One of the most used cliches in sports is “defense wins championships.” Generally, fans and neutrals prefer a flashy attacking style of play to an overly defensive philosophy. But it doesn’t have to be either, or. No one would describe the Portland Thorns as a ‘defensive team.’ They don’t sit back and ‘park the bus.’ If anything, the Thorns are an aggressive, attacking, possession-based team.
The Thorns have not been as offensively dominant as they could be. They have consistently underperformed their expected goal values and have struggled to take advantage of the abundance of chances they create.