PORTLAND, Ore. (Friday, October 23, 2026) – The Portland Thorns have earned their place in the 2026 NWSL Playoffs following their gritty 1-0 win against the North Carolina Courage on Friday night at Providence Park.

The tension was high entering the match, as Portland knew it needed just a win to secure their playoff berth while the Courage were fighting to jump back into playoff positioning. North Carolina forward Ashley Sanchez thought she had scored one early for her side in the 6^th minute when she chipped the ball into the Thorns net, yet it was ruled offside and the match remained scoreless.

Portland forward Reilyn Turner had a few chances before the 20^th minute of the match that kept the Courage defense on their toes as the Thorns looked to capitalize first.

North Carolina were close to taking the lead minutes before the break when defender Ryan Williams’ long-distance strike rattled off the cross bar, but it bounced away from Portland’s goal and was cleared away to keep the game level going into the break.

Both sides came out hard in the second half as they looked for that crucial first goal, and it would be Portland on the board first in the 60^th minute when a deflected shot landed at the feet of defender Marie Müller, who launched it from about 20-yards out into the North Carolina net.

Portland and North Carolina battled hard back and forth in a tight contest for the remainder of the second half, but the Thorns held through and secured its 2026 postseason ticket.

UP NEXT: The Portland Thorns are on the road for NWSL Decision Day, facing off against the Houston Dash on Sunday, November 1. Kickoff from Shell Energy Stadium is scheduled for 2 pm PT, with broadcast information to be confirmed by the NWSL in the coming days.
‍
TEAM NOTES

• The Thorns have extended their league-leading playoff streak to 10 consecutive seasons.
• Marie Müller scored her third goal of the season, her second game-winner.
• Portland is unbeaten in its last five meetings against North Carolina (2W, 4D) dating back to June 2024.
• Portland is unbeaten against North Carolina in the last six matches played at Providence Park (3W, 3D) dating back to October 2021.
• Portland have now scored in 13 straight matches, a single season club record.
• Mackenzie Arnold (G) kept her eighth clean sheet of the season, Portland’s 10^th.
• It is the third time in club history that the Thorns have registered 10+ clean sheets in a single season, doing so previously in 2017 (11) and 2021 (13).
• Portland has become the first team in NWSL history to record 100 clean sheets.
• Portland’s regular season finale victory tonight ended a four-game home winless streak.

GOAL BREAKDOWN
First Half‍

N/A

Second Half

POR - Marie Müller 60’

LINEUPS
Portland Thorns (4-4-2): Mackenzie Arnold (GK), Reyna Reyes, Jayden Perry, Isabella Obaze (M.A. Vignola 61), Carolyn Calzada, Caiya Hanks, Jessie Fleming, Nina Nijstad, Marie Müller, Pietra Tordin, Reilyn Turner
‍
Subs not used:  Morgan Messner (GK), Cassandra Bogere, Shae Harvey, Sam Hiatt, Julie Dufour, Mallie McKenzie, Renee Lyles, Valerin Loboa

North Carolina Courage (4-3-3): Kailen Sheridan, Dani Weatherholt (Hannah Betfort 85’), Uno Shiragaki, Natalie Jacobs, Ryan Williams, Erica Parkinson, Shinomi Koyama, Riley Jackson (Vilde Bøe Risa 85’), Ashley Sanchez, Evelyn Ijeh (Ally Schlegel 76’), Bia Gomes (Gianna Paul 61’)

Subs not used: Madi White (GK), Ivy Younce, Natalia Staude, Carly Wickenheiser, Ella Hase

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

POR: Marie Müller (Yellow) 27’
NC: Bia Gomes (Yellow) 55’, Riley Jackson (Yellow) 79’

MATCH STATS

POR | NC

Goals: 1|0
Assists: 0|0
Possession: 37|63
Shots: 13|11
Shots on Target: 7|2
Saves: 2|5
Tackles: 11|18
Tackles Won: 7|14
Interceptions: 9|6
Fouls: 15|17
Offsides: 1|3
Corner Kicks: 5|8

ATTENDANCE: 20,105

Referee: Matt Thompson
Assistant Referee 1: Nicholas Seymour
Assistant Referee 2: Emmanuel Padilla
4th Official: Justin St. Pierre
VAR: Jaclyn Metz
Assistant VAR: Melissa Beck

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 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

‍
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

‍