2013 Portland Thorns FC season explained

Club:	Portland Thorns FC
Season:	2013
Chrtitle:	President
Chairman:	Merritt Paulson
Mgrtitle:	Head coach
Manager:	Cindy Parlow Cone
Stadium:	Jeld-Wen Field Portland, Oregon (Capacity: 20,438)
League:	National Women's Soccer League
League Result:	3rd
Cup1:	NWSL Playoffs
Cup1 Result:	Champions
Highest Attendance:	16,479
Lowest Attendance:	10,886
Average Attendance:	13,320
League Topscorer:	Alex Morgan Christine Sinclair (8 goals)
American:	true
Pattern B1:	_nwsl13
Leftarm1:	ff0000
Body1:	ff0000
Rightarm1:	ff0000
Shorts1:	000000
Socks1:	ff0000
Leftarm2:	ffffff
Body2:	ffffff
Rightarm2:	ffffff
Shorts2:	000000
Socks2:	ffffff
Nextseason:	2014

The 2013 season was the Portland Thorns inaugural season in the newly created National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of women's professional soccer in the United States. The Thorns ended the 22-game regular season with a 10-6-6 record, qualifying them for the NWSL playoffs. In their semi-final game the team beat FC Kansas City 3-2 in extra time, qualifying them to play Western New York Flash in the championship. The Thorns beat the Flash 2–0, making Portland Thorns FC the NWSL champion.

Background

The league's founding was announced on November 21, 2012, with Portland as a host for one of eight teams.^{[1] [2]} At that time it was announced by Portland Timbers' owner Merritt Paulson that the Timbers would own the team.^[2]

The chosen team, Portland Thorns FC, was announced on December 13, 2012, accompanied by the unveiling of its logo.^{[3] [4] [5]} Both the name and logo were intended to invoke Portland's nickname of the Rose City.^{[3] [6]}

Cindy Parlow Cone was announced as the first head coach on December 19, 2012.^[7]

Club

Coaching staff

Roster

In the National Women's Soccer League's (NWSL) inaugural season, the eight founding clubs filled out their rosters through numerous mechanisms. First, teams are allocated national team players from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Next, teams go through the NWSL College Draft, a free agency period, the NWSL Supplemental Draft, and the signing of Discovery Players.^[8]

