Thorns beat Reign in rivalry match but get eliminated after Utah’s 5-goal outburst against Tijuana

The Portland Thorns, Seattle Reign, Utah Royals, and Club Tijuana entered the final matchday of Group A  level with three points each. Portland led the group based on goal differential. The Thorns had a goal differential of +3 compared to second place Utah’s +1 goal difference.

 In order to advance to the semi-final round of the tournament, winning your group is required and only 4 of the 5 group winners end up going through. So, Portland’s 1-0 win over the Seattle Reign would’ve been enough to win the group and give themselves a chance as long as the Royals didn’t beat Club Tijuana by three or more goals. Unfortunately, Utah beat Tijuana 5-1, winning Group A and eliminating Portland from the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup.

First half:

Both teams had some decent chances in the first half. In the early going, the Reign had some good looks at goal, forcing a save out of Thorns goalkeeper Shelby Hogan on one of those chances. In the 17th minute, Ana Dias had a chance for Portland but she put it over the net. Portland would get their breakthrough in the 40th minute, when Payton Linnehan weaved her way around a couple Seattle defenders in the penalty area before firing a close range shot into the top corner, making it 1-0 Thorns late in the half.

In the dying seconds of first half stoppage time, Seattle’s Bethany Balcer took a shot from long range that was saved by Hogan. This ensured that the Thorns would go into the break up 1-0, but with Utah winning 3-1 by that point they knew that they might need another goal. Tijuana had gone up 1-0 early on in that match but the Royals stormed back, scoring three goals including two near the end of the first half.

Second half:

The first 20 minutes of the second half didn’t see a ton of opportunities for either team, with the best chance of that period of the game coming in the 60th minute from Seattle when Bethany Balcer took a first-time shot that went wide of the left post. During that time, however, Utah scored their fourth goal, which meant that the Royals evened the goal differential, which meant that they were winning the group based on goals scored. So, either Portland or Tijuana needed to score to keep the Thorns alive.

In the 72nd minute, Payton Linnehan found herself with a chance to get that second goal that the Thorns needed, but Seattle goalkeeper Laurel Ivory was up to the task. In the 78th minute, Seattle’s Olivia Athens had a good chance to get the equalizer but she put it wide right. After that, neither team really came close to scoring, and with Utah adding another goal during stoppage time of their match to win 5-1, the Thorns’ hopes of staying alive in the Summer Cup were dead.

Although they were eliminated from the tournament, the Thorns finished the Summer Cup with a win and they will hope to keep that going once the NWSL season resumes. Portland remains undefeated this season against their rivals to the north, with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 0 losses against the Reign in all competitions this season.