dating back to September 2025) without losing (8W,4D), extending the current club record.
• The Thorns have not lost at home in 2026 (6W,3D).
• In seven matches since 2018, Portland has not lost at home against Orlando (7W-0L-0D).

GOAL BREAKDOWN
First Half

N/A

Second Half

POR – Deyna Castellanos (Pietra Tordin) 58’
ORL – Jacqueline Ovalle 63’
POR – Caiya Hanks (M.A. Vignola) 90+6’

LINEUPS
Portland Thorns (4-2-3-1): Mackenzie Arnold (GK), M.A. Vignola, Jayden Perry, Isabella Obaze (Sam Hiatt 78’), Carolyn Calzada, Jessie Fleming-C, Nina Nijstad (Cassandra Bogere 85’), Pietra Tordin (Caiya Hanks 88’), Deyna Castellanos (Renee Lyles 78’), Marie Müller (Morgan Weaver 67’), Sophia Wilson

Subs not used:  Morgan Messner (GK), Reyna Reyes, Shae Harvey, Mallie McKenzie

Orlando Pride (4-4-2): Anna Moorhouse (GK), Hailie Mace (Gabi Nunes 90+8’), Rafaelle (Zoe Matthews 89’), Cori Dyke, Oihane Hernández (Zara Chavoshi 76’), Solai Washington, Ally Lemos, Haley McCutcheon-C, Julie Doyle (Summer Yates 65’), Jacqueline Ovalle, Barbra Banda (Angelina 65’)

Subs not used: Cara Martin (GK), Cossette Morche, Luana, Nicole Payne

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MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

POR: N/A
ORL: Jacqueline Ovalle (Yellow) 40’, Julie Doyle (Yellow) 52’, Rafaelle (Yellow) 85’

MATCH STATS

POR | ORL

Goals: 2|1
Assists: 2|0
Possession: 51|49
Shots: 10|12
Shots on Target: 4|6
Saves: 5|2
Tackles: 16|16
Tackles Won: 9|11
Interceptions: 14|26
Fouls: 7|6
Offsides: 0|1
Corner Kicks: 0|6

ATTENDANCE: 19,106

Referee: Brad Jensen
Assistant Referee 1: Katarzyna Wasiak
Assistant Referee 2: Sarah Gaddes
4th Official: Justin St. Pierre
VAR: Danielle Chesky
Assistant VAR: Seun Yinka-Kehinde

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