Portland Thorns FC Subreddit

Hey all,

I had the privilege to speak with Portland's newest CB, Sam Hiatt, at the 2023 NWSL Championship media day and sharing a new (shorter version - full version available during season) Kickin' It.

As a reminder, Kickin' It is all non-soccer questions so the players get a break from the usual soccer talk.

Kickin' It with Sam Hiatt

https://open.substack.com/pub/stumptownfooty/p/kickin-it-with-sam-hiatt?r=29z1de&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Now that Sinc and Becky are officially retired...Who's our next captain?? My #1 prediction/choice would be Sam Coffey (or Kling if she's healthy and resigns)

Sorry Friends - I know this is typically all thorns related content. However, for the love of soccer I was wondering if anyone knew a team looking for a female player.

I’ve been trying to find a team and have had little to no luck. Any help would be appreciated Sherwood/tualatin/portland

Hi all,

Wanted to take a pause from the offseason coverage to bring attention to a piece I wrote during the season. If you read one story from me ever, let it be this one.

NO PAYWALL*
Payton Linnehan - More Than a Footballer
https://stumptownfooty.substack.com/p/payton-linnehan-way-more-than-a-footballer

Hi all! My wife has been dying to get her hands on a Thorns license plate frame, I’ve been checking periodically for years without luck on their official merch site. I have seen them on cars around the area before, are they something that were sold at one point and haven’t been brought back in ages? Anyone know of a good place to get a custom one done?

What went wrong for the Portland Thorns this season?

Stumptown Footy's Melina Gaspar breaks it down with the first part of her 2024 review.

Link:
https://open.substack.com/pub/stumptownfooty/p/the-thorns-analyzing-what-went-wrong?r=29z1de&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

All this talk of contracts lately I'm seriously wondering how much these players get paid in their contracts...Is there any public knowledge of it??

How much would the Thorns pay Becky for one more year? How much would they pay Coffey to stay in Portland after her contract is up? How much was the Fleming money for her to make the move to the NWSL? Does anyone even know how much a Thorns rookie contract is?

I'm big into contracts and stuff for other sports, and was also kinda curious why NWSL salary isn't revealed a bit more

I'm starting to get nervous...

I guess I don’t exactly know how good Sam Hiatt or Daiane are, but I just don’t get why we aren’t trying to get big name people. Now that Sinc is retired and we can allocate her salary elsewhere I feel like we should be able to strike a big deal with someone like Girma, Sonnett, Gorden etc. Do we think a bigger signing is coming?

Where can I find one of these? I’m a 3rd year North End STH and stop by riveters store almost every game and have never seen one for sale. Built a new workshop and want to fly the flag. (Would also go for a Jolly Rosie flag) Thanks!

Reyna Reyes (6th), Sam Hiatt (16th), and Becky Sauerbrunn (20th) all ranked in the NWSL top 20 for aerial duels % won in 2024.

RR has been severely underrated and continues to get better.

The Hiatt signing was massive and she's expected to be a big contributor in 2025.

Becky Sauerbrunn returning this season as part of an improved center back rotation would be so important. Her leadership is irreplaceable. As of now, it's still up in the air, but the feeling is she'll be back. Kling and Becky both deserve a proper farewell season.

Expect more moves/announcement this offseason.

I signed up for the season ticket waitlist and haven’t gotten any information yet. Does anyone know when they are doing that? Has it already started and I’ve missed something? Thanks!

Has anyone bought one of the mystery boxes from the Thorns? They are selling for $55 and claim to have $140 worth of stuff. Just wondering if anyone has found them to be worth it or if it’s generally excess crappy inventory.

A dominating, if not terrorizing German Under-23 team beat Spain 3-0 in their home game at Unterhaching near Munich on matchday 3 of the group stage in the development tournament (you can re-watch the game on Youtube - if region blocking allows it). Marie Müller (Portland Thorns) started as right back alongside Tacoma-born playmaker Gia Corley (TSG Hoffenheim), and in her 72 minutes on the pitch she enthralled the German livestream commentator into saying her performance was "a big letter of application [for the WNT] that she's delivering today".

The game started with a moment of silence for the victims of the flood disaster in the Valencia area in Spain which left at least 229 people dead and at least 60,000 households in ruins in late October. (I have to say seeing Spanish players crying during that minute was heart-wrenching.) Germany pressed aggressively early on, forcing Spanish mistakes. Corley initiated the first chance after six minutes with a pass for Werder Bremen's Tuana Mahmoud who lifted the ball over Spanish goalie Eunate Astralaga, but West Ham's Shekiera Martinez, born to an American mother of Mexican and German descent, couldn't convert the header onto the almost open goal. Three minutes later Mahmoud did it better when Bayer Leverkusen's Kristin Kögel crossed the ball from the left wing and Bremen's striker volleyed the ball into the net from the penalty spot for the early 1-0 lead. Spain had its first opportunity after a corner in the 14th minute when Ariana Arias (VfL Wolfsburg) reached the ball inbetween the chaos, but Müller swept her shot off the line. Müller's pass in the 17th minute for Eintracht Frankfurt's Carlotta Wamser had consequences for Spains goalie as she left her penalty box and came too late for the clearance, but just in time for the foul on Wamser. However, the German (!) referee Angelika Söder refrained from showing her a possible red card for DOGSO, booking her with yellow, instead.

