Sky Blue FC (7-8-5, 26 points) hosted Portland Thorns FC (12-3-5, 41 points) on September 25 in their season finale, and fell after an early surge. With the result favoring Portland Thorns FC, the team earned the 2016 NWSL Shield, having the best record in the league.
Although the two teams looked relatively evenly match in their previous meeting this season, both teams were without the majority of their Olympians, and the full force of Portland's national teamers was too much for Sky Blue to handle.
The match started out optimistically for Sky Blue FC, who started out strong in the sixth minute as Tasha Kai took control of a corner kick from Kelley O'Hara.