• Final stats

Goal-scoring had been an issue for the Orlando Pride in their first two games, and, even after scoring their first non-PK goal, it still might be.

The Pride (0-2-1, 1 point) drew first blood in an end-of-weekend matchup with the Portland Thorns (2-1-0, 6 points) but ultimately fell 2-1 at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon.

“We know how Portland play, how tough it was going to be, and it was exactly that,” Pride head coach Tom Sermanni said, per the Pride. “I thought we did well for spells and did well putting them under pressure for spells.”

One of those spells came early in the match. Forward Alex Morgan, who was making her return to club play after playing two friendlies for the United States, fouled a Portland defender near the Thorns’ box to set up a free kick.

It didn’t end in Portland’s favor, however, as first-year Pride player Christine Nairn intercepted the ensuing pass on the quick restart and slipped the ball past two defenders to a cutting Chioma Ubogagu. Ubogagu, then, finished her inside-the-box chance with a left-footed shot to the far post in the 20th minute.

The Pride’s 1-0 advantage was short-lived, however, as the Thorns responded with two first-half goals to take a lasting lead.

Eight minutes after Ubogagu’s first goal of the season, midfielder Lindsey Horan took advantage of the little space she had at the top of the Pride’s box. She took a touch to her left past two Orlando defenders and dropped a shot out of the reach of a diving Ashlyn Harris.

Horan was also a part of Portland’s game-winning goal. She received the ball in space near the left corner and crossed the ball to midfielder Christine Sinclair, who was posted inside Orlando’s six-yard box. The ball fell almost perfectly to Sinclair’s feet for a simple tap-in, as Harris could do nothing but watch.

“Probably the disappointing thing is we gave away goals that were probably a little bit cheap,” Sermanni said. “They’re the kind of team that make it extremely hard to score against them.”

From a statistical perspective, Portland had every right to win this game. The Thorns out-matched the Pride in almost every notable statistic, out-shooting the Pride 16-10 (8-1 on-target) and out-possessing Orlando with 54.5 percent of possession.

Orlando, however, is still missing the bulk of its primary roster. Without the Brazilians and Australians, the Pride utilized one of their recently signed national-team replacement players: midfielder Abby Elinsky. Elinsky made her National Women’s Soccer League debut, replacing left back Carson Pickett in the 67th minute.

Who’s Next?

The Pride return home to face the Houston Dash on April 22 at 5 p.m.

For more on the Pride, as they still seek their first win of the 2018 season, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.