During the month of May, Portland Thorns FC have enjoyed some of their best soccer, setting a club record for consecutive wins. Also, May is a month to continue awareness around mental health and wellness.
For Mental Health Awareness Month, Thorns FC Performance and Wellness Coach Dr. Renée Pirkl provided insight into the club’s approach to mental health and wellness and the growing emphasis on mental health in professional sports.
Dr. Pirkl joined the club’s medical staff in December, and she has used her expertise to build mental health into the overall wellness program for the players.
"We incorporate mental health care into our overall wellness program in various ways," says Dr. Pirkl. "I offer monthly team meetings that focus on mental health and wellness topics. These meetings include creating a values-based life, developing distress tolerance skills, managing negative self-talk, managing emotions, the mind-body connection, and mindfulness."
Dr. Pirkl's work in elite-level sports goes back over a decade. From 2013-16, she worked with the Portland Trail Blazers as both a Mental Performance and Mindset Coach and has seen first-hand the growth and changes around awareness for mental health in sports.
"Awareness of mental health in sports has certainly increased in recent years," she says. "This is in large part due to athletes breaking the social taboo around discussing mental health. The NBA Players Association was one of the first professional sports organizations to create a mental health initiative and a national network of providers to provide mental health services to its players. Since that time, many other athletes have come forward to discuss their mental health struggles or taken time away from their sport to manage mental health issues."
Six months into her role as the Thorns' Performance and Wellness Coach, she reflects on what mental health care looks like today in women's professional sports.
"Specifically in women's pro sports, the emphasis on mental health awareness stems from the number of factors that come into play for women athletes, including the hurdles to becoming professional, historical abuses of power, higher rates of injury, decisions about having children, and maintaining a balance in professional and personal lives," says Dr. Pirkl.
Self-care and wellness are a key ingredient in the club’s matchday preparations.
"Sessions are focused on relaxation and fun to provide the athletes with periods of reset and refocus," Dr. Pirkl explains. "Another thing we do is mindful moments, which involves 5-10 minutes of breathwork, meditation or visualization. Finally, as needed, I offer individual sessions or referrals to athletes, who want to do more in-depth personal work."
Similarly to how the work on the training field can impact a team’s performance or results, mental health can be key to both player and team success.
"Mental health contributes to a team's success," Dr. Pirkl explains. "Mentally healthy people are more open to feedback, better able to connect with others, recover more quickly from setbacks and fatigue, have a decreased risk of injury, are more focused, are better at problem-solving, and are generally more resilient. These all enhance individual performance and support the team's collective success."
If you or someone you know is need of mental health support or resources, please visit Lines for Life, an Oregon-based nonprofit, at https://www.linesforlife.org/ or reach out through one of their 24-hour call lines.
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
During the month of May, Portland Thorns FC have enjoyed some of their best soccer, setting a club record for consecutive wins. Also, May is a month to continue awareness around mental health and wellness.
For Mental Health Awareness Month, Thorns FC Performance and Wellness Coach Dr. Renée Pirkl provided insight into the club’s approach to mental health and wellness and the growing emphasis on mental health in professional sports.
Dr. Pirkl joined the club’s medical staff in December, and she has used her expertise to build mental health into the overall wellness program for the players.
"We incorporate mental health care into our overall wellness program in various ways," says Dr. Pirkl. "I offer monthly team meetings that focus on mental health and wellness topics. These meetings include creating a values-based life, developing distress tolerance skills, managing negative self-talk, managing emotions, the mind-body connection, and mindfulness."
Dr. Pirkl's work in elite-level sports goes back over a decade. From 2013-16, she worked with the Portland Trail Blazers as both a Mental Performance and Mindset Coach and has seen first-hand the growth and changes around awareness for mental health in sports.
"Awareness of mental health in sports has certainly increased in recent years," she says. "This is in large part due to athletes breaking the social taboo around discussing mental health. The NBA Players Association was one of the first professional sports organizations to create a mental health initiative and a national network of providers to provide mental health services to its players. Since that time, many other athletes have come forward to discuss their mental health struggles or taken time away from their sport to manage mental health issues."
Six months into her role as the Thorns' Performance and Wellness Coach, she reflects on what mental health care looks like today in women's professional sports.
"Specifically in women's pro sports, the emphasis on mental health awareness stems from the number of factors that come into play for women athletes, including the hurdles to becoming professional, historical abuses of power, higher rates of injury, decisions about having children, and maintaining a balance in professional and personal lives," says Dr. Pirkl.
Self-care and wellness are a key ingredient in the club’s matchday preparations.
"Sessions are focused on relaxation and fun to provide the athletes with periods of reset and refocus," Dr. Pirkl explains. "Another thing we do is mindful moments, which involves 5-10 minutes of breathwork, meditation or visualization. Finally, as needed, I offer individual sessions or referrals to athletes, who want to do more in-depth personal work."
Similarly to how the work on the training field can impact a team’s performance or results, mental health can be key to both player and team success.
"Mental health contributes to a team's success," Dr. Pirkl explains. "Mentally healthy people are more open to feedback, better able to connect with others, recover more quickly from setbacks and fatigue, have a decreased risk of injury, are more focused, are better at problem-solving, and are generally more resilient. These all enhance individual performance and support the team's collective success."
If you or someone you know is need of mental health support or resources, please visit Lines for Life, an Oregon-based nonprofit, at https://www.linesforlife.org/ or reach out through one of their 24-hour call lines.
.avif)
