2015 Portland Thorns FC season

Portland Thorns FC
2015 season
President	Merritt Paulson
Head coach	Paul Riley
Stadium	Providence Park; Portland, Oregon; (Capacity: 21,144)
National Women's Soccer League	6th
NWSL Playoffs	DNQ
Top goalscorer	League: Allie Long (10 goals); All: Allie Long (12 goals)
Highest home attendance	21,144; (July 22nd vs. Seattle Reign); (August 30th vs. Washington Spirit)
Lowest home attendance	12,223; (July 3 vs. Sky Blue)
Average home league attendance	15,639
Home colors	Away colors

The 2015 season is the Portland Thorns FC's third season of existence in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States.

After a disappointing end to the 2014 season that saw the team knocked out of the 2014 NWSL Championship Playoffs by eventual league champions FC Kansas City, head coach Paul Riley sought to make changes that would bolster the team's roster to account for the players who would be called up to their respective national teams during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.[1] After stellar performances in 2014, goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and midfielder Verónica Boquete were both named to the ten player shortlist of the 2014 FIFA World Player of the Year[2] and Boquete was named to the NWSL Best XI[3] as well as being named 2014 Supporters' Player of the Year.[4]

The team made a number of signings before the 2015 season including Genoveva Añonma who captains the Equatorial Guinea women's national football team,[5] a 2015 NWSL College Draft day trade of the Thorns' 2014 season leading scorer Jessica McDonald for Jodie Taylor of the England women's national football team and leading scorer of the Washington Spirit,[6] and defender Kat Williamson, former Thorns player who had been traded away during the 2014 season.[7]

Several players were loaned out in the offseason including defender Rachel Van Hollebeke to Iga Football Club Kunoichi of the Japanese Nadeshiko League,[8] and goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and defender Stephanie Catley to the Melbourne Victory of the W-League.[9]

Midfielder Verónica Boquete chose to sign with 1. FFC Frankfurt rather than remain with the Thorns for the 2015 season,[10] and three players retired in the offseason, including defender Nikki Marshall,[11] midfielder Sarah Huffman,[12] and midfielder Angie Kerr.[13]

On April 6, 2015, the Thorns unveiled their 2015 kits that were the first custom designs by Nike in the league.[14]

Due to the national team player callups for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the league announced that they would be taking a two-week break and shortening the season from 24 to 20 games.[15]

The Thorns finished the 2015 season with 23 points from 20 games and did not reach the playoffs, the first (and as of 2018 only) season in which they did not reach the playoffs.

Club

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Paul Riley
Assistant Coach	Skip Thorpe
Goalkeeper Coach	Scott Vallow
Fitness Coach	Garga Caserta
Athletic Trainer	Katie Donnelley
Equipment Manager	Megan Lovich

Last updated: April 21, 2015
Source: Portland Thorns

Roster

* – denotes amateur call-ups

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	GER	Nadine Angerer
2	DF	USA	Emily Menges
4	DF	AUS	Stephanie Catley
5	DF	USA	Kat Williamson
6	MF	USA	Meleana Shim
7	MF	USA	Sinead Farrelly
8	FW	EQG	Genoveva Añonma
9	DF	AUS	Clare Polkinghorne
10	MF	USA	Allie Long
11	DF	CAN	Kaylyn Kyle
12	FW	CAN	Christine Sinclair
13	FW	USA	Alex Morgan
14	FW	ENG	Jodie Taylor
15	DF	USA	Kendall Johnson


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	DF	USA	Rachel Van Hollebeke
17	MF	USA	Tobin Heath
18	GK	USA	Michelle Betos
20	FW	USA	Sarah Jackson*
21	DF	CAN	Sarah Robbins
22	DF	CAN	Rhian Wilkinson
25	DF	USA	Courtney Niemiec
26	DF	USA	Taylor Comeau*
28	FW	SWE	Hanna Terry
29	FW	USA	Kelsey Haycook*
30	DF	USA	Alyssa Kleiner*
77	MF	USA	McCall Zerboni

Source: Portland Thorns (archived)

Match results

Key

Win Tie Loss

Pre-season

March 21, 2015 1	Portland Pilots	0–4	Portland Thorns FC	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)		Report	Long 70' (pen.) Haycook 75' Speck 76' Johnson 82'	Stadium: Merlo Field Attendance: 1,582 Referee: Ray Moffatte Jr.

