# 2022 Portland Thorns FC season

The 2022 Portland Thorns FC season was the team's tenth season as a professional women's soccer team. Thorns FC plays in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.

## Background

In the wake of the 2021 NWSL abuse scandal, Thorns FC placed general manager Gavin Wilkinson on administrative leave from his role with the Thorns, but retained him as the president and general manager of the co-owned Portland Timbers. The team hired retired Thorns FC goalkeeper and Canadian international Karina LeBlanc as Gavin Wilkinson's replacement on November 2, 2021.
Following the exit of head coach Mark Parsons to manage the Netherlands women's national football team, Thorns FC hired another of the club's former players during Riley's tenure, Rhian Wilkinson, as his replacement. Wilkinson had also played on the Canadian national team as a teammate of LeBlanc and longtime Thorns FC and Canadian team captain Christine Sinclair. After her playing career, Wilkinson had been an assistant coach for the Canadian and English national teams.

## Stadium and facilities

Thorns FC continued to play and train in Providence Park, their home since the team's inaugural season in 2013. The team held its preseason training camp in Bend, Oregon.

## Broadcasting

On May 4, 2022, KPTV agreed to broadcast seven regular season Thorns FC matches locally via FOX 12 PLUS. These matches were in addition to the league's national agreements with CBS, Paramount+, and Twitch.

## Team
### Staff

    As of July 25, 2022.
Technical :
| President of soccer | Gavin Wilkinson |
| General manager | Karina LeBlanc |
| Head coach | Rhian Wilkinson |
| Assistant coach | Sophie Clough |
| Assistant coach | Mike Norris |
| Assistant coach | Vytautas Andriuškevičius |
| Goalkeeper coach | Nadine Angerer |
| Medical ||
| Head athletic trainer | Pierre Soubrier |
| Assistant athletic trainer | Kelly Strasser |
| Performance specialist | Tom Milroy |
| Head physician | Breanne Brown |

### Squad

    As of July 25, 2022.
| No. | Name | Date of birth (age) | Since | Previous team | Notes |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Bella Bixby | (1995-11-20)November 20, 1995 (aged 26) | 2018 | Oregon State | |
| 35 | Abby Smith | (1993-10-04)October 4, 1993 (aged 28) | 2021 | Kansas City Current | |
| 43 | Shelby Hogan | (1998-05-10)May 10, 1998 (aged 24) | 2021 | Providence College | |
| Defenders |||||||
| 4 | Becky Sauerbrunn | (1985-06-06)June 6, 1985 (aged 37) | 2020 | Utah Royals FC | |
| 5 | Emily Menges | (1992-07-28)July 28, 1992 (aged 29) | 2014 | Georgetown | |
| 14 | Natalia Kuikka | (1995-12-01)December 1, 1995 (aged 26) | 2020 | Kopparberg/Göteborg FC | INT |
| 20 | Kelli Hubly | (1994-08-09)August 9, 1994 (aged 27) | 2017 | DePaul | |
| 25 | Meghan Klingenberg | (1988-08-02)August 2, 1988 (aged 33) | 2015 | Orlando Pride | |
| 29 | Tegan McGrady | (1997-10-11)October 11, 1997 (aged 24) | 2022 | San Diego Wave FC | |
| 39 | Meaghan Nally | (1998-06-30)June 30, 1998 (aged 24) | 2020 | Georgetown Hoyas | |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 8 | Hina Sugita | (1997-01-31)January 31, 1997 (aged 25) | 2022 | INAC Kobe Leonessa | INT |
| 11 | Raquel Rodríguez | (1993-10-28)October 28, 1993 (aged 28) | 2020 | Sky Blue FC | |
| 13 | Olivia Moultrie | (2005-09-17)September 17, 2005 (aged 16) | 2021 | | |
| 17 | Sam Coffey | (1998-12-31)December 31, 1998 (aged 23) | 2021 | Penn State | |
| 19 | Crystal Dunn | (1992-07-03)July 3, 1992 (aged 30) | 2020 | North Carolina Courage (via OL Reign) | |
| 23 | Yazmeen Ryan | (1999-02-25)February 25, 1999 (aged 23) | 2021 | Texas Christian | |
| 44 | Gabby Provenzano | (1999-08-07)August 7, 1999 (aged 22) | 2022 | Rutgers | |
| 46 | Taylor Porter | (1997-09-29)September 29, 1997 (aged 24) | 2021 | UDG Tenerife | |
| Forwards |||||||
| 9 | Sophia Smith | (2000-08-10)August 10, 2000 (aged 21) | 2020 | Stanford | |
| 12 | Christine Sinclair | (1983-06-12)June 12, 1983 (aged 39) | 2013 | Western New York Flash | |
| 16 | Janine Beckie | (1994-08-20)August 20, 1994 (aged 27) | 2022 | Manchester City W.F.C. | |
| 21 | Marissa Everett | (1997-08-29)August 29, 1997 (aged 24) | 2019 | Oregon | |
| 22 | Morgan Weaver | (1997-10-18)October 18, 1997 (aged 24) | 2020 | Washington State | |
| 37 | Michele Vasconcelos | (1994-05-11)May 11, 1994 (aged 28) | 2022 | Sevilla FC | |
| 41 | Hannah Betfort | (1999-01-04)January 4, 1999 (aged 23) | 2021 | Wake Forest | |
| 45 | Natalie Beckman | (2000-03-25)March 25, 2000 (aged 22) | 2022 | Denver | |
* 1 2 INT: International player

