Although Portland Thorns FC had missed the playoffs in 2015, the 2016 National Women’s Soccer League season arrived amid a sense of optimism. Thanks to an active winter that saw the arrival of a series of new, high-profile talents, the team was looking beyond the previous year’s failures, focusing on two benchmarks that had remained elusive. With talents like Amandine Henry and Lindsey Horan added to the roster, both a playoff home game and the NWSL Shield were in the team’s hopes.
Such were the expectations after the arrivals of Emily Sonnett and Meghan Klingenberg.