Match Preview: Seattle Reign at Portland Thorns

Seattle Reign continue their season-opening road trip tomorrow with a visit to Providence Park to face the Portland Thorns. The match kicks off at 7 PM PT and will air on Prime Video. This will only be the second time the Reign have visited the Thorns in league play before having a home game, the prior time coming all the way back in the league’s inaugural season of 2013.

Portland opened their season at the Washington Spirit, winning 1-0 thanks to a second-half goal from midfielder Olivia Moultrie. Seattle made their third consecutive visit to the Orlando Pride, winning 2-1 in a game marred by weather delays and compounded by difficult travel to and from the Sunshine State, which might factor into lineup decisions and tactics tomorrow.

“We've just got to go with what we think and how people are feeling,” head coach Laura Harvey told reporters on Thursday after detailing the myriad travel issues the team experienced. “I think the other piece, which blew my mind honestly, seeing some of the physical data after our game, is that the players that didn't even touch the field, their data numbers were as if they played nearly 90 minutes because of the three warm-ups we ended up doing and all that goes into a rain delay game. I'd never seen physical numbers like them. Our starters probably did numbers that they would do in nearly two games in that game. So that on top of all the other stuff. There's no one that you can look at and go, 'They're fresh and ready.' Everybody's sort of in the same boat. So, we've just got to go with how we feel, how people are feeling, making sure we don't put anyone at a huge risk of injury as best we possibly can. And obviously try and put the best team out there to try and get a result.”

The Reign will again be without Shae Holmes, Jordyn Bugg, and Sally Menti, who are returning from minor injuries picked up in the preseason. Mia Fishel will also miss her first Cascadia rivalry match, as the forward subbed out with what looked like hamstring tightness last weekend.

Similar to the Reign, the core of Portland’s roster remains mostly unchanged from last year, aside from one major departure and one key addition. They also dismissed head coach Rob Gale soon after their season ended, operating through the off-season and most of the preseason with interim coach Sarah Lowdon before appointing new head coach Robert Vilahamn, formerly of Tottenham in the Women’s Super League, just 9 days before their opening game. How much his arrival will influence their tactics remains to be seen.

Head-to-Head

Despite some spans of lopsided results for both sides, the all-time series is nearly even, with Seattle holding a 16-17-10 record in all competitions against Portland. That includes a 7-11-4 record on the road at Providence Park. The Reign have scored 46 goals and conceded 49 in the derby.

Key departures

Portland saw one major departure in the off-season, transferring midfielder Sam Coffey to Manchester City in January. They also did not offer a new contract to defender Kaitlyn Torpey, who started half of their games last year.

Key additions

Portland’s biggest addition of the off-season wasn’t a new signing, but the return of forward Sophia Wilson, who is back after missing the entire 2025 season while on maternity leave. She featured for the final 13 minutes of last week’s game and is expected to ramp back up to more minutes and eventually a starting role as the season progresses. Their other signings were primarily college players who featured sparingly as subs in the opening game.

What to watch

Fitness and the press: Seattle just went through a travel nightmare and has a midweek game against Kansas City coming up in Spokane. Portland had two extra days of recovery after their game in Washington, DC, and no travel disruptions, although they have to travel to San Diego midweek. Are we going to see the same aggressive press out of Laura Harvey’s side that tilted the field in their favor in the first half last week, or will the team revert to their more defense-first shape to save energy and challenge the Thorns to break them down while looking for opportunities on the counter?

Wide play: It’s no secret that Laura Harvey likes to push her fullbacks forward aggressively to serve crosses and provide width in attack. Orlando exploited that tendency in the second half last week, playing into the space behind Sofia Huerta and forcing the already-cautioned Emily Mason to defend 1v1 on Barba Banda’s goal. The Reign eventually adjusted by keeping Huerta back and sending Madison Curry forward instead. Portland plays with speedy wide forwards who like to get chalk on their boots; the Reign will need to limit opportunities for them to run into space near the corners.

Absences and depth: Centerbacks Jordyn Bugg and Shae Holmes remain out for the Reign while rehabbing from injuries. Emily Mason filled in at centerback last week and is likely to start there again. For Portland, goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold is still with Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup final, while Bella Bixby is out for the season with a knee injury, meaning the relatively untested Morgan Messner is expected to make her second NWSL league start. How will they and other young players handle the pressure of a rivalry match in front of a big crowd?

Who to watch

Olivia Moultrie: The 20-year-old really came into her own last season, establishing herself as a star in the league and a USWNT regular. She’s a physical presence, has a strong foot, and has good field awareness to look for second balls and make late runs into the box. Last week, she scored Portland’s goal off one of those runs, shaking her mark in midfield and running onto a cross between two Spirit defenders.

The first goal of the 2026 NWSL season goes to Olivia Moultrie and the Portland Thorns!
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2026-03-14T01:24:30.694Z

The Reign midfield will need to keep track of her at the top of the box and avoid committing fouls within 25 yards of goal, where she’s also become quite adept at scoring off free kicks.

Sophia Wilson: Wilson might not have a big role in this game, but it's almost certain that she’ll make an appearance at some point in the second half. When that happens, the Portland crowd is sure to erupt regardless of the scoreline. And if she gets onto the ball close to goal? We all hope the members of Triple Espresso get back to their scoring form soon, just not against us.

Jessie Fleming: With the departure of Coffey, Fleming has been tasked with carrying more of the load in midfield for the Thorns. The Canadian international had a big game last week, winning 9 of her 11 duels, a match-high 6 tackles, 13 recoveries, an interception and a blocked shot while only being dribbled past once. She also created two scoring chances for the team.