## Competitions
### NWSL Challenge Cup

Portland entered 2022 as the defending NWSL Challenge Cup champions. In 2022, the Thorns competed in the cup's West Division during the group stage.

#### West Division standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RGN | POR | SD | LA |
| 1 | OL Reign | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 14 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| 2 | Portland Thorns FC | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 10 | | 0–1 | — | 3–2 | 3–0 |
| 3 | San Diego Wave FC | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 5 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 4–2 |
| 4 | Angel City FC | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 4 | | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — |

### Regular season

Portland entered 2022 as the defending NWSL Shield champions of the 2021 National Women's Soccer League season.

#### Regular season standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | OL Reign | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 40 | NWSL Shield, Playoffs – semi-finals |
| 2 | Portland Thorns FC (C) | 22 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 49 | 24 | +25 | 39 | Playoffs – semi-finals |
| 3 | San Diego Wave FC | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 21 | +11 | 36 | Playoffs – first round |
| 4 | Houston Dash | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 35 | 27 | +8 | 36 | Playoffs – first round |
| 5 | Kansas City Current | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 36 | Playoffs – first round |
| 6 | Chicago Red Stars | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 33 | Playoffs – first round |
| 7 | North Carolina Courage | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 46 | 33 | +13 | 32 | |
| 8 | Angel City FC | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 27 | −4 | 29 | |
| 9 | Racing Louisville FC | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 23 | 35 | −12 | 23 | |
| 10 | Orlando Pride | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 22 | 45 | −23 | 22 | |
| 11 | Washington Spirit | 22 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 26 | 33 | −7 | 19 | |
| 12 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 16 | 46 | −30 | 13 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: October 1, 2022. Source: NWSLsoccer.com

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Stadium | H | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A |
| Result | W | D | D | L | D | W | D | W | W | D | D | W | W | D | W | L | L | W | D | W | W | D |
| Position | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |

### NWSL Playoffs

The top six teams from the regular season qualified for the NWSL Championship playoffs, with the top two teams receiving a first-round bye.

#### Championship

Championship Game MVP: Sophia Smith (POR)

## Awards
### NWSL season awards

* NWSL Most Valuable Player: Sophia Smith

#### Best XI

Announced October 25, 2022
| Position | Player |
| Midfielder/Forward | Sam Coffey |
| Midfielder/Forward | Sophia Smith |

#### Second XI

| Position | Player |
| Defender | Kelli Hubly |
| Defender | Becky Sauerbrunn |

### NWSL monthly awards
#### Player of the Month

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Statline | Ref. |
| June | | Sophia Smith | 5 goals; scored goal or assist in last 5 matches | |

#### Rookie of the Month

| Month | Rookie of the Month | Rookie of the Month | Statline | Ref. |
| June | | Sam Coffey | 85% passing led league in June; 6 shots, 1 assist | |

### NWSL weekly awards
#### Player of the Week

| Competition | Week | Player | Won |
| Challenge Cup | 4 | Hina Sugita | Won |
| Regular season | 6 | Christine Sinclair | Nom. |
| Regular season | 7 | Sophia Smith | Nom. |
| Regular season | 8 | Sophia Smith | Nom. |
| Regular season | 8 | Morgan Weaver | Nom. |
| Regular season | 13 | Sophia Smith | Won |

#### Save of the Week

| Competition | Week | Player | Won |
| Regular season | 4 | Bella Bixby | Nom. |
| Regular season | 8 | Bella Bixby | Won |
| Regular season | 9 | Shelby Hogan | Won |
| Regular season | 10 | Bella Bixby | Nom. |
| Regular season | 12 | Bella Bixby | Nom. |
| Regular season | 13 | Bella Bixby | Nom. |
| Regular season | 14 | Bella Bixby | Nom. |
| Regular season | 16 | Abby Smith | Won |

