Sky Blue FC broke their ten-game winless streak as they came away with a 1 – 0 victory over the Portland Thorns FC. Australian forward Sam Kerr scored the game’s lone goal in her first-ever appearance for Sky Blue.
The goal came in the 52nd minute when defender Maya Hayes made a run up the left side of the pitch toward the corner flag when she fired a cross right into the center of the box where Kerr was waiting and met the ball with her head, firing it past Thorns goalie Michelle Betos.
The Sky Blue defense and goalie Brittany Cameron were able to post their second clean sheet of the season. Both of Sky Blue’s wins this year came when they shutout the other team. With the way the offense has been producing, the defense needs to consistently play this well.
The first half of the game was a battle for possession. Both defenses stood tall and refused to let up their position. Sky Blue had a couple of dangerous scoring attempts, but came up empty-handed heading into the half. After the Sky Blue goal, Portland really turned up the attack on offense. From the 60th minute on, the Thorns had numerous scoring opportunities, but Sky Blue had really parked the bus on the defensive end and refused to let up the lead.
In extra time Sam Kerr had a shot at her second goal, outrunning the defense and taking it herself into the right side of the box, she fired a shot that missed just left, skimming the outside of the post.
“We played really well the whole game and we controlled the game,” Kerr said. “I had faith that we would keep it, we had way more chances. We haven’t won many lately, so we were going to hold this one out for sure.”
Kerr had played the last two seasons with the Western New York Flash and was away on international duty with Australia to begin the current season. She is a great addition upfront, next to forward Nadia Nadin, for a team that has been struggling to score goals.
Sky Blue has still yet to score more than one goal in any of their 12 games this season. This win could potentially swing some momentum their way, as they aren’t quite out of the playoff picture just yet.
“There’s still a pathway,” Sky Blue FC Technical Director & Head Coach Jim Gabarra said. “It’s going to be hard, but it’s still in our hands. We have teams right ahead of us, if we handle our business against them, and we let the teams with the tiebreaker on us go and get the right results, there’s still a way we can get in.”
This was the biggest crowd that Sky Blue had drawn this season, with a showing of just over 3,000 fans. As part of the NWSL Welcome Back Weekend for some of the league’s biggest stars, Sky Blue saw the return of captain Christie Rampone and Kelley O’Hara, though neither would play. Star forward Alex Morgan, returning to the Portland Thorns, was also on hand to take in the action.
The win moves Sky Blue to 2-6-4 on the season, though they remain in last on the table. The loss has the Thorns sitting in seventh at 3-4-4.
Sky Blue FC has their next match on Sunday, July 19 at the Western New York Flash. They return home to Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ on Saturday, July 25 when they get their second match of the season against the Boston Breakers.
