In their first home game without national team members, who headed off to training for the Olympics, Mark Parsons proved yet again that the Thorns are more than just their star athletes. As he said in Friday’s press conference, for him it was not about replacing missing players, it was about reconstructing the team to make sure that what those players contributed was still present. Parsons succeeded. Unfortunately that success included mimicking a lack of finish in the front line. While a few unlucky shots on both sides hit the crossbars, the Thorns doubled the amount of shots that Gotham took and was still unable to get anything in the back of the net. All credit to Gotham keep Didi Haracic, who was named Budweiser Player of the Match, and their defense for clearing several close calls off the line. Gotham forward, Ifeoma Onumonu, also cleared a dangerous one. While both sides played a bit rough, Gotham was not as clever with their fouls, and ended the night with four yellows while Portland walked away with none.

The other story of the night was that a 15 year old, Olivia Moultrie, was able to blend into the Thorns line-up with the same confidence as the seasoned professionals around her. While she didn’t stand out this match, that in itself is remarkable. With this game under their belt, it will be interesting to see what Portland will do next Sunday when they host the Orlando Pride, who currently fall just above them in the standings.

Next Sunday’s match will be relegated to a streaming service because, as we know from experience, consistent TV coverage is for men’s soccer (even though they have less viewership) while women’s soccer is really around to boost streaming services’ memberships. If you’re trying to figure out which service it is this time – Godspeed.