## Transactions
### 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft

The 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft held by the NWSL on December 16, 2021, for two expansion teams, Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC, to select players from existing teams in the league.
On December 8, 2021, the Thorns traded Simone Charley and Tyler Lussi to Angel City FC in exchange for $100,000 in allocation money, a 2022 NWSL Draft natural second-round pick, and immunity from Angel City in the expansion draft.
The Thorns protected nine players, and San Diego selected none of the unprotected players. On the day of the draft, the Thorns traded Christen Westphal and Amirah Ali to San Diego Wave FC in exchange for $50,000 in allocation money, but the Thorns did not officially acquire draft immunity from San Diego.
| Protected | Unprotected |
| Bella Bixby | Amirah Ali |
| Crystal Dunn | Nadine Angerer |
| Lindsey Horan | Hannah Betfort |
| Natalia Kuikka | Celeste Boureille |
| Emily Menges | Sam Coffey |
| Olivia Moultrie | Marian Dougherty |
| Raquel Rodríguez | Britt Eckerstrom |
| Sophia Smith | Marissa Everett |
| Morgan Weaver | Shelby Hogan |
| | Kelli Hubly |
| | Meghan Klingenberg |
| | Andressinha |
| | Nikki Marshall |
| | Meg Morris |
| | Meaghan Nally |
| | Madison Pogarch |
| | Hayley Raso |
| | Kat Reynolds |
| | Yazmeen Ryan |
| | Angela Salem |
| | Becky Sauerbrunn |
| | Christine Sinclair |
| | Kat Tarr |
| | Rachel Van Hollebeke |
| | Christen Westphal |
| | Sandra Yu |
* Bold indicates players selected in the Expansion Draft
* Blue highlights indicate United States federation players
* Italics indicate players who are not under contract but whose NWSL playing rights remain with the team

### 2022 NWSL Draft

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2022 NWSL Draft was held on December 18, 2021.
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | College | Status |
| 2 | 13 | Sydny Nasello | FW | South Florida | Did not make preseason roster. |
| 2 | 22 | Gabby Provenzano | DF | Rutgers | Signed a one-year contract with one-year option. |
| 4 | 48 | Natalie Beckman | FW | Denver | Signed a one-year contract with one-year option. |

### Transfers in

| Date | Player | Pos. | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| January 7, 2022 | Sam Coffey | MF | Penn State Nittany Lions | 2021 NWSL Draft pick signed a two-year contract. |
| January 26, 2022 | Hina Sugita | MF | INAC Kobe Leonessa | Signed a three-year contract. Transferred from INAC Kobe for an undisclosed fee. |
| March 18, 2022 | Taylor Porter | MF | UDG Tenerife | Signed a one-year contract with one-year option. |
| April 1, 2022 | Janine Beckie | FW | Manchester City W.F.C. | Signed a three-year contract with one-year option. Transferred from Manchester City for an undisclosed fee. Rights acquired in a trade with Racing Louisville FC in exchange for $75,000 in allocation money and an additional $25,000 in allocation money contingent on undisclosed performance conditions. |
| June 28, 2022 | Katy Byrne | MF | Diósgyőri VTK | Signed as a National Team Replacement player. |
| June 28, 2022 | Cheyenne Shorts | DF | Celtic F.C. | Signed as a National Team Replacement player. |
| June 28, 2022 | Jada Talley | FW | Kansas City Current | Signed as a National Team Replacement player. |
| July 1, 2022 | Britt Eckerstrom | GK | Portland Thorns FC (retired) | Signed as a short-term goalkeeper replacement. |
| July 7, 2022 | Sophie French | DF | Portland Pilots | Signed as a National Team Replacement player. |
| July 14, 2022 | Michele Vasconcelos | DF | Sevilla FC | Signed as a National Team Replacement player; extended to end of season on July 29, 2022 |
| July 25, 2022 | Tegan McGrady | DF | San Diego Wave FC | Acquired in exchange for Madison Pogarch. |

### Transfers out

| Date | Player | Pos. | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| January 26, 2022 | Celeste Boureille | MF | A.C. Milan | Contract expired. |
| January 27, 2022 | Lindsey Horan | MF | Olympique Lyonnais | Loaned until June 2023. |
| February 2, 2022 | Angela Salem | MF | — | Retired. |
| July 10, 2022 | Britt Eckerstrom | GK | — | Short-term goalkeeper replacement contract expired. |
| July 25, 2022 | Madison Pogarch | DF | San Diego Wave FC | Traded for Tegan McGrady. |
| July 29, 2022 | Katy Byrne | MF | | National Team Replacement player contracts expired. |
| July 29, 2022 | Cheyenne Shorts | DF | | National Team Replacement player contracts expired. |
| July 29, 2022 | Jada Talley | FW | KuPS | National Team Replacement player contracts expired. |