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)
Top goalscorer	League: Allie Long (3) All: Allie Long (5)
Highest home attendance	13,386 (Apr. 11 vs. Boston)
Lowest home attendance	13,148 (Apr. 18 vs. Western New York)
Average home league attendance	13,267
Home colors Away colors
← 2014 2016 →

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]

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

Roster

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Nadine Angerer 2 DF Emily Menges 4 DF Stephanie Catley 5 DF Kat Williamson 6 MF Meleana Shim 7 MF Sinead Farrelly 8 FW Genoveva Añonma 10 MF Allie Long 11 DF Kaylyn Kyle 12 FW Christine Sinclair 13 FW Alex Morgan

No. Position Player 14 FW Jodie Taylor 14 DF Kendall Johnson 16 DF Rachel Van Hollebeke 17 MF Tobin Heath 18 GK Michelle Betos 21 DF Sarah Robbins 22 DF Rhian Wilkinson 25 DF Courtney Niemiec 28 FW Hanna Terry 77 MF McCall Zerboni

Match results

Key

      Win       Tie       Loss

Pre-season

1 March 21, 2015	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.

1 March 25, 2015	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

1 March 28, 2015	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

1 April 11, 2015	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

2 Apr 18, 2015	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

3 Apr 25, 2015	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

4 May 9, 2015	Portland Thorns FC	v	Washington Spirit	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Providence Park

5 May 16, 2015	Boston Breakers	v	Portland Thorns FC	Chicago, Illinois
13:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium

6 May 23, 2015	Portland Thorns FC	v	Houston Dash	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Providence Park

7 May 30, 2015	Washington Spirit	v	Portland Thorns FC	Boyds, Maryland
16:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex

8 June 6, 2015	Houston Dash	v	Portland Thorns FC	Houston, Texas
17:30 (PDT)				Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium

9 June 19, 2015	Portland Thorns FC	v	FC Kansas City	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Providence Park

10 July 3, 2015	Portland Thorns FC	v	Sky Blue FC	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Providence Park

11 July 11, 2015	Sky Blue FC	v	Portland Thorns FC	Piscataway Township, New Jersey
16:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Yurcak Field

12 July 22, 2015	Portland Thorns FC	v	Seattle Reign FC	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Providence Park

13 July 26, 2015	Seattle Reign FC	v	Portland Thorns FC	Seattle, Washington
16:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Memorial Stadium

14 July 29, 2015	Western New York Flash	v	Portland Thorns FC	Rochester, New York
16:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium

15 August 5, 2015	Portland Thorns FC	v	Boston Breakers	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Providence Park

16 August 9, 2015	Portland Thorns FC	v	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
19:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Providence Park

17 August 12. 2015	FC Kansas City	v	Portland Thorns FC	Kansas City, Missouri
17:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Swope Soccer Village

18 August 22, 2015	Sky Blue FC	v	Portland Thorns FC	Piscataway Township, New Jersey
16:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Yurcak Field

19 August 30, 2015	Portland Thorns FC	v	Washington Spirit	Portland, Oregon
18:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Providence Park

20 September 4, 2015	Western New York Flash	v	Portland Thorns FC	Rochester, New York
16:00 (PDT)				Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portland Thorns FC	3	2	1	0	7	3	+4	7	NWSL playoffs
2	Washington Spirit	3	2	0	1	6	4	+2	6
3	Chicago Red Stars	2	1	1	0	5	4	+1	4
4	Houston Dash	3	1	1	1	5	4	+1	4
5	Sky Blue FC	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	4
6	Seattle Reign FC	3	1	0	2	7	5	+2	3
7	Boston Breakers	2	1	0	1	4	6	−2	3
8	FC Kansas City	3	1	0	2	2	4	−2	3
9	Western New York Flash	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0

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
3	7	2	0	1	7	3	+4	2	0	0	5	1	+4	0	0	1	2	2	0

Last updated: April 26, 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

Last updated: April 9, 2015.
Source: National Women's Soccer League
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

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.^[16]

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.^[17]

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.	[18]
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	[22]
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.	[23]
February 24, 2015	Genoveva Añonma	FW	1. FFC Turbine Potsdam		[24]
February 26, 2015	Sarah Robbins	MF	Åland United		[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.	[30]
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.	[31]
January 20, 2015	Rebecca Moros	DF	FC Kansas City	Traded to acquire an international roster spot.	[32]
February 5, 2015	Nikki Marshall	DF	None	Player retired.	[33]

See also

• 2015 National Women's Soccer League season

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portland Thorns FC.

• Official website

Portland Thorns FC Founded 2012 Based in Portland, Oregon The Club History Colors and badge Supporters Roster Stadium Providence Park Rivalries Seattle Reign Affiliated Clubs Portland Timbers Key Personnel Owner: Merritt Paulson Coach: Paul Riley Seasons (3) NWSL 2013 2014 2015

National Women's Soccer League Teams Boston Breakers Chicago Red Stars FC Kansas City Houston Dash Portland Thorns FC Seattle Reign FC Sky Blue FC Washington Spirit Western New York Flash Seasons 2013 2014 2015 Miscellaneous Expansion Playoffs Records and Statistics Stadiums Player lists Player Allocation Drafts Foreign Players Awards Annual Awards Player of the Week Player of the Month

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References