March 25, 2015 1	FC Tucson	0–2	Portland Thorns FC	Tucson, Arizona
18:30 (PDT)	Marquez 22' Davidson 53'	Report	Taylor 24' Haycook 88'	Stadium: North Kino Stadium Attendance: 1,118 Referee: Ramy Touchan

March 28, 2015 1	Arizona Wildcats	0–6	Portland Thorns FC	Tucson, Arizona
18:30 (PDT)		Report	Taylor 25' Long 29' Haycook 40' Comeau 76', 80' Monogue 89'	Stadium: North Kino Stadium Referee: Nat Stewart

Regular season

April 11, 2015 1	Portland Thorns FC	4–1	Boston Breakers	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)	Farrelly 21' Shim 38' Long 71', 72'	Report	Pathman 33' McCaffrey 63'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 13,386 Referee: Margaret Domka

Apr 18, 2015 2	Portland Thorns FC	1–0	Western New York Flash	Portland, Oregon
16:00 (PDT)	Long 22' Wilkinson 74'	Report		Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 13,148 Referee: Karen Abt

Apr 25, 2015 3	Chicago Red Stars	2–2	Portland Thorns FC	Lisle, Illinois
17:30 (PDT)	Press 4', 8' Johnston 16'	Report	Sinclair 29' Shim 47'	Stadium: Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex Attendance: 2,136 Referee: Levi Rippy

May 9, 2015 4	Portland Thorns FC	2–2	Washington Spirit	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)	Shim 28' Van Hollebeke 34' Long 51'	Report	Dunn 3' Ordega 14'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 14,236 Referee: Elvis Mahmutovic

May 16, 2015 5	Boston Breakers	1–0	Portland Thorns FC	Boston
13:00 (PDT)	Mewis 93+'	Report[16]	Williamson 40' Betos 92'	Stadium: Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium Attendance: 2,669 Referee: Christopher Spivey

May 23, 2015 6	Portland Thorns FC	0–1	Houston Dash	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)		Report	McDonald 24' Pressley 86'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 14,409

May 30, 2015 7	Washington Spirit	2–1	Portland Thorns FC	Germantown, Maryland
16:00 (PDT)	DaCosta 26' (unassisted) Dunn 28' (unassisted) Johnson 61'	Report	Anonma 18' (Long) Long 57' Williamson 61' Farrelly 71' Jackson 72'	Stadium: Maureen Hendricks Field Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 3,519

June 6, 2015 8	Houston Dash	0–0	Portland Thorns FC	Houston
17:30 (PDT)	Pereira 35' Bock 45'	Report	Terry 65'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 4,864 Referee: Danielle Chesky

June 19, 2015 9	Portland Thorns FC	1–1	FC Kansas City	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)	Long 44' Johnson 60' Zerboni 70' Betos 90+5'	Report	Hagen 51' 61' Groom 71'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 15,214 Referee: Brandon Artis

July 3, 2015 10	Portland Thorns FC	2–1	Sky Blue FC	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)	Kyle 54' Long 70' (pen.) Farrelly 79' (Kleiner)	Report	Freels 27' (Lytle) Stanton 56' Levin 69' Foord 80'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 12,223 Referee: Levi Rippy

July 11, 2015 11	Sky Blue FC	1–0	Portland Thorns FC	Piscataway, New Jersey
16:00 (PDT)	Kerr 52' (Hayes)	Report		Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 3,014 Referee: Randall Kelley

July 22, 2015 12	Portland Thorns FC	0–1	Seattle Reign FC	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)		Report	Little 57' Cox 90+3'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 21,144 Referee: Karen Abt

July 26, 2015 13	Seattle Reign FC	3–0	Portland Thorns FC	Seattle, Washington
16:00 (PDT)	Fishlock 38' Yanez 46', 50'	Report	Johnson 82' Anonma 89'	Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 6,303 Referee: Matthew Franz

July 29, 2015 14	Western New York Flash	0–2	Portland Thorns FC	Rochester, New York
16:00 (PDT)		Report	Williamson 28' Sinclair 33' Zerboni 79' Long 80'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium Attendance: 2,979 Referee: Brandon Artis

