In a game marked by physicality, Seattle Reign FC bested Portland Thorns FC thanks to a late goal from forward Jodie Taylor. The Reign have now beaten the Thorns in both of their meetings this season, although this 1-0 was a bit less exciting than the 3-2 barnburner from the previous meeting. Both teams had multiple good opportunities during the match, but it took until the 89th minute for either team to finally find the back of the net.
Throughout the match, the best opportunities for Portland came from crosses to the head of striker Hayley Raso. In her first opportunity Raso put the ball over the goal, and on her second chance, she missed the ball entirely. On both crosses, Seattle goalkeeper Lydia Williams was beaten, but Raso couldn't redirect the ball on frame. Portland did manage to get the ball into the back of the net once right at the end of the first half. Portland defender Meghan Klingenberg whipped the ball into the six-yard box and striker Ana Crnogorcevic headed it into the goal. Unfortunately, she didn't earn her second goal of the season because she was deemed offside.
Seattle sent multiple dangerous shots on target, but Portland goalkeeper Adriana Franch made a series of fantastic saves to keep the Reign off the board. Franch made eight saves on the game, but in the end it wasn't enough to earn her team a point. As time winded down, Megan Rapinoe controlled the ball and pushed to the end line inside the Portland penalty box. The Thorns defenders failed to close down on Rapinoe, who slotted the ball to the top of the six. The ball rolled past four Thorns defenders and found the feet of Taylor who redirected the ball on frame. Her celebration started the moment her foot touched the ball because Franch was unable to reposition in time to make her ninth save of the night.
The loss was Portland's second disappointing result in a row. On Wednesday night they drew with Sky Blue FC when Carli Lloyd drew and scored a penalty kick in the 85th minute of that match. Portland (5W-5D-5L) falls to fifth place in the standings with the loss, while Seattle (6W-5D-3L) jumps to second place.