In head coach Rhian Wilkinson's debut match in charge, the Portland Thorns FC tied 1-1 with the OL Reign. Sofia Huerta gave the Reign the lead, but Christine Sinclair equalized as the game ended in a tie at Lumen Field. In the match, both Sam Coffey and Hina Sugita made their official Thorns debuts and first starts for the club. Early on, the Reign took advantage of Portland's inexperience and made it difficult for them to build from the back.

Sofia Huerta's goal gave the OL Reign a merited lead in the 16th minute. The Thorns responded admirably and began to have more consistent possession. Christine Sinclair scored the equalizer for the Thorns as a result of this. As the half progressed, Portland appeared to be the better team, but they were unable to capitalize on their advantage, and the teams went into halftime tied at one. The second half got off to a much slower start, with each team prodding and prodding the other, looking for flaws. The majority of the half was played between the two 18-yard boxes, and neither team was able to carve out concrete chances. On March 26th, the Thorns resume their road trip by traveling to San Diego to face newcomers Wave FC.

[Photography by ICONIC photographer Jackie Shinstrom]