Match Preview: Angel City at Portland Thorns FC | 11.1.24

Friday, November 1, at 7:00 p.m., Angel City is on the road for their final match of 2024 against the Portland Thorns FC. The match will stream live on Prime Video. An English-language radio broadcast will be available on iHeart.

The club will host a watch party at the Football Boutique at 557 E Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015.

Matchup

Angel City’s last game was a 1–1 draw at home against the Utah Royals on October 20. Utah midfielder Claudia Zornoza opened the scoring, with ACFC forward Sydney Leroux equalizing in the second half.

Portland’s last game was a 0–1 loss on the road to Racing Louisville FC.

Angel City last played the Thorns on September 23 in LA. That contest ended in a 2–2 draw following goals by Alyssa Thompson and Claire Emslie for ACFC and by Morgan Weaver and Olivia Moultrie for Portland. Angel City have a 1–1–2 (W–L–D) record all-time in the regular season against the Thorns.

Portland are in seventh place with a 9–12–4 record. Their playoff slot is not yet secure, as a loss this weekend and a win by Louisville could see them eliminated, depending on the two teams’ goal differentials in their games. Angel City are in 11th place with a 7–12–6 record.

Scouting Report

Since these two teams last faced off just over a month ago, Portland have continued a downward slide that started after the Olympic break, earning one win and three losses in that time. Their single win in that time period, however, was against the Orlando Pride, the best team in the league. That was a 2–0 home win off the strength of goals by forwards Morgan Weaver and Christine Sinclair.

Regardless of the result on Friday, Sinclair will be the biggest storyline, as the 41-year-old veteran will retire after the 2024 season ends. If the Thorns miss out on the playoffs, that end could come this Friday—and regardless, it will be her last home game for the club where she has spent her whole NWSL career.

Sinclair is one of the all-time greats of the women’s game, with a strong argument for being the best, period: with 190 goals for Canada, she is the most prolific international goal scorer in history, female or male. For Portland, she has 65 goals in 198 regular-season appearances and is one of just three active players to have spent her entire NWSL career with the same club.

Sinclair’s production has slowed down over the last few seasons, but she has remained an important contributor, appearing in every game this season—including 15 starts—and earning three goals and an assist.

Legends All Around

Few players in the world have had careers as long as Sinclair’s, but Angel City has two players—Christen Press and Sydney Leroux—who have had similarly impactful NWSL careers.

Both players are in the all-time top 10 list for career goals, having traded spots on that list several times this season. Most recently, Leroux’s goal against Utah pulled her level with Press for the number eight slot at 48, just a week after Press had hit that number herself.

“It’s incredible to have players like that,” said defender Sarah Gorden after the Utah match. “They have so much knowledge and they guide the younger players—Messiah [Bright], Alyssa [Thompson]—so being able to have those veteran influences in the team makes a really big difference.”

Earlier this week, Angel City announced that Leroux had signed a new three-year contract that will keep her in LA through 2027, and the forward—a UCLA graduate—says she expects to stay at ACFC for the rest of her career.