An early goal by midfielder Katy Freels was not enough, as Sky Blue FC watched their winless streak hit ten games when they squandered a first-half lead to the Portland Thorns on Friday.
The Thorns drew a crowd of 12,223 fans to the game in Portland. The Thorns have nearly been unbeatable at home, losing just one of their last 11 home games.
Sky Blue struck first in the 27th minute when midfielder Taylor Lytle fed Freels with a ball just outside the box as she was able to make a great run to beat the last defender. Thorns goalie Michelle Betos had no choice but to come out of the goal, when Freels struck a chip shot that went over Betos’ head and in to the left of the goal.
That was the lone goal scored in the first half and Sky Blue went into the break with a 1 – 0 lead. Sky Blue has gotten out to an early lead in three of their last five games, but they have not been able to hold on through the second half and pull out a win.
In the 69th minute a controversial red card led to Portland’s first scoring chance. Sky Blue midfielder Cami Levin took down forward Genovev Anonma with a tackle just inside the box, and after some delegation, she was sent off with a red card.
After the red card, midfielder Allie Long stepped up to take the penalty kick. Sky Blue goalkeeper Brittany Cameron guessed left, Long went right and scored on the penalty to pull the game even at 1 – 1. The goal moved Long in to first-place on the Thorns all-time scoring list with 17 goals.
In the 78th minute, the Thorns scored their second goal in a span of less than ten minutes when defender Alyssa Kleiner struck a cross into the center of the box and midfielder Sinead Farrelly was able to make solid contact with her head and knock it right past Cameron.
“In the first half, I thought we were clearly the better team and created more chances,” Sky Blue FC Technical Director and Head Coach Jim Gabarra said. “Having a penalty kick and a player sent off in the second half forced us to make an adjustment for which we did not have an answer. With that said, I feel that we battled really hard, despite being down a player, and we still created some opportunities to come away with a point. Overall, I am really proud of the way our players performed tonight, and we will continue to move forward as a team.”
The three game losing streak is Sky Blue’s longest such streak this season. Their offensive struggles continue to hamper their season.
Sky Blue were able to welcome a couple of players home from international duty, with the return of midfielder Caitlin Foord and forward Samantha Kerr who were both away playing for the Australian National Team in the Women’s World Cup.
The loss pushes Sky Blue’s record on the season to 1-6-4 as they remain at the bottom of the table. The win moves the Thorns record to 3-3-4 and bumps them up from eighth to seventh on the table as they jumped over the Boston Breakers.
Sky Blue will look to finally secure their second win of the season when they get a rematch with the Portland Thorns at home in Piscataway, NJ on Saturday, July 11.