No.	Name	Nationality	Date of Birth (Age)	Previous Club	Signed Via / Notes
Goalkeepers
1	Karina LeBlanc		30 March 1980	magicJack (WPS)	National team allocation^[9]
23	Adelaide Gay		3 November 1989	University of North Carolina	Discovery player^[10]
Defenders
2	Marian Dougherty		25 November 1984	magicJack (WPS)	Supplemental draft^[11]
4	Emilee O'Neil		26 March 1983	Stanford University	Discovery player
5	Kathryn Williamson		1 August 1989	University of Florida	NWSL College Draft^[12]
7	Nikki Marshall		2 June 1988	Western New York Flash	Free agent^[13]
11	Jazmyne Avant		30 January 1990	New York Fury	Discovery player^[14]
16			26 August 1985	Boston Breakers	National team allocation
Midfielders
3	Elizabeth Guess		11 January 1985	Boston Breakers	Waivers^[15]
6	Meleana Shim		25 September 1991	Santa Clara University	Discovery player
8	Angie Kerr		29 March 1987	Sky Blue FC	Supplemental draft
10			13 August 1987		Free Agent
12	Becky Edwards		22 May 1988	Kristianstads DFF	Free agent
17	Tobin Heath		29 May 1988	Paris Saint-Germain	National team allocation^[16]
20	Courtney Wetzel		25 February 1989	Oregon State University	Discovery player
21	Nikki Washington		1 August 1988	Canberra United FC	Free agent
Forwards
9	Danielle Foxhoven		8 November 1989	FC Energy Voronezh	Discovery player^[17]
12	Christine Sinclair (captain)		12 June 1983	Western New York Flash	National team allocation
13	Alex Morgan		2 July 1989		National team allocation
18	Jessica Shufelt		29 May 1990	Ottawa Fury Women	Supplemental draft Competitions All times Pacific Daylight Time Regular season Final round Results by round Statistics Team statistics No. Pos. Name League Discipline 1 GK Karina LeBlanc 21 21 1890 0 0 0 0 2 DF Marian Dougherty 19 19 1666 1 1 2 0 3 MF Elizabeth Guess 4 1 67 0 0 2 0 4 DF/MF Emilee O'Neil 4 1 141 0 0 0 0 5 DF Kathryn Williamson 22 22 1944 0 0 1 0 6 MF Meleana Shim 19 17 1416 5 2 1 0 7 DF Nikki Marshall 22 22 1871 0 1 1 0 8 MF Angie Kerr 15 9 762 0 1 0 0 9 FW Danielle Foxhoven 21 7 997 4 0 1 0 10 MF Allie Long 22 22 1956 3 3 2 0 11 DF Jazmyne Avant 4 2 212 0 0 0 0 12 FW Christine Sinclair 20 20 1783 8 2 2 0 13 FW Alex Morgan 18 18 1525 8 5 4 0 14 MF Becky Edwards 10 10 900 0 0 3 0 15 DF/MF Casey Ramirez 4 1 159 0 0 0 0 16 DF Rachel Buehler 20 20 1800 0 2 2 0 17 MF Tobin Heath 7 7 630 0 3 4 0 18 FW Jessica Shufelt 4 0 31 0 0 0 0 19 FW Tiffany Weimer 10 5 522 1 1 0 0 20 MF Courtney Wetzel 16 6 602 1 1 0 0 21 MF Nikki Washington 11 10 776 1 2 3 0 24 DF Tina Ellertson 3 0 40 0 0 0 0 26 GK Cris Lewis 1 1 90 0 0 0 0 Portland Thorns FC 22 1980 32 24 29 0 Opponents 22 1980 25 19 18 0 Statistics accurate as of October 11, 2013^[18] Goalkeeper stats Last updated: October 11, 2013 Player width=60 width=60 width=60 width=60 1 Karina LeBlanc 1890 23 1.1 92 23 Adelaide Gay 0 0 0 0 26 Cris Lewis 90 2 2 0 Honors NWSL Player of the Month Player Transactions National Team Player Allocation On January 11, 2013, the league held its player allocation for the national team players, with Portland receiving seven players: Rachel Buehler, Tobin Heath, Karina LeBlanc, Alex Morgan, Marlene Sandoval, Luz Saucedo, and Christine Sinclair. On January 23, 2013, Heath signed a six-month contract with Paris Saint-Germain and expected to join the Thorns FC once the French club's season is concluded. On March 21, 2013, Sandoval and Saucedo, the two allocated Mexico national team defenders, were removed from the team roster, due to an injury and decision by the Mexican Football Federation, respectively.^[20] National Women's Soccer League College Draft Each team in the NWSL got to pick once per round, with the draft order based on how well each team did in allocation. The Thorns picked eighth (last) in each round. Date Player Pos Previous Club Round (Overall) Ref January 18, 2013 DF 1 (8) January 18, 2013 MF 2 (16) ^[21] January 18, 2013 MF 3 (24) January 18, 2013 GK 4 (32) Supplemental Draft Picks Any player that wasn’t selected in the NWSL College Draft, and was done with her college eligibility, was eligible for the NWSL Supplemental Draft. The draft lasted six rounds. Again, the Thorns selected eighth (last) in each round. Date Player Pos Previous Club Pick (Overall) Ref February 7, 2013 DF 1 (8) February 7, 2013 MF 2 (16) February 7, 2013 FW 3 (24) February 7, 2013 DF 4 (32) February 7, 2013 FW 5 (40) Transfers Out References

