Bella's Back
After an 18-month absence, Bella Bixby returns with a triumphant shutout -- and the Thorns just might be a monster defensive team
Game #4: Portland Thorns 1 - Utah Royals 0
1 win - 2 draws - 1 loss
5 points | 6th place
During the week of international play, Portland got hit with the wildly unlucky news that Mackenzie Arnold had some type of arm injury while practicing with Australia. This is about two months after standout defender Marie Müller sustained her season-ending ACL injury during German national team practice this preseason. (What’s going on at these practices?) Arnold’s injury does not, at least, appear to be season-ending — although there has been very little reporting on when Arnold could be ready to go again. The injury cleared the way for the longest-tenured Thorn, Bella Bixby, to finally return to live game action, after missing all of 2024 with maternity leave.
And: Bixby returned at the top of her game, finishing with the shutout. For Bixby’s career, that’s 25 shutouts in 58 regular season games started. The 25 shutouts puts Bixby just one shutout away from tying the franchise record, set by AD Franch (2016-2021) at 26.
Utah went into the locker room at halftime without getting off a single shot, even an off-target one. In the second half, wild inaccuracy by Royals shooters meant that Bixby, on the stat sheet, only had to save one, low-intensity shot. The stats do hide Bixby’s most important play of the night: in the ninth minute, an inaccurate back-pass from Sam Hiatt forced Bixby to leave her box and make a daring sliding tackle to win possession back. Bixby’s quick decision-making, on a play where the solution was not obvious, turned a potential disaster into a nothing moment. The play showed off Bixby’s incredible preparation: even after 18 months away, she had no rust, and was ready to attack the game from the jump.
The Thorns have very quietly now strung together a run of completely stellar defensive performances. After giving up three goals in the first half of the first game, to Kansas City, Portland has allowed just one total goal in their last 324 minutes played. And, they’ve done so with three different combinations of center backs across four games: Hiatt and rookie Jayden Perry started their first game as a unit in this one.
On the offensive end, Portland’s primary weapon seemed to be an ability to pick off frequently misguided passes from the Royals. Portland won the interceptions battle, 13-7, and Hina Sugita ignited the goal-scoring sequence with an interception. After a precise give-and-go with Deyna Castellanos, Sugita approached the goal with possession. Somehow, Sugita had the presence of mind to pass up a good shot for a great one, sending off a visionary assist across the face of goal to Reilyn Turner, who crashed in from the right side for the uncontested finish. It was a thrilling team goal, everybody’s established strengths multiplying off of each other.
Just before halftime, Turner had a virtually identical chance to finish on a right-side-crash-in, set up by Olivia Moultrie. But, on this second attempt, Turner missed the frame. While this probably “should have” been a second goal, let’s take it as a positive sign that the team is learning how to set up Turner at that right-side goalpost for high-percentage looks. Turner is currently the league leader in shots per minute, and it’s not even close. Per 90 minutes, Turner leads second-place Esther González of Gotham FC, 4.79 to 4.13.
Waiting for Tordin time
With a month of play under our belts, there does feel like some odd, and almost random, players who are not being given regular playing time. For instance: what changed for the Thorns between December, when they signed defender Daiane to a multi-year contract, and this spring — when they have kept her on the bench for a whole month, not even allowing her to debut as a substitute?
Another big omission, to me, feels like rookie forward Pietra Tordin. Now, the team has not forgotten about Tordin, since she’s appeared as a substitute in every game. But, it’s only added up to 38 total minutes, or 9.5 per game.
Tordin has absolutely made the most out of those limited minutes. Even on an NWSL field, Tordin stands out with her intense competitiveness and high work-rate. Here’s how her stats have looked, so far, compared to the team’s other young forwards:
Pietra Tordin: 38 minutes | 7 shots
Payton Linnehan: 72 minutes | 1 shot
Alexa Spaanstra: 104 minutes | 1 shot
Caiya Hanks: 195 minutes | 0 shots
To paint a complete picture: none of Tordin’s seven shots have gone on-target. Still, the difference in sheer activity level is dramatic, and almost certainly earns more than 9.5 minutes per game. This reminds me of Turner mostly being kept on the bench in 2024, despite incredibly strong per-minute numbers from her first half of the season in Louisville. I’m not always sure what the Thorns see when they self-scout their own lineups.
Alidou debut
Mimi Alidou made her first appearance for the Thorns as a substitute in this game, playing the final 32 minutes, wearing uniform #26. Alidou made an immediate positive impression, firing off two shots and, even more impressively, showcasing phenomenal top-end speed. Since Alidou’s signing came right before the international break, it sounded like she had only been with the Thorns for a day or two before this game. Look for Alidou to be a regular part of the rotation as the season progresses.
News you can use
What’s that phrase about living so long you eventually become the villain? The NWSL’s still-unnamed Denver expansion team is working to build its own stadium. And now, controversially, the franchise is attempting to use taxpayer money to fund the project. Siphoning off taxpayer money to fund stadiums is a long-time practice in America’s major sports — and, it’s astonishing and disappointing that this was ever a legal thing to do, since the teams are clearly for-profit businesses. Given the political sensibilities of the NWSL audience, I believe it would be widely celebrated if the league and Commissioner Jessica Berman just made a policy, amongst themselves, that taxpayer money was off-limits. (This is what is called a “fantasy.” But, I can dream.)
Last time out, Thorn Town took note of 10 players who spent the week “off” flying around the world, playing for international teams. Turned out it was actually 11 players, with Hina Sugita also playing two friendlies in her home country of Japan. Thorns.com kept track of all 11 players here.
And: it should have been 12 players. Jeff Kassouf of ESPN.com wrote an important article this week about how Venezuelan Deyna Castellanos, plus the NWSL’s four Zambian players, all refrained from joining their international teams for scheduled games last week. This was done purely out of concern that the players would not be allowed back into America, due to newly created travel restrictions. Kassouf quotes a U.S. Soccer official who claims, “That’s pretty standard stuff for us.” While the idea is that there will probably always be some visa issues somewhere in the global game, I can’t get on-board with the blasé sentiment here: let’s imagine the feeling of being blocked out of your home country, simply because you do a job in a different country. And, keep in mind that Castellanos and the Zambian players also just saw several of their NWSL teammates circle the globe for games, going to-and-fro with no issues whatsoever. Here’s hoping there is clear resolution on this issue soon, mostly for the sake of players as people. And, also, I really do believe that the all-directional flow of players moving around the globe for games is ultimately a peace-promoting business.
Okay, let’s end this depressing chunk on a high note. Thorn Town is a few weeks late here, but, second-year midfielder Olivia Wade-Katoa, who was on the Season-Ending Injury List, is now pregnant and on the Maternity Leave List. Congratulations Olivia!
Up next
Game #5: Portland Thorns at Seattle Reign
Friday, April 18th | 7 PM
Broadcast: Amazon Prime
Entering into 2025, you would have said that both Portland and Seattle were rebuilding, and attempting to find a nucleus for the future. A comparatively weak middle class of the standings, though, finds both teams currently sitting in playoff spots, in 6th and 7th place. A win feels very attainable here, with Portland out-performing Settle overall in some of the advanced stats. However, this is the start of a three-game/ten-day mini-sprint for Portland, with the only mid-week game of the season coming right after this (hosting Gotham FC on Tuesday 4/22). Rotating the roster will be essential in this stretch, so be prepared for some unconventional lineups.