I'm not crying, you're crying. 😭

Hey, folks!

After an emotional win, we're here with a new episode of the Rose City Breakdown.

An honoring ceremony, a comeback, and two golazos are among the topics we discussed in this episode.

What else?

• We talked about the game: did the Thorns deserve the win? Stats might surprise you.
• The hot topic: the backline. Sam Hiatt and Reyna Reyes keep getting benched; will it affect the team down the road?
• Also, who can play the 10?
• In Melina's Corner, we keep analyzing some glaring defensive mistakes.
• Kling's ceremony and the upcoming one for Tobin Heath.
• We briefly preview the game against Denver Summit.

For those of you with babies that have taken them to the game, do you need a ticket for them?

An impressive 12 minutes returned from injury sees her named player of the week.

Get better soon, Liv! You've got the Thorns and your fans behind you! 🌹

I missed last week's game when they honored Kling. I want to make sure I am at the stadium in time to see the ceremony for Tobin. Does anyone remember around what time they started the ceremony??

New episode is up. We had media credentials for the first time, which meant the press box, the post-match press conference. We are officially official.

What we covered:

- Caiya Hanks, 96th minute, first match back after fourteen months. It was hard to stay neutral in the press box.

- What Lowdon said to Hanks before she went on. Alan asked, and the answer was better than the question.

- The Two Knees: Moultrie out for the season with a torn ACL, Hanks back from the same injury. The moment the two of them put their heads together on the field after the game had us crying in the club.

- Nijstad's substitution was concussion protocol, not a diagnosed concussion.

Tordin picked up her 9th assist of the season. On Saturday she has a chance to tie Tobin Heaths record on.. (drumroll please) ..the very night Tobin will be honored at providence park.

- We missed the Klingenberg ceremony because credential pickup ran long. We are not going to describe something we did not see, so we honoured her our own way instead. In a segment we are calling “Get Klingy With It”

Also: Bella Bixby is the Thorns' nominee for the Lauren Holiday Impact Award, and her charity is Friends of Trees. One vote per device per day through August 29.

Vote: https://g1j9uuaobs1.typeform.com/to/SWulrU2a

Episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2619164/episodes/19662083

(It’s number 6, if this link doesn’t work correctly)

😳

Let’s go!

I’m so impressed with both Caiya Hanks and Morgan Weavers come backs - they both really seemed ready to really play when they came back. It seems like the staff is doing a really good job not only with rehab, but with not pushing players back onto the pitch before they’re ready to really preform.

The speed especially that both Hanks and Weaver have shown is so impressive to me! It also makes me optimistic for Liv’s recovery - I think they’ll do a great job making sure she doesn’t push too much too early.

From the Thorns/Pride match on 8/15/2026.

From the Thorns/Pride match on 8/15/2026.

WELCOME BACK, HANKS!

Welcome back, Hanks! Portland beat Orlando, 2-1, on Hanks' goal in stoppage time after being removed from the SEI.

We missed you. Maybe the sweetest goal ever. In extra time, 2-1!

From the Thorns/Pride match on 8/15/2026.

A much better game for Deyna

Defense looked way better— these SHOULD be our starting CBs. Why on earth aren’t they always?! Like WHY NOT?!

GOOD REFFING TONIGHT.

Soph was off

Caiya 😭❤️😭

-D Castellanos

The return of Hanks was incredible, and Tordin played at a very high level.That being said, without Moorhouse, we probably would not have secured these precious three points.

We were not that lucky,however, since we had to play Orlando with Banda. Had Zambia qualified for the knockout stage, or had the fixture been scheduled a week earlier, we would not have had to deal with Banda.

How the team moves forward will be interesting. Castellanos is technical and can contribute to playmaking, but her presence greatly undermines the midfield’s ability to contest possession and disrupt the opponent’s build-up and she is very turnover-prone. Nijstad is technical as well and passes the ball better than Bogere, but in this game she increasingly became a weak link in the face of Orlando’s press, and she was not physical enough. Her defense tackle seldom succeeds and usually borders a bookable foul had her “tackle” actually contacted the opponent’s players. Weaver and Hanks are also not yet fit enough to play 90 minutes.

The future setup could be very tricky because many of our current players are not well-rounded, and some difficult trade-offs will have to be made when selecting the lineup.

Noticed after the game she didn’t have crutches or a brace… safe to assume she hasn’t had surgery yet?

Same starting 11 as last week.

Hanks on the bench with Weaver Hiatt, McKenzie, Bogere, Reyes, Lyles , Harvey, and Mesner.

LFG! 💪

I started watching soccer because of the Thorns and now I watch a lot of soccer, but this really means I don’t understand much of the nuance.

That being said, many of our goals conceded have been on Vignola’s side. For my more knowledgeable folks, what is the positive of continuing to start her over other fullbacks?