In their home opener, the Portland Thorns put together a solid performance, finding a 3-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars.
Although the Thorns started with almost exactly the same XI they used against Sky Blue last week, save the insertion of Midge Purce in the place of Tyler Lussi, formation changes led to a significantly different lineup than what we saw against New Jersey. Portland moved back to the three-back, slotting Gabby Seiler in the backline. Dagny Brynjarsdottir dropped back to defensive center mid, and Ana Maria Crnogorcevic stepped in as a Christine Sinclair-like ten, leaving Purce and Simone Charley up top.