VANCOUVER, Canada (Tuesday, October 15, 2024) – Portland Thorns earned a spot in the Concacaf W Champions Cup Knockout Round with a 6-0 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Vancouver nearly found the opening goal of the match in the 18th minute, but a quick save from Shelby Hogan pushed the ball out of danger. Moments later Izzy D’Aquila found the back of the net, running onto the end of a cross from Payton Linnehan before putting the ball through the goalkeeper's legs to take the 1-0 lead.

D’Aquila doubled the lead, scoring her second of the night in the 38th minute when a poor save left the ball at her feet for her to easily put into the back of the net. The team headed into the halftime break with the 2-0 scoreline still intact.

Ten minutes into the second half, D’Aquila returned the favor for Linnehan, finding the rookie inside the 18-yard-box where she dribbled around the goalkeeper before slotting the ball into an unmarked goal for the 3-0 lead. Four minutes later D’Aquila got her second assist of the night, this time providing the help for Alexa Spaanstra, her first goal since joining the Thorns this summer.

Canadian Christine Sinclair netted the fifth goal of the match in the 85th minute, scoring in front of her home crowd with an assist from Marie Müller. In the final moment of the match Reyna Reyes’s head landed on the end of a cross from D’Aquila, her third assist of the night, to give the team a 6-0 victory and guarantee a spot in the knockout round.

UP NEXT: The Portland Thorns head to Racing Louisville for the final road match of the regular season on Saturday, October 19 at 4:30 p.m. PT. With a win, or a draw, the Thorns will clinch its 10th playoff berth in Club history.

GOAL-SCORING BREAKDOWN:

POR: Izzy D’Aquila (Payton Linnehan) 22nd minute: Linnehan burst out, creating open space for a streaking D’Aquila to find herself completely unmarked in front of goal. Linnehan crossed the ball to D’Aquila who put the ball between the legs of the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

POR: Izzy D’Aquila 38th minute: After a shot from Christine Sinclair forced the goalkeeper to make a diving save, the ball bounced to the feet of D’Aquila who slammed the ball past the goalkeeper.

POR: Payton Linnehan (Izzy D’Aquila) 54th minute: D’Aquila found Linnehan, on the run, just inside the 18-yard-box, where she then dribbled around the goalkeeper to create an open shot on goal.

POR: Alexa Spaanstra (Izzy D’Aquila) 58th minute: D’Aquila drove towards the endline before cutting back and sending a cross to Spaanstra who hit a one-touch shot into the net.

POR: Christine Sinclair (Marie Müller) 85th minute: From a corner kick, Müller headed the ball into the path of Sinclair who slotted the ball into the back of the net.

POR: Reyna Reyes (Izzy D’Aquila) 90+5th minute: D’Aquila crossed the ball to the head of Reyes for an easy header.

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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