Friday, March 21, at 7:00 p.m., Angel City is on the road for the first time in 2025 at Portland Thorns FC. The match will stream live on Prime Video, with a radio broadcast on iHeart.
Matchup
Angel City’s last game was a 1–1 draw at home against San Diego Wave FC on Sunday, March 16. Forward Alyssa Thompson scored for Angel City in the 54th minute, leveling the score after Wave forward Gia Corley’s fifth-minute opener.
Portland’s season opener was a 1–3 loss away at Kansas City. Olivia Moultrie notched the single goal for the Thorns shortly into the second half, having gone into the break with the Current up by three.
Angel City last faced Portland in the 2024 season finale, a 0–1 loss on the road. ACFC is 1–2–3 (W–L–D) against the Thorns.
With just one game played, Angel City are in seventh place and Portland are in 13th.
Scouting Report
Portland ended 2024 with a middling sixth-place finish, making it to the playoffs but losing in the first round to NJ/NY Gotham FC. That was only the second season in Thorns history the team finished lower than third; they hadn’t missed the top three since 2015, when they also landed in sixth.
Heading into 2025, the Thorns, who have won more championships than any other NWSL team, have made some adjustments to try to return to their winning ways.
The biggest change came when Canada legend Christine Sinclair, who had played with the Thorns since the league’s inaugural 2013 season, retired at the end of the season. Sinclair, the all-time leading international goal scorer, was also Portland’s longest-tenured player, and leads the club all-time in goals, starts, and appearances.
Former USWNT defender Becky Sauerbrunn announced her retirement in the offseason, while the team parted ways with longtime defenders Meghan Klingenberg and Kelli Hubly, as well as forward Izzy D’Aquila and goalkeeper Shelby Hogan, among others.
To fill the gaps left on the back line, Head Coach Rob Gale brought in three veteran defenders: Sam Hiatt, who started her career in 2020 at Seattle Reign before spending 2024 with Gotham; Brazilian international Daiane; and Australian international Kaitlyn Torpey, who previously played for San Diego. Venezuelan superstar Deyna Castellanos arrived via trade with Bay FC to add goalscoring and creative punch in Sinclair’s absence, and to make up for losing forward Morgan Weaver to a season-ending injury.
The Thorns also have a large rookie class this season, most notably including MAC Hermann finalist Caiya Hanks, a forward out of Wake Forest, as well as former UCLA defender Jayden Perry.
Fountain of Youth
Sunday saw four players under 21—midfielder Kennedy Fuller, defenders Savy King and Gisele Thompson, and Forward Alyssa Thompson—in the starting lineup. All four played major roles in the game, including Alyssa Thompson’s second-half equalizer.
Fuller, who turned 18 exactly a week before Sunday’s season opener, had a standout performance in multiple areas of the pitch, starting with her assist on Thompson’s goal.
Bringing down a pass from midfielder Macey Hodge with an excellent first touch, Kennedy quickly turned her body upfield, noticed the space on the wing San Diego had left open, and sent a long ball perfectly into the path of Alyssa Thompson before two onrushing defenders could close her down.
In addition to the assist, Fuller won seven out of 11 attempted duels, had nine passes in the final third, won possession in the final third once, and created two chances. Gisele Thompson, meanwhile, led the team in passes into the final third, with 11, while King led in final third entries, with seven.
In short, Angel City’s crop of young talent is already showing yields—which will no doubt only grow as they gain experience.
