The top two teams in the National Women’s Soccer League meet on Thursday at Jeld-Wen Field.
Sky Blue FC of New Jersey visits the Portland Thorns FC for a 7:30 p.m. match. The Thorns top the standings with four wins and one draw through five games. Sky Blue (3-1-1) is in second place.
This is only the second home game of the season for Portland, which has won four consecutive games — including three in a row on the road.
The Thorns lead the league in both goals scored (nine) and fewest goals against (three).
The Thorns defense of Rachel Buehler, Marian Dougherty, Nikki Mashall, Kat Williamson and goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc has been scored against only once in the last 286 minutes.
Alex Morgan leads the Thorns with three goals and leads the league with 20 shots and 15 shots on goal through five games. Christine Sinclair has two goals.
Sophie Schmidt leads Sky Blue with three goals.
Thursday’s match will be streamed live at www.portlandthornsfc.com with live radio coverage on AM 970.
Timbers part ways with Mosquera — The Portland Timbers on Wednesday announced they reached a mutual agreement with defender Hanyer Mosquera to terminate MLS contract. The move was expected. The Timbers granted Mosquera a leave of absence in April and he has been in his native Colombia since.
Timbers U-23s back in action — The Portland Timbers under-23 squad opens its 2013 Premier Development League season at 11 a.m. Thursday with a match against the Seattle Sounders U-23s at Jeld-Wen Field.
Mark Sherrod’s 78th-minute goal on Tuesday completed a comeback from a two-goal deficit as the Timbers U-23s advanced to the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament with a 3-2 win over the Sacramento Gold. On March 21, the Timbers U-23s will host the Charleston Battery of USL PRO in the second round of the national tournament.
Timbers host U.S. Open Cup game — The Timbers will host a third-round game in the U.S. Open Cup tournament at 7:30 p.m. on May 29 at Jeld-Wen Field. The Timbers will face the winner of the May 21 second-round matchup between the Wilmington Hammerheads (USL PRO) and Austin Aztex (Premier Development League).
This match is included as part of Timbers full-season ticket packages as Exhibition B.
Single-game tickets, starting at $15, go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Jeld-Wen Field box office and online at www.portlandtimbers.com.
All 16 United States-based clubs from Major League Soccer enter the U.S. Open Cup in the third round and will face the 16 remaining teams from the first two rounds of the tournament.