August 5, 2015 15	Portland Thorns FC	5–2	Boston Breakers	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)	Taylor 16' Zerboni 49', 53' Shim 54' Long 66'	Report	Pires 30' Williamson 36' (o.g.) Mewis 87' (pen.)	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 15,624 Referee: Matthew Kreitzer

August 9, 2015 16	Portland Thorns FC	2–1	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)	Long 38', 69' (Farrelly)	Report	Mautz 29'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 15,858 Referee: Margaret Domka

August 12, 2015 17	FC Kansas City	3–0	Portland Thorns FC	Kansas City, Missouri
17:00 (PDT)	Laddish 60' (Robinson) Rodriguez 63' (O'Reilly) Tymrak 76' (Laddish)	PTFC report NWSL report	Menges 70'	Stadium: Swope Soccer Village Attendance: 2,982 Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva

August 22, 2015 18	Sky Blue FC	1–0	Portland Thorns FC	Piscataway, New Jersey
16:00 (PDT)	Nadim 19' (O'Hara) Haagsma 59' Killion 73' Cameron 89'	Report	Zerboni 68'	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 5,547 Referee: Farhad Dadkho

August 30, 2015 19	Portland Thorns FC	3–3	Washington Spirit	Portland, Oregon
18:00 (PDT)	Morgan 53' (Sanderson) Long 67' Heath 71' (pen) Taylor 80' (Morgan) Williamson 86'		Ordega 6' (Dunn) Matheson 17' Dunn 45+1', 81'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 21,144 Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva

September 4, 2015 20	Western New York Flash	3–2	Portland Thorns FC	Rochester, New York
16:00 (PDT)	Ayinde 6' (Heyman) Spencer 8' (Heyman) Mewis 24' B.Taylor 65'	Report	J.Taylor 29' (Morgan) Morgan 59' Farrelly 62' Long 90+2' (Shim)	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium Attendance: 4,147 Referee: Karen Abt

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Seattle Reign FC	20	13	4	3	41	21	+20	43	NWSL Shield
2	Chicago Red Stars	20	8	9	3	31	22	+9	33	NWSL Playoffs
3	FC Kansas City (C)	20	9	5	6	32	20	+12	32
4	Washington Spirit	20	8	6	6	31	28	+3	30
5	Houston Dash	20	6	6	8	21	26	−5	24
6	Portland Thorns FC	20	6	5	9	27	29	−2	23
7	Western New York Flash	20	6	5	9	24	34	−10	23
8	Sky Blue FC	20	5	7	8	22	28	−6	22
9	Boston Breakers	20	4	3	13	22	43	−21	15

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champion.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
20	23	6	9	5	27	29	−2	5	2	3	20	13	+7	1	7	2	7	16	−9

Last updated: September 5, 2015
Source: National Women's Soccer League
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Ground	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A
Result	W	W	D	D	L	L	L	D	D	W	L	L	L	W	W	W	L	L	D	L

Updated to match(es) played on September 5, 2015. Source: National Women's Soccer League
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Squad statistics