Even when not directly involved in critical situations, Marie Müller showed what she has learned at Portland from players like Sophia Smith, Hina Sugita or Christine Sinclair. The way she got out of pressure from Athletic Bilbao's Sara Ortega with a roll stop and served Mahmoud for a free run towards the box in the 18th minute was definitely worthy of the big names at Providence Park. Germany stayed on the front foot, but failed to represent in front of the goal when they needed to. And Müller showed off again in the 30th minute when Mahmoud forwarded Sofie Zdebel's blocked shot to the Portlander in the box. The right full-back drifted a bit to the side instead of going for the goal and then passed the ball back to Mahmoud with a heel flick. Astralaga parried Mahmoud's shot, but Müller's assist was mouth-watering, prompting the announcer to say: "Whoa, they're really unwrapping now. Whether she learned that playing in the USA remains her secret, but really cool by Marie Müller."

Seconds later, Wamser missed a pass across the face of goal by Corley. The next chance in the 33rd minute came as Müller completed a give-and-go with Wamser who crossed the ball to Martinez, but the Londoner-by-choice was denied by Nahia Aparicio at the near post. At halftime, the score stood 1-0 for Germany, and Spain was well off with that intermediate result.

The teams switched sides, but the game went on like in the first half, with Germany dominating. The only thing missing was accuracy in the setup for the shot. Except when Müller got the ball from Martinez on the right wing and delivered a short backpass to Mahmoud who sent the ball over the crossbar from 13 yards out just shy of completing the 60th minute. Martinez left the pitch shortly afterwards. As Germany had difficulties developing chances in the box, shots from a distance became more popular, initiated by Bayer Leverkusen's Selina Ostermeier. Seconds later, Werder Bremen's Sophie Weidauer, who had replaced Martinez, missed the goal by a yard after Kögel's pass. Two minutes later, Müller's cross from the right was blocked, but Müller followed through, taking the ball away from Nerea Nevado at the six yard box and created a melee from which Sophie Nachtigall and Weidauer produced blocked shots (67th minute). Shortly afterwards, Under-20 World Cup participant Jella Veit fired from the distance, and her deflected shot missed the goal by inches. Seconds later, after another defended corner, Müller got the ball more than 30 yards out and fired a shot that struck the crossbar's top edge. So close to her second goal in the competition...

In the 72nd minute Marie Müller's work was done. She was subbed off for Eintracht Frankfurt's Tomke Schneider who also was part of the German Under-20 World Cup team that was eliminated by the USA in the penalty shootout of the quarter-final match. Likewise, Gia Corley was replaced by Mathilde Janzen (Kristianstads DFF). The rest of the game can be quickly summarized. Mahmoud, Katharina Piljic (Bayer Leverkusen) and Janzen missed half-chances before Weidauer decided the game with a lob over Astralaga following a vertical pass by Janzen in the 84th minute to score the 2-0. After Spain's best chance of the night, a counter-attack where German keeper Rafaela Borggräfe (of Müller's former club SC Freiburg) denied Jone Amezaga's free shot, Weidauer closed up the game in the 89th minute with her second goal of the night, beating Astralaga at the near post after getting past Ortega in the box, completing the final score of 3-0.

In the second match of the day, Italy and Belgium drew 1-1. Germany leads the group with 7 points after 3 games played, ahead of Italy with 5 points, followed by France (3 points in 2 games) and Belgium (1 point in 2 games). Spain resides at the bottom with 0 points and 0 goals scored in two matches. On Monday, Belgium will host Germany and Spain will meet France for matchday 4 of the group.

Are you ready for a fun Q & A? I'm honored to be joined by Portland Thorns' star defender, Marie Müller!

Kickin' It consists of all non-soccer questions for players to get a break from the usual soccer talk.

Did you know her favorite TV Show is Grey's Anatomy?
Her favorite German food is...More Here👇

https://open.substack.com/pub/stumptownfooty/p/kickin-it-with-marie-muller?r=29z1de&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Marie Müller is one of just two German players for the U-23 national team playing abroad, the other being Kristianstads' Mathilde Janzen. Coach Kathrin Peter nominated 23 players for two matches against Spain (Thursday, 6:30 pm CET, 9:30 am PT, live on Youtube) and Belgium on December 2nd, including German-American Gia Corley of Hoffenheim and Freiburg's Shekiera Martinez, who has an American mother of Mexican and German descent. Among the nominees are 8 players who participated in the tough 3-1 loss after penalties in the most recent Under-20 World Cup against the USA in September. Others are on call or, like Hamburg's Lisa Baum, have been nominated for the first stage of the UEFA Under-19 Euro qualifiers against Kosovo, Greece and Denmark this week.

U-23 Nominees:

Goal: Rebecca Adamczyk, Rafaela Borggräfe (both SC Freiburg), Laura-Johanna Dick (TSG Hoffenheim)

Field: Gia Corley, Vanessa Diehm (both TSG Hoffenheim), Laura Gloning (FC Bayern Munich), Mathilde Janzen (Kristianstads DFF, Sweden), Kristin Kögel, Julia Mickenhagen, Selina Ostermeier, Katharina Piljic, Sofie Zdebel (all Bayer Leverkusen), Julia Landenberger, Marleen Schimmer (both RB Leipzig), Tuana Mahmoud, Larissa Mühlhaus, Sophie Weidauer (all Werder Bremen), Shekiera Martinez (SC Freiburg), Marie Müller (Portland Thorns), Sophie Nachtigall, Tomke Schneider, Jella Veit, Carlotta Wamser (all Eintracht Frankfurt)

Hi all! We are newer diehard Thorns’ fans & now want to show our support by becoming season ticket holders. I have done some deep dives into best seats for us (fun, close to the field, being able to see the whole field, sun not in our eyes). I’ve only sat in TR. I appreciate the amenities, but I want more of the energy and community vibe I see happening closer to the pitch. I think I’m leaning towards 117(ish), but I would love to know your pros and cons for your preferred section. Our time to purchase is tomorrow afternoon. I sure love the Thorns whether they win or lose! Thank you so much!