The Portland Thorns FC will be hosting the Washington Spirit on Saturday at Providence Park. These two clubs are the remaining teams that have yet to lose a game this season in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Last unbeaten clubs left
At the moment, the Spirit are seating in first place in the standings with 13 points in five matches. A big reason for their success is that they have only conceded one goal thus far. Their defense leads the league with least amount of goal allowed.
Washington's offense has also been able to produce seven goals in the process. They are the second highest scoring team in the league, only the Orlando Pride has more with eight.
As for Portland they currently sit in fourth place with nine points; their record is (W-D-L) 2-3-0. Their defense is tied with the Chicago Red Stars for second fewest goals conceded with three. The Thorns offense has done enough to keep pace with their stubborn defense by scoring five times in five games.
How the clubs have performed since their first matchup of the season
Portland so far has been the only club to earn a point against Washington this season. The first clash between these two sides was on May the seventh. The Thorns traveled to Maureen Hendricks Field Maryland SoccerPlex and left with a scoreless draw.
For Washington, they were able to rebound from that match with a 1-0 home victory against the Houston Dash last Saturday. As for Portland, they went to Memorial Stadium and tied 1-1 with their rivals the Seattle Reign FC.
The Thorns have not won a game since May first. They defeated 10th place Boston Breakers 1-0 at Jordan Field. Since that match Portland has picked up two points out of a potential six. They started the month of May in second place and were only two points behind Washington. Now the Thorns are in fourth and are looking to get back to their winning ways.
Thorns happy to be back in Portland
Portland is wrapping up a four-game road trip that started on April 23rd in the state of Kansas. They left Swope Soccer Village with a 1-1 draw against FC Kansas City. That result became a trend as their record for the four-game road trip was 1-3-0.
The other two clubs the Thorns tied with were Washington and Seattle. The lone victory was against Boston, a club that has yet to earn point or score goal this season. However, in the end, the road trip has to be considered a success since they did not lose a match. That being said it is clear that the Thorns are happy to be back at Providence Park.
"We are really excited to play at home again. Especially playing in front of this incredible crowd," Thorns' striker Nadia Nadim told ThornsFC.com, about the upcoming match against Washington on Saturday. "It really helps a lot playing here and you hear all the fans going crazy. We miss playing in this stadium, we are really excited."
How Portland picks up three points
Their defense has been stellar with Emily Sonnett, Meghan Klingenberg and goalkeeper Adrianna Franch making it difficult for other teams to score or simply produce chances. Where they need to start picking up production is on the offensive end.
Midfielders Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan and Dagny Brynjarsdottir need to push the tempo and force the Spirit to chase the ball. The three of them creating opportunities for others is important, but they have to be aggressive and take shots.
Between the three midfielders, there are four goals and four assists. The Spirit is aware of their threat and will do their best to slow them down. That is where the hustle and pace of Nadim need to come through. She has to find the gaps quickly against this defense and get off a shot before they recover. Remember this is a club that has four shutouts in five games played this season.
How Washington crashes the party
Crystal Dunn, she will be the reason why the Spirit leaves with three points on Saturday. Yes, Canadian midfielder Diana Matheson is currently tied for first in the goal scoring department with Red Stars' Christen Press with three goals. Without Dunn's activity, pace and creativity this offense would be a shadow of itself.
The U.S. international striker is leading the team and is second in the league with three assists. Heath is ahead Dunn by one in the assist category.
However, against a defense like the Thorns, Dunn needs to step up and score her first goal of the season. She has shown at the international level that she can score multiple goals in a game. She has scored eight of her 12 national team goals in the 11 matches the Yanks have competed in this year.
If Washington wants to stay unbeaten it will be up to Dunn to provide the breakthrough. This match will not be filled with goals since both defenses will cancel each other for the majority of the game, but a moment of brilliance from Dunn will be the difference.
Prediction: Portland 0-2 Washington