Source: NWSL

Key to positions: FW – Forward, MF – Midfielder, DF – Defender, GK – Goalkeeper

N	Pos	Player	GP	GS	Min	G	A	WG	Shot	SOG	Cro	CK	Off	Foul	FS	YC	RC
8	FW	Genoveva Añonma	12	8	759	1	1	0	32	11	1	0	14	16	3	1	0
[n 1]23	MF	Kate Bennett	1	1	45	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0
4	DF	Stephanie Catley	3	2	179	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	DF	Taylor Comeau	9	5	377	0	0	0	5	2	0	0	3	1	2	0	0
7	MF	Sinead Farrelly	19	19	1652	2	2	1	18	8	1	0	9	32	27	2	0
29	FW	Kelsey Haycook	4	1	81	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0
17	MF	Tobin Heath	12	12	1062	1	1	0	22	5	0	12	3	12	15	0	0
20	FW	Sarah Jackson	7	2	201	0	0	0	4	2	0	0	5	1	1	1	0
15	DF	Kendall Johnson	17	12	1218	0	1	0	10	5	4	0	0	18	20	2	0
30	DF	Alyssa Kleiner	8	4	418	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	0
11	DF	Kaylyn Kyle	12	6	587	0	0	0	4	1	0	1	4	12	7	1	0
10	MF	Allie Long	20	20	1793	10	4	2	53	27	0	66	24	22	32	3	0
2	DF	Emily Menges	17	17	1529	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	6	9	1	0
13	FW	Alex Morgan	4	3	285	1	2	0	15	7	0	0	5	0	4	1	0
25	DF	Courtney Niemiec	4	3	273	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	2	0	0
9	DF	Clare Polkinghorne	9	9	779	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	4	2	0	0
[n 2]21	MF	Sarah Robbins	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	FW	Lianne Sanderson	5	2	275	0	1	0	4	1	0	0	0	2	5	0	0
6	MF	Meleana Shim	18	13	1127	4	4	1	21	13	4	9	0	7	6	0	0
12	FW	Christine Sinclair	9	8	735	2	2	1	15	8	0	0	7	6	4	0	0
14	FW	Jodie Taylor	7	5	385	3	0	0	17	6	0	1	10	1	2	0	0
28	FW	Hanna Terry	6	0	130	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	2	2	1	0
16	DF	Rachel Van Hollebeke	13	10	879	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	3	2	1	0
22	DF	Rhian Wilkinson	1	0	45	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
5	DF	Kat Williamson	20	20	1705	0	1	0	3	1	0	0	1	4	8	4	0
77	MF	McCall Zerboni	18	18	1459	2	0	1	7	4	0	0	2	28	18	2	1

Number 23 was later assigned to Lianne Sanderson
Number 21 was later assigned to Emily Menges

N	Pos	Goal keeper	GP	GS	Min	W	L	T	Shot	SOG	Sav	GA	GA/G	Pen	PKF	SO
1	GK	Nadine Angerer	6	6	540	1	2	3	77	34	23	11	1.833	0	0	1
18	GK	Michelle Betos	14	14	1260	5	7	2	130	63	45	18	1.286	1	2	2

Player Transactions

National Team Player Allocation

On January 14, 2015, the league held its NWSL Player Allocation with Portland receiving six players: returning United States women's national soccer team players Alex Morgan, Rachel Van Hollebeke, and Tobin Heath, returning Canada women's national soccer team player Christine Sinclair, and new Canadian internationals Kaylyn Kyle, and Rhian Wilkinson.[17]

National Women's Soccer League College Draft

The Thorns did not have a pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft, but through a series of draft day trades they acquired forward and England women's national football team player Jodie Taylor from the Washington Spirit.[18]

Transfers In

Date	Player	Pos	Previous Club	Notes	Ref
November 6, 2014	Kat Williamson	DF	Western New York Flash	Part of trade for Amber Brooks.	[19]
November 6, 2014	McCall Zerboni	MF	Western New York Flash	Part of trade for Amber Brooks.	[19]
January 14, 2015	Kendall Johnson	DF	Western Sydney Wanderers	Rights traded from Sky Blue FC for the 25th and 34th overall selections in the 2015 NWSL College Draft.	[20]
January 14, 2015	Kaylyn Kyle	MF	Houston Dash	NWSL Player Allocation	[21]
January 14, 2015	Rhian Wilkinson	DF	Laval Comets	NWSL Player Allocation	[21]
January 16, 2015	Jodie Taylor	FW	Washington Spirit	Traded for the 13th pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft and two second-round picks in the 2016 NWSL College Draft.	[18]
February 24, 2015	Genoveva Añonma	FW	1. FFC Turbine Potsdam		[22]
February 26, 2015	Sarah Robbins	MF	Åland United		[23]
April 10, 2015	Taylor Comeau	DF	California	Amateur call-up	[24]
April 10, 2015	Kelsey Haycook	FW	La Salle	Amateur call-up	[24]
April 10, 2015	Sarah Jackson	FW	Santa Clara	Amateur call-up	[24]
April 17, 2015	Alyssa Kleiner	DF	Santa Clara	Amateur call-up	[25]