Notes and References

1. Web site: U.S. Soccer to announce new women’s professional league today. Leagues. Soccer Wire. 14 December 2012. November 21, 2012. 28 April 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140428042951/http://www.soccerwire.com/news/u-s-soccer-to-announce-new-womens-professional-league-today/. dead.
2. News: Giegerich . Andy . Women's pro soccer coming to Portland . 14 December 2012. Portland Business Journal. November 21, 2012.
3. News: Siemers. Erik. Timbers name new women's club Portland Thorns. 14 December 2012. Portland Business Journal. December 13, 2012.
4. News: Manning. Rob. Women's Soccer Team To Be Named 'Portland Thorns'. 14 December 2012. Oregon Public Broadcasting. December 13, 2012.
5. News: Arnold. Geoffrey C.. Portland Thorns: Women's professional soccer team unveils name, logo. 14 December 2012. . December 13, 2012.
6. Web site: Portland women’s pro team unveils "Thorns FC" as identity. Clubs. Soccer Wire. 14 December 2012. December 13, 2012. 27 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140227114739/http://www.soccerwire.com/news/12129/. dead.
7. News: Cindy Parlow Cone hired as Portland Thorns FC coach. 20 December 2012. The Oregonian. December 19, 2012.
8. Web site: Frequently Asked Questions: NWSL Roster Procedures. NWSL. May 20, 2013. January 18, 2013.
9. Web site: Alex Morgan, Christine Sinclair among first seven players added to Portland Thorns FC through allocation process . Portland Timbers . February 14, 2013 . January 11, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130113093839/http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2013/01/alex-morgan-christine-sinclair-among-first-seven-players-added-portland-thorns-fc-throu . January 13, 2013 .
10. Web site: NWSL 101: How National Women's Soccer League teams were formed. Portland Timbers. April 12, 2013. April 11, 2013. https://archive.today/20130616113533/http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2013/04/nwsl-101-how-national-womens-soccer-league-teams-were-formed. June 16, 2013. dead. mdy-all.
11. Web site: TThorns FC select five players in NWSL Supplemental Draft. Portland Timbers. February 14, 2013. February 7, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130212211054/http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2013/02/thorns-fc-select-five-players-nwsl-supplemental-draft. February 12, 2013. dead. mdy-all.
12. Web site: Thorns FC add four players in inaugural NWSL College Draft. Portland Timbers. February 14, 2013. January 18, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130222042211/http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2013/01/thorns-fc-add-four-players-inaugural-nwsl-college-draft. February 22, 2013. dead. mdy-all.
13. Web site: Thorns FC sign four former U.S. youth internationals. Portland Timbers. February 14, 2013. February 6, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130210005955/http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2013/02/thorns-fc-sign-four-former-us-youth-internationals. February 10, 2013. dead. mdy-all.
14. Web site: Thorns FC sign defender Jazmyne Avant. Portland Timbers. February 20, 2013. February 20, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130225074256/http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2013/02/thorns-fc-sign-defender-jazmyne-avant. 2013-02-25. dead.
15. Web site: Portland Signs Midfielder Elizabeth Guess. Oregon Live. April 24, 2013. April 24, 2013.
16. News: Farley. Richard. One more: Tobin Heath headed for Paris Saint-Germain. May 20, 2013. NBC Sports. January 22, 2013.
17. Web site: Thorns FC sign forward Danielle Foxhoven. Portland Timbers. February 21, 2013. February 21, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130225053613/http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2013/02/thorns-fc-sign-forward-danielle-foxhoven. February 25, 2013. dead. mdy-all.
18. Web site: Season 2013 – Player Stats and Leaderboards . NWSL . 23 June 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150107064658/http://www.nwslsoccer.com/Stats/index_E.html . 7 January 2015 .
19. Web site: APRIL'S BEST: CHRISTINE SINCLAIR. NWSL. May 20, 2013. May 7, 2013.
20. Web site: Portland Thorns FC: Mexican Players Luz Saucedo and Marlene Sandoval Removed from Roster. stumptownfooty.com. March 21, 2013. March 21, 2013.
21. Web site: Portland Thorns FC Training Report: Roster Changes, Strategy, and, uh, Singing. stumptownfooty.com. April 4, 2013. April 4, 2013.