Portland Thorns beat Pride 2-0, handing Orlando its 1st loss of the season

AP Soccer Writer

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Morgan Weaver and Christine Sinclair scored to give the Portland Thorns a 2-0 win over Orlando on Friday night and hand the Pride their first loss of the season.

The Pride (17-1-6) had not lost in 23 matches this season and had a 24-game unbeaten streak dating to last season.

The victory snapped Portland’s seven-game winless streak and kept the team in the playoff race.

“I think we’ve been playing well, especially in these last few games, and to still not get a result after them has been really gut-wrenching,” Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey said “So to play like we did tonight against a team that hasn’t lost yet, and to get the result, it’s hard to put into words how proud I am of the group.”

Portland (9-11-4) took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute when Reyna Reyes popped a header off a corner kick that fell to Weaver, who tapped it in.

Weaver appeared to get injured in the 60th minute.

“We still have some games left and I just wanted to take myself out because I didn’t want to risk anything,” Weaver said. “I’m good.”

Sinclair, who is retiring after 11 seasons, scored in the 55th. It was her 80th goal across all competitions, ranking her second on the NWSL’s career list. The Providence Park crowd gave her a standing ovation when she was subbed out.

Sinclair went down hard after a header attempt late in the first half and appeared to injure her shoulder, but she was checked on the sidelines before returning.

With the NWSL Shield for best regular-season record already secured, Pride coach Seb Hines opted not to start Barbra Banda, Adriana and Marta. Banda leads the Pride with 13 goals this season. All three entered late in the game.

The Thorns, one of the league’s five founding clubs playing their 250th match, were without top scorer Sophia Smith (ankle) and Hina Sugita (facial injury).

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