Sky Blue FC (0-14-5, 5 points) will return to National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) action on Wednesday, traveling to play Portland Thorns FC (9-6-6, 33 points) at Providence Park. The match-up gets underway at 11:00 p.m. ET, and fans can watch the action live on NWSLsoccer.com or the NWSL app.
Wednesday night marks the third meeting of the season between these two clubs, with Portland holding a 1-0-1 advantage in 2018. Their first encounter took place on June 27 at Providence Park, with the end result being a 1-1 draw. In that match-up, the Thorns took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Christine Sinclair set up a Lindsey Horan goal in the 45th minute, but Sky Blue FC equalized in the 77th minute on a Carli Lloyd penalty kick conversion to split the points.
The second time these two teams played was on July 21 at Yurcak Field, where Portland edged Sky Blue FC by a tally of 2-1. The Thorns struck twice in the first seven minutes to gain an early 2-0 advantage, but their attack was blanked the rest of the way. Sky Blue FC did pull one back in the 27th minute on a Savannah McCaskill to Imani Dorsey tally, but a count of 2-1 remained when the final whistle was eventually blown.
Sky Blue FC was last on the pitch this past Saturday, coming within seconds of defeating Utah Royals FC at Yurcak Field. A Raquel Rodriguez to Katie Johnson connection in the 14th minute gave the hosts a 1-0 lead, which was later stretched to a pair of goals in the 48th minute when Johnson scored her second of the night. Utah pulled within a single notch in the 58th minute following a Sky Blue FC own goal, and an Amy Rodriguez equalizer leveled the count at 2-2 in the 4th minute of second-half stoppage time. Following her brace in the contest, Johnson received NWSL Player of the Week accolades.
Portland also played to a 2-2 draw in its most recent action when it hosted the Chicago Red Stars last Saturday night at Providence Park.
Historically, this overall series stands at 6-6-3, with Sky Blue FC holding a 4-3-2 advantage at Providence Park.
Wednesday night marks the start of a four-game road stretch for Sky Blue FC. The team returns home to Yurcak Field for its 2018 season finale on Saturday, September 8, hosting the Orlando Pride for a noon kickoff. Tickets for that game are available now online or by calling 888-SBFC-TIX (888-723-2849). The first 1,500 fans through the gates will receive a Carli Lloyd bobblehead, courtesy of Brielle Orthopedics.
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