After that dismal draw against ACFC and with a road game at KC a week from today, we NEED to rotate for the mid-week game. Hope hope hope that Moultrie is back. Shae Harvey needs a start at the #6 in place of Bogere, who was flat out terrible today. Renee Lyles and Maddie Padelski need to see the field. Turner needs rest. Vignola shouldn't play, even if able to do so. . Not sure if Obaze can play. Perry needs to play the full 90 at center back. It would be interesting to see her paired with Calzada but they'll probably prefer Hiatt for her experience. Wilson can play 65 minutes and make way for Tordin (if Moultrie plays). Fleming is the toughest player to replace. Maybe Lyles or Immethun can play central midfielder, with Harvey more focused on defending than Bogere has been.

Anyone else have thoughts?

I want to write about a serious, extinction-level problem with the Thorns. Why didn't any top college prospects sign with us? Houston signed 3 or 4 top prospects. Is Houston a better place to play? Reading interviews with rookie players gives me a clue. No playing time om PTFC. Remember, these players competed against Jayden Perry in youth soccer and college and played alongside her as she became the top defender on the U-20 and U-23 USWNTs. And yet no playing time. Her fellow UCLA CB, Lilly Reale, was universally considered a less promising prospect than Perry and yes, Lilly stumbled a bit in early 2025, but she got consistent playing time, was named rookie of the year and has become a mainstay of the USWNT. Meanwhile, we play Sam Hiatt who is a lovely person but who wouldn't start for the Boston Legacy or Chicago Stars.

These are not small matters. A player's career and income is determined by their minutes and USWNT call-ups. Take Jordynn Dudley. I saw her first games with Gotham and she stunk. Dribbled into danger, took stupid shots and didn't make elementary passes, committed ludicrous fouls and pouted. How did Gotham respond? By giving her playing time. She's rapidly becoming one of the biggest threats in the league and was rookie of the month for April. How many times did we beg to give Tordin playing time last season? She finally got enough this season that ESPN ranked her the 10th best player in the league. Sophia Wilson scored 0 goals in her first season and 7 in her second. And was league MVP in her third. Sam Coffey struggled when moved to the #6 to start her rookie year but got minutes, got better, and now may be the best female #6 in the world.

If I'm a top college prospect, you couldn't pay me enough to come to the Thorns. Shae Harvey is the best we could do and she gets NO PLAYING TIME - even when the team is exhausted (according to their coach) in a game against RL that we could honestly afford to lose if it meant resting core players.

Look - I'm not a soccer genius. I'm so far below what it would take to coach a professional team that I'd have better odds piloting a jumbo jet. But even I can see Soccer 101 - PLAY JAYDEN PERRY AND SHAE HARVEY. Let them stumble and then keep playing them. Let's just say for the sake of argument that Hiatt is slightly better than Perry. Perry has enormous potential for improvement. Does Hiatt? Which of them is more likely to get future USWNT call-ups?

The draft allowed us to ignore it, but if we ever want to sign a top college prospect again we need to put as much effort into developing players as Emma Hayes does when she makes selections for the USWNT.

Anyone else feel the same way?

Who thinks we'll still be in first at the end of May when the NWSL breaks for over a month? We have 3 home games and 2 away: May 8 @ Racing Louisville; May 17 Angel City; May 20 Bay FC; May 24 @ KC Current; May 30 Utah. Next match after that is July 5 at home against RL.

Hi, all,

The game was shown on CBS Sports Network. They don't seem to archive games for those of us unable to watch it live and Paramount+ (CBS streaming service) has no games from 2026 archived. I've been checking NWSL+ periodically, but they don't seem to have any midweek games - Victory has some of them archived but not Portland-San Diego.

I've seen the highlights but would love to see the full match. Does anyone know if it'll turn up on NWSL+ or if there's another way to watch it?

Thanks, y'all.

With 3 games in a week, seems that rotation would be wise. How about a back line of McKenzie, Obaze, Perry and Mueller, Harvey at the #6, and Loboa (if she's available), Tordin and Padelski as attackers. Not sure we can rotate Fleming and Moultrie. Maybe Bogere or Renee Lyles can start for Jessie and Deyna (if she's available) or Alidou for Liv. Maybe that's over-rotating, but at least some of these changes would avoid wearing out our starters. Injuries are also more likely in my experience when a player is fatigued. This would be a great time for either Hanks or Weaver to come off SEI.

Full Time (The NYT/Athletic newsletter on women's soccer) reviewed this weekend in the NWSL, ending with: "But the weekend belonged to Sophia Wilson. Her goal against Angel City wasn’t just a 95th-minute match winner. It was a moment. The first in 541 days. The first since stepping away to have her child. The first since returning to a league that rarely slows down for anyone. There’s no soft landing in this league, no easing back in, and yet, there she was, decisive when it mattered. For the Portland Thorns, it was the boost they needed after a shaky postseason, saying goodbye to Sam Coffey and welcoming a new coach in Robert Vilahamn. And perhaps most importantly, for the league, Wilson’s goal was the proof that the pathway back from motherhood is possible, even if it’s rarely straightforward."

It was most definitely a "moment"