On a warm Saturday afternoon in Portland, Oregon, the Seattle Reign FC and Portland Thorns FC added the latest chapter in the NWSL’s version of the vaunted Seattle/Portland rivalry.
Right from the start, the action was fast. Both sides saw early probes that made back lines and the goalkeepers work. Normally you’d have the first 10 to 15 minutes being a feeling-out process, but that was not the case on Saturday afternoon. Portland should have struck first in the 17th minute with a Mallory Weber effort that inexplicably hit the underside of the crossbar and back out.