The New & the Old Thorns Guard
The Portland Thorns have found an incredible balance between the firepower of warm blooded youngsters and the control of poised veterans, which has rewarded them with the NWSL Championship, and a team that has the potential to win now and extend their run in the future. There are four key pieces to this team’s Yin and Yang of football talents, starting from the Yang, the “chaos”, which is composed of the MVP Sophia Smith and the box to box midfielder Samantha Coffey. Instead the Yin, the “order”, is composed of two time World Cup winner and USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn, and Olympic gold medalist Christine Sinclair.
Starting from the two players with more miles and experience, we have an immeasurable amount of memorable moments and accolades. At age 37, Becky Sauerbrunn has been the pillar of most of the teams she has played for, both at international and club level. Described as a leader by all of her teammates, yet a person who will listen and provide help with matters both on and off the field, she is always composed under pressure and always in control of the situation. Carrying a quiet confidence, she manages to give her all and provide for the team, even when not starting from the first minute. Her best moment comes with the 2015 USWNT at the World Cup where, at centre back, she played every minute of all games and led the team to the trophy, dominating Japan 5 - 2 in the final.
Christine Margareth Sinclair, captain of the Portland Thorns and of the Canadian national team, is arguably one of the best players in football despite her being nearly 40. Always described as an inspiration to her generation and the ones before and after, Christine Sinclair has been a highly prolific goalscorer since her early youth. Having played 20 seasons with the national team, Sinclair has many caps under her belt, so much so that she is the all-time leading goalscorer of both men and women in international competitions with 190 goals scored. She is also the second footballer of either sex to score at five World Cup editions, only preceded by women’s football legend Marta Vieira da Silva.
Going from the masters to the students, there are two players with tons of potential and with charismatic playing styles. USWNT newentry Sophia Smith is only 22 years of age and already has 25 appearances and 11 goals for the national team, and 21 goals in 39 appearances for the Portland Thorns. Drafted first overall in the 2020 NWSL College Draft, Sophia Smith is a very pacey dribbler with a clinical right foot and a real “smell” for the goal. In 2022, she was awarded with regular season and Finals MVP, marking the start of her era of domination.
23 year old Samantha Coffey’s potential is still largely unrealised as she only has 3 caps with the USWNT and 19 games for the Portland Thorns. She does exhibit some very interesting defensive and offensive statistics for a player of her age, with her interceptions being at the 98th percentile and her vertical passes ranking at the 86th percentile. All signs point towards a career of success, and we are here to witness it.
It is undeniable that the Portland Thorns are the sensation of the NWSL, having proven their current overall team talent by winning the NWSL Finals, and having the young talents to keep dominating the league and elevating women’s football. If you want to bid on the shirts of the NWSL Finals Champions click here