PORTLAND, Ore. – Only one coach in the National Women’s Soccer League has been with their team longer, and that coach, Chicago’s Rory Dames, has been there from the start.
That says something for how much the league has changed around Mark Parsons and Portland Thorns FC. Though the number of teams in the league has not significantly changed, the level of play on the field has, as well as the level of expectations off of it. Amid an evolving landscape, the NWSL’s challenges have become more arduous. Success is more elusive in 2020 than it was four years ago.