"The Portland Thorns is the Promised Land of women's soccer . . ."
Opening near the start of the final chapter of Gwendolyn Oxenham's new book, Under the Lights and in the Dark: Untold Stories of Women's Soccer, the phrase boldly puts down a marker about soccer and The Rose City. Moreover, turning the oft-used phrase on its head, judging this book by its cover–an image of Thorns FC celebrating at Providence Park–it's clear why Oxenham feels that Portland has something special with women's soccer.
The book, now out in hardcover, dives into stories across the spectrum of women's soccer with perspectives from around the globe on the challenges and rewards of the game and how it is growing, changing and evolving in various forms.