For the second consecutive year, it’s NJ/NY Gotham FC that did in the Portland Thorns . A year after eliminating the second-seeded Thorns from the 2023 NWSL semifinals, Gotham FC ended Portland’s season again, defeating the sixth-seeded Thorns 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Red Bull Arena in the quarterfinals of the NWSL playoffs. Rose Lavelle scored the winning goal for No.
2 seed Gotham, one-timing a cross from the right side to beat Portland keeper Shelby Hogan six minutes into stoppage time. The goal came after Portland tied the game in the 75th minute when Reilyn Turner took a beautiful service from Olivia Moultrie on a free kick and headed it into the back of the net. The goal was the first for Portland this season against Gotham, and brought the Thorns right back into the match against a team they had failed to score against in two previous meetings this season.
But Gotham, a team that came into the playoffs having outscored its opponents 15-4 in its previous four games, just had too much firepower at the end. The loss marks the end of Portland’s 10th trip to the postseason and the career of Christine Sinclair’s professional career . The Thorns and Team Canada legend played 63 minutes on Saturday before being subbed out for Turner.
This story will be updated. -- Tyson Alger for The Oregonian/OregonLive.
