The Portland Thorns, Orlando Pride game was just insane

Sunday’s game between the Orlando Pride and Portland Thorns was the first NWSL game of the season televised by ESPNEWS under the new, post-World Cup TV deal. And it’s safe to say the fans smart enough to tune in were treated to an absolute scorcher of a match.

Between Marta, Midge Purce, Christine Sinclair, Hayley Raso and Chioma Ubogagu, there was no shortage of star power on the field between the Orlando Pride and Portland Thorns.

Four of those aforementioned stars found the back of the net in Sunday’s game, which ended up being a 4-3 victory for the powerhouse Thorns. A 4-3 scoreline suggests a splendid, action-packed game, but it hardly does justice to the insanity that took place at Providence Park.

From the moment Raso scored in third minute, pouncing on a mistake from Orlando Pride standout keeper Haley Kopmeyer, it was clear this game would be crazy. Portland made it 2-0 in the 58th minute when Purce scored her sixth goal of the season to move into third place on the NWSL’s list.

Normally, a 2-0 lead would have a team feeling pretty safe, but that safety net went away almost immediately. Just three minutes after Purce capitalized on another mistake from Orlando’s enigmatic defense, superstar player Marta showed once again why she’s the GOAT by scoring an absolute hammer from outside the box into the very top corner of the net.

That brief lifeline from Orlando was negated just as quickly by Portland’s own superstar attacker in Sinclair. The Thorns striker slotted home cooly, scoring her 44th career NWSL goal to solidify herself as the second-highest scorer in the history of the league.

How long did it take for Orlando to cut Portland’s 3-1 lead? Two minutes. In the 68th, Marta’s shot was deflected for an own-goal, as the Pride’s determined star managed to come up big with yet another goal created for her team.

In the span of 10 minutes, four goals were scored — two apiece from both teams.

And in the 91st minute in stoppage time, it seemed like the Pride had found the equalizer. Rookie Erin Greening struck an impeccable volley from outside the box with backspin that left Portland keeper Britt Eckerstrom for dead.

The sensational strike was the first of Greening’s career, and there couldn’t have been a better time for her to score her first NWSL goal. At the time, it seemed for certain that this goal would rescue a point for the Pride.

But the Thorns had one more attack left in them. Star wide player Megan Klingenberg was fouled in a dangerous position by substitute Abby Elinsky, who was yellow carded for the late challenge. This silly foul proved to be costly.

Though Kopmeyer, whose had a catalogue of incredible saves (including one where she hustled towards her goal to stop Sam Kerr’s half-field shot) this season, was equal to the shot directly resulting from the free kick, she could do nothing to save the ensuing header from a corner.

The winning goal in the 94th minute from the Portland Thorns came courtesy of super-sub Tyler Lussi, as the former Princeton standout found herself wide open in the box. She made Orlando’s defense pay, heading with essentially all the goal to aim at. Lussi’s goal was so clutch that it came in the very last second of the match, after Orlando had already scored in stoppage time.

This insane 4-3 game between the Thorns and Pride is yet another example of the kind of amazing play on display week after week in the NWSL all summer long. Fans can now watch matches like this one on ESPNEWS, with others being streamed on Yahoo! Sports. Don’t miss out, because there will be more wild finishes like this one.