Portland Thorns vs Washington Spirit match
The gist
The No. 3 seed Washington Spirit host the No. 6 Portland Thorns in an NWSL quarterfinal on Nov.
The winner moves on, and the Spirit beat Portland 2-1 in Portland in September.
How it unfolded
- Sep 6, 2026Portland Thorns fell 1-2 to Washington Spirit at Providence Park, ending a 13-match home unbeaten streak; Sophia Wilson scored a penalty, Tara Rudd equalized and Mélissa Bethi scored the winner in the 80th minute.
- Oct 25, 2026Washington Spirit lost 2-1 to Kansas City Current.
- Nov 1, 2026The Spirit beat Chicago Stars FC 2-0 at home to clinch the No. 3 seed, and the Thorns beat Houston Dash 2-0 away. The NWSL announced the Spirit would host Portland in a quarterfinal on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. EST at Audi Field, airing on ABC.
Key terms
- NWSL
- A women's professional soccer league that is the highest level of the United States soccer league system.
- quarterfinal
- A stage in a knockout tournament with sixteen competitors, from which winners advance to the quarter-finals.
- seed
- The practice of separating the most skilled competitors in a tournament bracket so they do not meet in early rounds.
Source: Wikipedia