The National Women's Soccer League rolls on the Portland Thorns FC and OL Reign squaring off on Twitch. These two sides are meeting for the first time in the Fall Series after their initial game was rescheduled due to poor air quality condition in light of recent wildfires impacting the Pacific Northwest. Let's take a look at everything you need to know about the bitter Cascadia rivalry set for Wednesday.
Viewing information
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 30 | Time: 10 p.m. ET
Location: Providence Park -- Portland, Oregon
TV: None | Live stream: Twitch
Storylines
Portland Thorns FC: The Thorns are coming off a bye week after defeating Utah Royals FC, 3-0, back on Sept. 20. Portland hosted Utah, and welcomed the return of Lindsey Horan after a hip injury kept her sidelined during the Challenge Cup knockout rounds. Defender Becky Sauerbrunn was also shut down due to injury early in the group stage of the tournament. 2020 No. 1 draft pick Sophia Smith made her debut during the match as a substitute and scored a goal in the 72nd minute. They're looking like a cohesive unit, with an impressive young attack, growing what they've built on through their off season and during Challenge Cup. Morgan Weaver, who's no longer on the injury report, could see some minutes along with Simone Charley after her impressive goal against Utah.
OL Reign: It's a quick turnaround for the Reign as they get set to take on their dreaded rivals. OL Reign are coming off a 2-2 draw on the road against Utah Royals FC last weekend. The Reign found themselves down two goals in the first half before immediately turning things around and equalizing ahead of halftime. The team was able to get good looks on goal down the stretch, but was unable to pull ahead. There's no newcomers to their injury report from last weekend's match, but they will have travel on short rest. The back line faces another test and will need a big game from the midfield core to ease the pressure. Costa Rican international Shirley Cruz going head to head against her national teammate Rocky Rodriguez should be fascinating to watch.
Game prediction
It'll come down to defense with Portland holding the edge in the center back pairing for this match. Pick: Thorns 3, Reign 1.
