There was a point in the middle of this July, before the vibes of the NWSL’s Fall Series surrounded the Portland Thorns with a hopeful feel, that the team’s year was defined by doubt. Amid COVID-19, worries about whether the team would play or how safe those games would be had been answered, allowing fan’s focus and worry to move back to the field. Coming off 2019’s third-place finish, had Portland figured out how to right its course? And what would an avalanche of offseason changes actually mean on the field?
Four games into that transition, it was too soon to tell.