Portland Thorns end Orlando Pride – Equalizer Soccer's historic undefeated streak

Photo credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-Imagn Images

After clinching the 2024 National Women's Soccer League Shield on Sunday, the Orlando Pride were unbeaten on a 24-game unbeaten streak since the final game of 2023. Five days later, the Portland Thorns handed the Shield winners their first defeat. On Friday, October 11, they ended the impressive run and their own winless defeat with a 2-0 win over the Pride at Providence Park.

Orlando's last loss came over a year ago on October 6, 2023 at Louisville. Since that loss, they had won 18 games, drawn six, outscored their opponents 43-13 and recorded 14 shutouts.

Morgan Weaver struck early for the home team, giving Portland the lead in the 13th minute when she scored from a poorly defended set piece. Christine Sinclair doubled the lead ten minutes into the second half from the top of the penalty area in front of a rousing crowd watching the final games of her professional career.

Prior to this win, the Thorns had gone winless in their final seven games of the regular season, tying their worst record from 2015, the only season in franchise history in which they failed to make the playoffs.

At first it seemed like Portland was the underdog in this game, but after winning the Shield Orlando, five of their best players and starters took a break. This decision took into account the team's need to travel to Portland unusually early to avoid Hurricane Milton. Barbra Banda, Marta, Adriana, Emily Sams and Haley McCutcheon were all on the bench as part of head coach Seb Hines' plan to keep his team fit for the playoffs.

“With Portland going through a quick turnaround, you know, playing on grass as well… we felt like it was a good opportunity to bring in players who haven't played significant minutes this season… and there were some good ones tonight “Achievements,” Hines told media after the loss. “You could see in some things that there was a little bit of rust, you know, the team cohesion wasn't quite there, but it's okay. We’ll carry on and come back next week.”

Banda, Marta, Adriana and Sams all eventually came into play and influenced the game, but only after Portland had a two-goal lead.

One could argue that ending the undefeated streak before the playoffs takes some pressure off the Pride, but the team doesn't see it that way.

“We want to win every game, regardless of who represents this club on the field,” Hines said.

“We haven't (lost) in a long time.” Yes, it's disappointing. There is no other word to describe it, but at the same time it is not a crisis. “We’re still in good shape going into the playoffs,” Pride forward Ally Watt said. “It is a record that has been broken. We set this record. That's a high standard…you just learn from…those mistakes we made in this game and we correct them for the next game.”

The disappointment of the loss won't stop Orlando from competing and playing to their strengths, but they will use it as motivation going forward. Watt said the loss made them hungry, while Hines told his players to “let it sink in and make sure we don't have that feeling again at the end of the game.”

Despite losing for the first time this season, Orlando is still a heavy favorite to win the NWSL Championship and be guaranteed a place in the playoffs as the No. 1 overall seed.

For Portland, the result is huge in terms of playoff push and morale. Questions swirled about Portland's struggles and whether they would be able to get past the playoff line. Friday's win gives them 31 points and some breathing room as they sit 7th in the standings but are six points above 9th-place Racing Louisville, with the latter yet to play this weekend.

“I think it's no surprise that the last few months have been really tough for our team… and I think we played well, especially in the last few games, and to still not get a result after that was just a shame “-tearing,” said Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey. “To play like we did tonight, against a team that hasn’t lost yet, and get the result – it’s hard to put into words how proud I am of the group.”

The Thorns were missing several key players of their own, without whom it would be difficult to win. Sophia Smith and Hina Sugita have not been there since September 13th, while Meghan Klingenberg last played on August 30th. Olivia Wade-Katoa was placed on the season-ending injured list earlier in the day and young attacker Reilyn Turner was also unavailable.

“We had to put every ounce of concentration, every ounce of energy into every single play, no matter who was on the field. And I think we executed that better tonight than we have all season,” Coffey said.

A team that looked unusually disjointed and error-prone seemed to have found its flow and put in the kind of performance that fans in the Rose City are used to. Coffey praised the team's mentality for turning things around and getting the result at this crucial point in the season.

“I think when things don't go the way you want them to… it's easy to lose sight of the details. It's easy to have a bad attitude. It’s easy to point fingers and distract,” Coffey said. “But I just think our group, and especially our locker room, has done a really good job of just staying together and staying positive… (we're) really focused on keeping spirits good and keeping spirits alive.”

“I really think it's a testament to that – to just keep showing up, no matter how hard it gets, and not letting anything define us, not letting other people's opinions of us stop us from what we know, that we can do it.”