Washington Spirit falter in NWSL season opener, dropping 1-0 loss to Portland Thorns: Match report

The Washington Spirit suffered from an echo of 2025, outplaying but not punishing the Portland Thorns. The result felt like several early-season matches from last season, with Washington falling 1-0 before a sold-out Audi Field on Friday.

Olivia Moultrie's clinical close-range finish early in the second half settled the match, with the Spirit offering relatively few bona fide chances other than Hal Hershfelt's second-half shot that crashed off the crossbar.

With an at-times ferocious wind at their back to start, the Spirit jumped all over Portland in the opening minutes, but couldn't quite find the final connection amid their early pressure. In the end, Gabby Carle — often dipping inside as an ad-hoc fourth midfielder from right back — had Washington's best early looks, but they amounted to a blocked shot and a leap for a header on a Rosemonde Kouassi cross that sailed over the Canada defender.

The second half nearly saw an early stunner, with Gift Monday attempting to surprise Thorns goalkeeper Morgan Messner with a shot from midfield, but Washington ended up getting hit with the sucker punch just moments later.

Isabella Obaze's 52nd-minute long ball caught the Spirit out, with Pietra Tordin taking possession on the wing. With Washington scrambling, Tordin played square to Moultrie, whose seemingly heavy first touch ended up giving her exactly the angle needed to get past Tara Rudd and fire the visitors in front.

The Spirit were stung into action, as they so often are, with a Hershfelt volley going wide two minutes later. However, it took some time to truly turn up the pressure, with Kouassi escaping M.A. Vignola and Jessie Fleming in the 75th minute to tee up Hershfelt.

From the corner of the box, the U.S. women's national team midfielder sized up her opening before attempting to pick out the far corner, only to be denied by the crossbar.

There was some late drama: Trinity Rodman was left frustrated over a stoppage for a knock to Messner following a collision, while Sophia Wilson made her long-awaited return to competitive play after giving birth last year, entering in the 76th minute for Portland.

But ultimately, the match added up to a disappointing season opener for a Spirit side that couldn't turn advantages in talent, familiarity, and a loud home crowd into a reliable goal threat.

Next up for the Spirit: a trip to face another 2025 playoff foe, with Racing Louisville hosting Washington on Friday, March 20 in an 8 p.m. ET kickoff.

Box score — NWSL regular season (game 1)
3/13/2026

Washington Spirit 0
Portland Thorns 1 (Moultrie 52)

Lineups:
Spirit (4231): Sandy MacIver; Gabby Carle (Paige Metayer 84), Esme Morgan, Tara Rudd (C), Lucia Di Guglielmo; Hal Hershfelt, Rebeca Bernal (Deb Abiodun 84); Trinity Rodman, Leicy Santos (Claudia Martínez 71), Rosemonde Kouassi (Tamara Bolt 84); Gift Monday (Sofia Cantore 64)

Thorns (4231): Morgan Messner; Reyna Reyes, Sam Hiatt (C), Isabella Obaze, M.A. Vignola; Jessie Fleming, Cassandra Bogere (Shae Harvey 61); Reilyn Turner (Maddie Padelski 61), Olivia Moultrie, Mimi Alidou (Alexa Spaanstra 85); Pietra Tordin (Sophia Wilson 76)

Bookings:
Spirit - None
Thorns - None

Referee: Brad Jensen
Weather: Clear, gale warning, 54°
Attendance: 19,215