Transfers Out

Date	Player	Pos	Destination Club	Notes	Ref
August 25, 2014	Verónica Boquete	MF	1. FFC Frankfurt		[26]
September 10, 2014	Angie Kerr	MF	None	Player waived.	[27]
November 6, 2014	Amber Brooks	MF	Western New York Flash	Trade to acquire Kat Williamson and McCall Zerboni.	[28]
November 18, 2014	Sarah Huffman	DF	None	Player retired.	[29]
January 14, 2015	Jackie Acevedo	FW	None	Player not reallocated in the 2015 NWSL Player Allocation.	[21]
January 16, 2015	Jessica McDonald	FW	Houston Dash	Traded to acquire the 13th pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft and a second-round pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft.	[30]
January 20, 2015	Rebecca Moros	DF	FC Kansas City	Traded to acquire an international roster spot.	[31]
February 5, 2015	Nikki Marshall	DF	None	Player retired.	[32]

National team participation

Several Thorns players have been selected to play for their national teams in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Team	Players
Australia	Stephanie Catley
Canada	Christine Sinclair (captain), Kaylyn Kyle, Rhian Wilkinson
England	Jodie Taylor
Germany	Nadine Angerer (captain)
United States	Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan

References

External links

Official website

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[17] Number 23 was later assigned to Lianne Sanderson

[18] Number 21 was later assigned to Emily Menges

[1] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2014/08/portland_thorns_coach_paul_ril_30.html

[2] ttps://www.fifa.com/ballon-dor/news/y=2014/m=10/news=women-s-shortlists-for-fifa-ballon-d-or-2014-revealed-2461275.html

[3] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-01-23. Retrieved 2014-09-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[4] ttp://www.timbers.com/thornsfc/2014/09/thorns-fc-announce-2014-club-awards

[5] ttp://www.stumptownfooty.com/2015/2/24/8105207/thorns-sign-genoveva

[6] ttp://equalizersoccer.com/2015/01/16/washington-spirit-trade-jodie-taylor-portland-thorns/

[7] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2014/04/portland_thorns_trade_defender.html

[8] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2014/10/portland_thorns_defender_rache_9.html

[9] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2014/09/portland_thorns_loan_out_goalk.html

[10] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-15. Retrieved 2015-04-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[11] ttp://equalizersoccer.com/2015/02/09/nikki-marshall-portland-thorns-retires-nwsl/

[12] ttp://equalizersoccer.com/2014/11/19/sarah-huffman-retires-portland-thorns/

[13] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2014/10/portland_thorns_midfielder_ang_4.html

[14] ttp://www.stumptownfooty.com/2015/4/6/8354447/the-portland-thorns-new-kits-have-dropped

[15] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-03-17. Retrieved 2015-04-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[nwsl_20150516-16] "BREAKERS WIN 1–0 THRILLER OVER THORNS FC; Kristie Mewis scores game-winner in 93rd minute". nwslsoccer.com.

[19] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2015/01/kaylyn_kyle_and_rhian_wilkinso.html

[oregonlive1-20] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2015/01/portland_thorns_acquire_forwar_1.html

[stumptownfooty1-21] ttp://www.stumptownfooty.com/2014/11/6/7170715/portland-thorns-bring-back-kat-williamson-welcome-mccall-zerboni

[22] ttp://www.timbers.com/thornsfc/2015/01/thorns-fc-acquire-defender-kendall-johnson-sky-blue-fc-exchange-third-fourth-round-draf

[nwslsoccer1-23] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2015-04-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[24] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2015/02/portland_thorns_sign_decorated.html

[25] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2015/02/portland_thorns_sign_midfielde_2.html

[amateur-26] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2015/04/thorns_call_up_three_amateur_p.html

[27] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2015/04/portland_thorns_call_up_amateu.html

[28] ttp://www.timbers.com/thornsfc/2014/08/thorns-fc-midfielder-vero-boquete-signs-ffc-frankfurt

[29] ttp://www.timbers.com/thornsfc/2014/09/thorns-fc-waive-midfielder-angie-kerr

[30] ttp://www.timbers.com/thornsfc/2014/11/thorns-fc-acquire-defender-kat-williamson-midfielder-mccall-zerboni-western-new-york-fl

[31] ttp://www.timbers.com/thornsfc/2014/11/thorns-fc-defender-sarah-huffman-announces-retirement

[32] ttp://www.oregonlive.com/portland-thorns/2015/01/portland_thorns_trade_jessica.html

[33] ttp://www.stumptownfooty.com/portland-women/2015/1/20/7861595/thorns-acquire-international-spot-for-becca-moros

[34] ttp://www.timbers.com/thornsfc/2015/02/thorns-fc-defender-nikki-marshall-announces-retirement