Sky Blue FC defeated the Portland Thorns 1-0 in dramatic fashion in front of a sellout crowd that set an attendance record of 5,547 fans.
Scoring opened in the 19th minute when Sky Blue forward Sam Kerr had possession just outside the left side of the box, she sent a cross into the middle that met the feet of midfielder Kelley O’Hara who drew the attention of defenders before tapping it over to forward Nadia Nadim who was able to knock it into the net and put Sky Blue up 1-0.
The score remained 1 – 0 going into the halftime whistle as both teams fought for possession. Thorns goalie Nadine Angerer played a great game as she managed to stuff several one-on-one chances that Sky Blue attackers had on goal. The goalie on the other side is the one who grabbed all of the attention though.
Sky Blue still held their 1-0 lead in the 87th minute when Thorns forward Christine Sinclair brought the ball in on net. Sky Blue goalie Brittany Cameron closed in on her and went to jump on the ball, but took Sinclair down in the process, garnering a yellow card for the goalie, and a penalty kick for the Thorns.
Thorns forward Alex Morgan, who was subbed into the game in the 60th minute, stepped up to take the penalty kick. On the whistle, she fired a shot to the left of goal, but Cameron made a fantastic diving save to stop the PK. The save was deflected right back to Morgan though, who was met with a wide open net. She put a shot back on goal, but Cameron was able to get up and dive the opposite direction to save the second attempt and preserve Sky Blue’s 1 – 0 lead in the 89th minute.
“I created the penalty, so the least I could do was help my team out,” Cameron said of the penalty kick. “We wanted to win as a team, and I apologized to my teammates for it after it happened. We discussed it, and then they told me ‘Alright, go fix it now.’ That is what we do. We pump each other up and have trust in each other, from the bench to the players on the field to the coaching staff. That is the amazing part of the game of soccer.”
After the late-game theatrics, the final whistle blew and Sky Blue walked off with the impressive 1 – 0 win. It’s been a tale of two seasons for team from NJ, after winning just one game in the first 10 contests of the season, they’ve only lost one game in their last seven.
Those saves at the end just tallied onto the Cameron’s league-leading save count which currently stands at 81. The goalie has had a fantastic season, though Sky Blue is officially eliminated from playoff contention as they sit seven points behind FC Kansas City for fourth place on the table.
“This was a really exciting game,” said Jim Gabarra, Sky Blue FC Technical Director & Head Coach. “In the end, there were a lot of goal scoring opportunities, and we were able to overcome some tough situations to get the win. I am really happy and gratified for the team, considering that these are the types of games that went against us in the first half of the season. In front of this crowd, it is very rewarding to show them such a quality product. Hopefully, this can go a long way to creating momentum for us off the field in the future.”
Sky Blue has two games remaining this season. Next week they will meet the Seattle Reign on the road. They will return home to Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ for their final match of the season on Wednesday, September 2 when they take on the playoff-bound FC Kansas City.
