Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and Thorns defense record first shutout of 2025 to extend home undefeated streak against North Carolina to five matches.
PORTLAND,Ore. (Saturday, March 29, 2025) – Portland Thorns FC fought to a scoreless draw against North Carolina Courage Saturday night at Providence Park, extending its home unbeaten streak against the Courage to five matches (2W, 3D).
Prior to the match,Thorns fans were treated to a special ceremony to honor the legendary Thorns and USWNT defender Becky Sauerbrunn. Gifted a commemorative jersey by her teammates and getting opportunities to engage with fans from the field, Sauerbrunn and the Thorns also presented a $5,000 donation to Athlete Ally, a nonprofit LGBTQ athletic advocacy group that aims to make athletic communities more inclusive and advocate for LGBTQ equality.
The first half would be a tightly contested battle between two sides looking to strike first, with the Thorns registering 9 shots and 25 touches in the opposition box in their effort to find the back of the net. Defensively, the Thorns stood strong to limit North Carolina to only 11 box entries while recording 8 won tackles and 7 interceptions to hold the opponents scoreless heading into the break.
The second half would be another gritty contest as the two sides fought hard to break the deadlock. It seemed that Courage would have the opportunity to do so from the penalty spot in the 76’, but Portland goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold would come up huge to deny the shot and keep things even as the Thorns ended the night with its second point of the season.
TEAM NOTES
· Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold recorded her first clean sheet of the 2025season.
· Arnold has saved both penalty attempts that she’s faced in the NWSL.
· Forward Caiya Hanks recorded her first start for the Thorns.
· Midfielder Jessie Fleming made her return to action after being unavailable last week due to a concussion. She came on to contest the final 30 minutes of the match.
· With the result, the Thorns extended its home unbeaten streak against the Courage to five matches (2W, 3D).
ATTENDANCE: 15,967
UP NEXT: The Portland Thorns return to action on Friday,April 11 as they travel to take on Utah Royals. Kickoff from America FirstField is scheduled for 7 pm PT on Prime Video.
GOAL-SCORING BREAKDOWN
N/A
LINEUPS
Portland Thorns FC (4-4-2)Mackenzie Arnold,Reyna Reyes, Isabella Obaze, Sam Hiatt, Kaitlyn Torpey, Sam Coffey-C, HinaSugita, Olivia Moultrie, Deyna Castellanos (Jessie Fleming 59’), Caiya Hanks(Alexa Spaanstra 76’), Reilyn Turner (Pietra Tordin 76’)
Subs not used: Bella Bixby, Sophie Hirst, Daiane, JaydenPerry, Mallie McKenzie, Payton Linnehan
North CarolinaCourage (4-3-3): Casey Murphy, Malia Berkely, Natalia Staude, Kaleigh Kurtz, RyanWilliams, Shinomi Koyama (Riley Jackson 71’), Denise O’Sullivan-C, Jaedyn Shaw(Brianna Pinto 86’), Meredith Speck (Manaka Matuskubo 62’), Hannah Betfort (Brooklyn Courtnall 86’), Ashley Sanchez
Subs not used: Feli Rauch, Maycee Bell, Heather MacNab, Marisa Jordan,Aline Gomes
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
POR: Deyna Castellanos (Yellow) 51’
NC: N/A
MATCH STATS
POR | NC
Goals: 0|0
Assists: 0|0
Possession 43|57
Shots: 19|14
Shots on Target: 2|5
Saves: 5|2
Tackles: 19|29
Tackles Won: 15|19
Interceptions: 9|8
Fouls: 9|4
Offsides: 1|0
Corner Kicks: 8|2
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.
The Thorns came out into the second half much more threatening in Orlando’s half and finally broke the deadlock in the 58th 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 63rd 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 88th minute — curled the ball into the goal from outside the box in the 96th 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
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
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
Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and Thorns defense record first shutout of 2025 to extend home undefeated streak against North Carolina to five matches.
PORTLAND,Ore. (Saturday, March 29, 2025) – Portland Thorns FC fought to a scoreless draw against North Carolina Courage Saturday night at Providence Park, extending its home unbeaten streak against the Courage to five matches (2W, 3D).
Prior to the match,Thorns fans were treated to a special ceremony to honor the legendary Thorns and USWNT defender Becky Sauerbrunn. Gifted a commemorative jersey by her teammates and getting opportunities to engage with fans from the field, Sauerbrunn and the Thorns also presented a $5,000 donation to Athlete Ally, a nonprofit LGBTQ athletic advocacy group that aims to make athletic communities more inclusive and advocate for LGBTQ equality.
The first half would be a tightly contested battle between two sides looking to strike first, with the Thorns registering 9 shots and 25 touches in the opposition box in their effort to find the back of the net. Defensively, the Thorns stood strong to limit North Carolina to only 11 box entries while recording 8 won tackles and 7 interceptions to hold the opponents scoreless heading into the break.
The second half would be another gritty contest as the two sides fought hard to break the deadlock. It seemed that Courage would have the opportunity to do so from the penalty spot in the 76’, but Portland goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold would come up huge to deny the shot and keep things even as the Thorns ended the night with its second point of the season.
TEAM NOTES
· Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold recorded her first clean sheet of the 2025season.
· Arnold has saved both penalty attempts that she’s faced in the NWSL.
· Forward Caiya Hanks recorded her first start for the Thorns.
· Midfielder Jessie Fleming made her return to action after being unavailable last week due to a concussion. She came on to contest the final 30 minutes of the match.
· With the result, the Thorns extended its home unbeaten streak against the Courage to five matches (2W, 3D).
ATTENDANCE: 15,967
UP NEXT: The Portland Thorns return to action on Friday,April 11 as they travel to take on Utah Royals. Kickoff from America FirstField is scheduled for 7 pm PT on Prime Video.
GOAL-SCORING BREAKDOWN
N/A
LINEUPS
Portland Thorns FC (4-4-2)Mackenzie Arnold,Reyna Reyes, Isabella Obaze, Sam Hiatt, Kaitlyn Torpey, Sam Coffey-C, HinaSugita, Olivia Moultrie, Deyna Castellanos (Jessie Fleming 59’), Caiya Hanks(Alexa Spaanstra 76’), Reilyn Turner (Pietra Tordin 76’)
Subs not used: Bella Bixby, Sophie Hirst, Daiane, JaydenPerry, Mallie McKenzie, Payton Linnehan
North CarolinaCourage (4-3-3): Casey Murphy, Malia Berkely, Natalia Staude, Kaleigh Kurtz, RyanWilliams, Shinomi Koyama (Riley Jackson 71’), Denise O’Sullivan-C, Jaedyn Shaw(Brianna Pinto 86’), Meredith Speck (Manaka Matuskubo 62’), Hannah Betfort (Brooklyn Courtnall 86’), Ashley Sanchez
Subs not used: Feli Rauch, Maycee Bell, Heather MacNab, Marisa Jordan,Aline Gomes
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
POR: Deyna Castellanos (Yellow) 51’
NC: N/A
MATCH STATS
POR | NC
Goals: 0|0
Assists: 0|0
Possession 43|57
Shots: 19|14
Shots on Target: 2|5
Saves: 5|2
Tackles: 19|29
Tackles Won: 15|19
Interceptions: 9|8
Fouls: 9|4
Offsides: 1|0
Corner Kicks: 8|2
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