Racing 1 Thorns 2 Player Ratings

Chidiac dedicates her first Racing goal to Gorp.

Racing and Portland traded first half goals on fantastic individual efforts from Smith then Chidiac, but the Thorns second half goal from Sugita was the decider. For the first time in a while Racing significantly lost the battle in midfield, which probably swayed the match in Portland's favor.

Lund-6: A quick straw poll among friends was split on how much Lund could have done to prevent the second goal. I maintain that she took the incorrect angle on the ball (more side to side vs. head on) but that might be a bit harsh. Conversely, Bixby seemed to either catch the second half chances from Racing cleanly or palm them to safety.

Fox-6: Looked like she might have been nursing a minor injury after the match, which would explain her rather average performance.

Murray-6: She had a decent debut, but found herself one on one vs. Smith on the opener. That's not a position any defender relishes, but she made up for it with some rather physical tussles with Smith later in the match. Subbed off late on a yellow card.

Bonner-6: An unlucky bounce in midfield with Gemma battling Smith contributed to the first goal. I thought the bounce hit Smith's elbow, but the official deemed her arm not to be in an unnatural position (or just missed it) and play continued until Smith scored. This would have been an interesting VAR review.

Milliet-7: The numbers point to her having a better match than I thought, but her positioning needs to improve if she is going to be the full time right back.

Howell-8: She continues to improve and was Racing’s highlight in the midfield. Had 4 shots as well.

DeMelo-6: In the long run, she will probably learn a lot from this performance as the touches she took in this match that might have been successful before somehow didn't work out as well against Portland. All credit to Portland's midfield for that, but I have the feeling Sav will use this match video to get better.

Olofsson-6: Freja had a mixed performance and probably needs to find out where she fits best in Björkegren's system.

Chidiac-8: She was critical of her toe poke final touch on her goal, but you take any shot you can get in that tight space. It was a great effort and instinctual finsih.

McDonald-6: Looked a little off the pace in the first half. She and Nadia couldn't quite find their magical connection in this match. She did get really close to scoring but Bixby made a really good save.

Nadim-6: Needs more time to build on field chemistry with her attacking partners. It was good to see her play the full 90.

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