# 2015 Portland Thorns FC season

The 2015 season was the Portland Thorns FC's third season of existence in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States.
After a disappointing end to the 2014 season that saw the team knocked out of the 2014 NWSL Championship Playoffs by eventual league champions FC Kansas City, head coach Paul Riley sought to make changes that would bolster the team's roster to account for the players who would be called up to their respective national teams during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. After stellar performances in 2014, goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and midfielder Verónica Boquete were both named to the ten player shortlist of the 2014 FIFA World Player of the Year and Boquete was named to the NWSL Best XI as well as being named 2014 Supporters' Player of the Year.
The team made a number of signings before the 2015 season including Genoveva Añonma who captains the Equatorial Guinea women's national football team, a 2015 NWSL College Draft day trade of the Thorns' 2014 season leading scorer Jessica McDonald for Jodie Taylor of the England women's national football team and leading scorer of the Washington Spirit, and defender Kat Williamson, former Thorns player who had been traded away during the 2014 season.
Several players were loaned out in the offseason including defender Rachel Van Hollebeke to Iga Football Club Kunoichi of the Japanese Nadeshiko League, and goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and defender Stephanie Catley to the Melbourne Victory of the W-League.
Midfielder Verónica Boquete chose to sign with 1. FFC Frankfurt rather than remain with the Thorns for the 2015 season, and three players retired in the offseason, including defender Nikki Marshall, midfielder Sarah Huffman, and midfielder Angie Kerr.
On April 6, 2015, the Thorns unveiled their 2015 kits that were the first custom designs by Nike in the league.
Due to the national team player callups for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the league announced that they would be taking a two-week break and shortening the season from 24 to 20 games.
The Thorns finished the 2015 season with 23 points from 20 games and did not reach the playoffs, the first (and as of 2020, the only) season in which they did not reach the playoffs.

## Club
### Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head Coach | Paul Riley |
| Assistant Coach | Skip Thorp |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Scott Vallow |
| Fitness Coach | Garga Caserta |
| Athletic Trainer | Katie Donnelley |
| Equipment and Player Relations Manager | Megan Lovich |
Last updated: September 5, 2015 Source: Portland Thorns

### Roster

* – denotes amateur call-ups
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | GER | Nadine Angerer |
| 2 | DF | USA | Emily Menges |
| 4 | DF | AUS | Stephanie Catley |
| 5 | DF | USA | Kat Williamson |
| 6 | MF | USA | Meleana Shim |
| 7 | MF | USA | Sinead Farrelly |
| 8 | FW | EQG | Genoveva Añonma |
| 9 | DF | AUS | Clare Polkinghorne |
| 10 | MF | USA | Allie Long |
| 11 | DF | CAN | Kaylyn Kyle |
| 12 | FW | CAN | Christine Sinclair |
| 13 | FW | USA | Alex Morgan |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Jodie Taylor |
| 15 | DF | USA | Kendall Johnson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | DF | USA | Rachel Van Hollebeke |
| 17 | MF | USA | Tobin Heath |
| 18 | GK | USA | Michelle Betos |
| 20 | FW | USA | Sarah Jackson* |
| 21 | DF | CAN | Sarah Robbins |
| 22 | DF | CAN | Rhian Wilkinson |
| 25 | DF | USA | Courtney Niemiec |
| 26 | DF | USA | Taylor Comeau* |
| 28 | FW | SWE | Hanna Terry |
| 29 | FW | USA | Kelsey Haycook* |
| 30 | DF | USA | Alyssa Kleiner* |
| 77 | MF | USA | McCall Zerboni |
Source: Portland Thorns (archived)

## Match results
### Key

Win  Tie  Loss

### Regular season
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Seattle Reign FC | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 21 | +20 | 43 | NWSL Shield |
| 2 | Chicago Red Stars | 20 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 33 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 3 | FC Kansas City (C) | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 32 | 20 | +12 | 32 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 4 | Washington Spirit | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 28 | +3 | 30 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 5 | Houston Dash | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 24 | |
| 6 | Portland Thorns FC | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 29 | −2 | 23 | |
| 7 | Western New York Flash | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 34 | −10 | 23 | |
| 8 | Sky Blue FC | 20 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 28 | −6 | 22 | |
| 9 | Boston Breakers | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 22 | 43 | −21 | 15 | |

##### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | Pts | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 20 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 27 | 29 | −2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 13 | +7 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 16 | −9 |
Last updated: September 5, 2015 Source: National Women's Soccer League Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

