ThornsList: Missed Connections
A 1-0 loss to Seattle confirms that it's an uphill battle for the 2025 Thorns to score goals
Game #5: Seattle Reign 1 - Portland Thorns 0
1 win - 2 draws - 2 losses
5 points | 9th place
Last time out, Thorn Town noted that the team had just quietly gone on a streak of 324 minutes without a single goal allowed. That streak got busted just four short minutes into this game, when Seattle rookie Maddie Dahlien fired off a shot that simply had eyes for goal.
The stat Expected Goals — which analyzes the position of the players on the field at the moment the shot leaves the player’s foot — only gave Dahlien’s goal a 5% chance of going in. Those are the type of shots that feel easy and comfortable for NWSL goalkeepers to handle. But then there’s the similar-but-crucially different stat, Post-Shot Expected Goals (PSxG). PSxG is taking a similar snapshot, but a crucial moment later: looking at the speed, angle, and placement of the ball as it approaches the goalmouth itself. In PSxG, Dahlien’s shot rocketed up to a 57% chance of going in. It was the type of wonder-strike that the Thorns will be so unlucky to face just a handful of times all year.
After the early stumble out of the gates, Seattle really only had one other monster threat of a chance the rest of the game. That came in the 35th minute, when Lynn Biyendolo (formerly Lynn Williams) uncharacteristically put a one-on-one fast break opportunity into the side netting. It looked like an optical illusion that this ball didn’t get in the goal.
As far as the Thorns’ own offensive attack goes: a shutout in this game means a grand total of now three goals across five games. That’s, yeah — not really going to be threatening for opponents. Three goals is tied with bottom-of-the-standings teams in Chicago, Louisville, and North Carolina for lowest scoring so far.
Despite the low goal totals, though, there are some shockingly strong numbers just underneath the surface. Portland still leads the league in total shots, and the Thorns are second only to the mighty Kansas City Current in their season-long Expected Goals. (In other words: Portland’s cumulative shot quality is still second-best in the league.) Those aren’t the symptoms of a run-of-the-mill low-scoring team. It shows that the Thorns are still dispossessing their opponents, and building positive momentum up the field.
One of the main issues hindering the Portland offensive attack seems to be: missed connections. While players are constantly generating positive offensive ideas, many times the passer and the recipient aren’t exactly on the same page about where the offensive flow will go next. I see three possible symptoms, with three different fixes, for this problem:
Everybody is still getting to know each other. Out of the seven Thorns who primarily play forward, the longest-tenured player is Payton Linnehan, who was drafted by the team in January of 2024. That’s still very recent. Four of the forwards — Deyna Castellanos, Pietra Tordin, Caiya Hanks, and Mimi Alidou — have all been acquired by the team in 2025. The only fix here, as frustrating as it may be, is simply more time played together.
Controlling the ball when receiving a pass. According to Football-Reference.com, the Thorns are the league leaders in a negative category: Miscontrols. (Their definition: “The number of times a player failed when attempting to maintain control of a ball.”) The Thorns have 120 Miscontrols on the year, which is way behind the next-worst team (Washington Spirit - 103), and almost double the amount of league-best Orlando Pride, who have 69. That’s a lot of possessions that are either bobbled away, or slowed-down to the point the defense can recover. It’s hard to know if this is still a symptom of getting to know each other, and sticking a toe out to recover just-off-line passes. Or, it could a sign that the team needs to address the fundamentals, as basic as they may be.
The minutes mix might not be optimized. Last week, Thorn Town showed how Tordin is receiving minimal minutes, despite being a constant shot creator. This week — part of it might have been that late-game momentum a trailing team naturally has — but the Thorns got off seven of their 13 total shots after Alidou subbed in during the very late 78th minute, joining fellow substitute Hanks. In the 83rd minute, Tordin was called in for a very rare defense-for-offense swap, replacing defender Reyna Reyes. With just three defenders, the Thorns created six of their 13 shots in the short minutes Tordin was on the field, including their two most dangerous chances of the game. Can the Thorns distribute their offensive threats across the entire game, and not just “cram for the test” at the very end?
Up next
Game #6: Gotham FC at Portland Thorns
Tuesday, April 22 | 7 pm
Broadcast: CBS Sports Network
One of the first surprises of the year was how Gotham struggled mightily out of the gate, with no wins in their first three games, and losing USWNT defender Tierna Davidson to an ACL injury. While Davidson will miss the rest of the year, the slow start is already old news: dominant wins over North Carolina (3-1) and Angel City (4-0) means that Gotham is already in a strong fourth place. Spanish forward Esther González has leapt up to become an MVP candidate, and is tied with Ashley Hatch for the league lead in goals.
The Thorns can produce competitive games against most NWSL teams — but, Portland is a major step behind the championship contenders. Scratching out a tie will feel like a victory here. Portland will be hoping that the bizarre scheduling will work in their favor: Gotham is on an awkward road sojourn, going from Angel City on Friday, on up to Portland on Tuesday. Unfortunately for everyone, it looks like the NWSL has buried the broadcast of this game deep in the recesses of the world’s cable packages.