Roses and Thorns: Win some, lose some

This was always going to be a hard week.

The Thorns were far from perfect against North Carolina. They made mistakes that they explicitly headed into the game wanting to avoid. But the necessary perspective is that this Courage side is without a doubt the most dominant team in the history of the NWSL — and possibly in the history of women’s professional soccer in the United States. In that sense, and several others, this game isn’t without positives — in short, it’s the perfect fit for this column! Let’s break it down.

A rose to the game plan.

Portland’s approach was, in a sense, the opposite of what Utah tried against North Carolina in June. Where Laura Harvey had her team pressure the…