##### Results by round

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

## Squad statistics

Source: NWSL
Key to positions: FW – Forward, MF – Midfielder, DF – Defender, GK – Goalkeeper
| N | Pos | Player | GP | GS | Min | G | A | WG | Shot | SOG | Cro | CK | Off | Foul | FS | YC | RC |
| 8 | FW | Genoveva Añonma | 12 | 8 | 759 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Kate Bennett | 1 | 1 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Stephanie Catley | 3 | 2 | 179 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Taylor Comeau | 9 | 5 | 377 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Sinead Farrelly | 19 | 19 | 1652 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 32 | 27 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Kelsey Haycook | 4 | 1 | 81 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Tobin Heath | 12 | 12 | 1062 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Sarah Jackson | 7 | 2 | 201 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Kendall Johnson | 17 | 12 | 1218 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 20 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | Alyssa Kleiner | 8 | 4 | 418 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | Kaylyn Kyle | 12 | 6 | 587 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Allie Long | 20 | 20 | 1793 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 53 | 27 | 0 | 66 | 24 | 22 | 32 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Emily Menges | 17 | 17 | 1529 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | Alex Morgan | 4 | 3 | 285 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Courtney Niemiec | 4 | 3 | 273 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | DF | Clare Polkinghorne | 9 | 9 | 779 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Sarah Robbins | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Lianne Sanderson | 5 | 2 | 275 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Meleana Shim | 18 | 13 | 1127 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Christine Sinclair | 9 | 8 | 735 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Jodie Taylor | 7 | 5 | 385 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | Hanna Terry | 6 | 0 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Rachel Van Hollebeke | 13 | 10 | 879 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Rhian Wilkinson | 1 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Kat Williamson | 20 | 20 | 1705 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| 77 | MF | McCall Zerboni | 18 | 18 | 1459 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 18 | 2 | 1 |
* ↑ Number 23 was later assigned to Lianne Sanderson
* ↑ Number 21 was later assigned to Emily Menges
| N | Pos | Goal keeper | GP | GS | Min | W | L | T | Shot | SOG | Sav | GA | GA/G | Pen | PKF | SO |
| 1 | GK | Nadine Angerer | 6 | 6 | 540 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 77 | 34 | 23 | 11 | 1.833 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | GK | Michelle Betos | 14 | 14 | 1260 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 130 | 63 | 45 | 18 | 1.286 | 1 | 2 | 2 |

## Player Transactions
### National Team Player Allocation

On January 14, 2015, the league held its NWSL Player Allocation with Portland receiving six players: returning United States women's national soccer team players Alex Morgan, Rachel Van Hollebeke, and Tobin Heath, returning Canada women's national soccer team player Christine Sinclair, and new Canadian internationals Kaylyn Kyle, and Rhian Wilkinson.

### National Women's Soccer League College Draft

The Thorns did not have a pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft, but through a series of draft day trades they acquired forward and England women's national football team player Jodie Taylor from the Washington Spirit.

### Transfers In

| Date | Player | Pos | Previous Club | Notes |
| November 6, 2014 | Kat Williamson | DF | Western New York Flash | Part of trade for Amber Brooks. |
| November 6, 2014 | McCall Zerboni | MF | Western New York Flash | Part of trade for Amber Brooks. |
| January 14, 2015 | Kendall Johnson | DF | Western Sydney Wanderers | Rights traded from Sky Blue FC for the 25th and 34th overall selections in the 2015 NWSL College Draft. |
| January 14, 2015 | Kaylyn Kyle | MF | Houston Dash | NWSL Player Allocation |
| January 14, 2015 | Rhian Wilkinson | DF | Laval Comets | NWSL Player Allocation |
| January 16, 2015 | Jodie Taylor | FW | Washington Spirit | Traded for the 13th pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft and two second-round picks in the 2016 NWSL College Draft. |
| February 24, 2015 | Genoveva Añonma | FW | 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam | |
| February 26, 2015 | Sarah Robbins | MF | Åland United | |
| April 10, 2015 | Taylor Comeau | DF | California | Amateur call-up |
| April 10, 2015 | Kelsey Haycook | FW | La Salle | Amateur call-up |
| April 10, 2015 | Sarah Jackson | FW | Santa Clara | Amateur call-up |
| April 17, 2015 | Alyssa Kleiner | DF | Santa Clara | Amateur call-up |

### Transfers Out

| Date | Player | Pos | Destination Club | Notes |
| August 25, 2014 | Verónica Boquete | MF | 1. FFC Frankfurt | |
| September 10, 2014 | Angie Kerr | MF | None | Player waived. |
| November 6, 2014 | Amber Brooks | MF | Western New York Flash | Trade to acquire Kat Williamson and McCall Zerboni. |
| November 18, 2014 | Sarah Huffman | DF | None | Player retired. |
| January 14, 2015 | Jackie Acevedo | FW | None | Player not reallocated in the 2015 NWSL Player Allocation. |
| January 16, 2015 | Jessica McDonald | FW | Houston Dash | Traded to acquire the 13th pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft and a second-round pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft. |
| January 20, 2015 | Rebecca Moros | DF | FC Kansas City | Traded to acquire an international roster spot. |
| February 5, 2015 | Nikki Marshall | DF | None | Player retired. |

### National team participation

Several Thorns players have been selected to play for their national teams in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
| Team | Players |
| Australia | Stephanie Catley |
| Canada | Christine Sinclair (captain), Kaylyn Kyle, Rhian Wilkinson |
| England | Jodie Taylor |
| Germany | Nadine Angerer (captain) |
| United States | Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan |