The Portland Thorns hosted rival Seattle Reign in front of 19,231 fans at Providence Park on Saturday night in the final week of NWSL play before the Olympics break.
Nadia Nadim was the hero of the night as she headed home a lobbed ball from Mana Shim in the 74th minute.
What was otherwise a dull game, had an intense ending as Seattle pushed for an equalizer, but Portland did well to hang on to the lead.
Early on, Seattle nearly took the lead in the 23rd minute as Keelin Winters did well to place a header on target, but Michelle Betos rose up to snatch it.
In the 63rd minute, Jess Fishlock had a shot that went sailing just over the crossbar.
Just two minutes before Portland’s goal, Fishlock took a free kick that seemed to be going in or at least extremely close to the goal, but Betos tapped it to ensure it stayed out of the net.
Next game for both these teams will be a re-match as they will face each other again back from the Olympic break on Saturday, August 27. Seattle will host Portland this time, and the match is set to kick-off at 5 p.m. ET at Memorial Stadium.
