For the first time in three years, the Portland Thorns are the top team in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Six games into the 2026 campaign, the Thorns claimed the No. 1 spot with Wednesday night’s 2-0 home win over the San Diego Wave, who had previously held the position.
The high-octane West Coast clash at Providence Park featured goals from two players who made their returns from prolonged absences last season: Portland’s Marie Müller, the German defender coming back from an ACL injury, and teammate Sophia Wilson, the U.S. women’s national team forward who had been on maternity leave.
Müller scored her first NWSL goal in the 10th minute, receiving a ball from USWNT midfielder Olivia Moultrie near the upper-left corner of the penalty box and striking it first-time with her right instep. The ball curled around Wave goalkeeper Leah Freeman and into the far-post side netting.
“It was a long process,” Müller said. “Rehab was over one year, so I’m just so happy to be back to support my team. That I scored today, even in the beginning, I think, makes the game a little bit different. So yeah, just glad to give everything and support the team.”
In the second half, Wilson scored her second consecutive goal. Thorns team captain and Canadian international Jessie Fleming’s relentless defensive pressure forced a turnover in the Thorns’ attacking third, a prime position for Wilson to scoop up the ball. A few touches past the last of San Diego’s back line was all she needed to slot a ground-skimming ball into the far post with her left foot to double Portland’s lead in the 64th minute.
After scoring her first goal as a mom on Sunday, a game-winner in the 95th minute against Angel City FC, she said that once she had one that “hopefully more will come.”
That proved to be the case Wednesday. The 25-year-old did admit in a postgame interview with CBS that she “kind of regretted saying that after I did because I was like, ‘I hope I didn’t jinx myself.’”
Ultimately, Wilson said, “it’s just about building confidence for me and getting back to the level that I was at, and I think getting goals for me is that way of doing that, so it feels good to get another one, but mostly just to get another win.”
Both sides applied pressure heavily, particularly the Wave, who forced the Thorns to move the ball quickly across Providence Park’s already-slick artificial surface. Despite winning their last five consecutive matches, including a stunning 3-2 comeback at the Denver Summits on Saturday, the Wave struggled to capitalize on their chances. Of their 11 shots, three were on target, the same number of on-frame attempts as the Thorns.
In many ways, the match felt like the Thorns’ response to a conversation that began on March 25, when the two sides met for the first time this season. San Diego handed the Thorns their only loss of the season in that clash, beating them 3-1 at Snapdragon Stadium with goals from Dudinha, Lia Godfrey and Melanie Barcenas. On Wednesday, however, the Thorns managed to shut San Diego out, a feat made possible in part by Australian goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold’s three key saves.
Thorns manager Robert Vilahamn said Wednesday night that in their previous game, Arnold “had a struggle with her feet in the build-up. We were not so good in the build-up, and I was depressed as well, and we didn’t really find our way out.” The two had a conversation about that, he said, and “today she was much better and braver in the build-up with her feet and taking the right decision when to play short and when to take long.”
U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes was among the 19,806 in attendance in Portland and was seen holding Wilson’s daughter, Gianna, on camera before kickoff. It was Hayes’ third of a six-match NWSL road trip, which will culminate in Atlanta for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Fayetteville, Ga.
“I love that there’s been a changing of order this season,” Hayes said of the NWSL table during a halftime interview with CBS. “I think San Diego have looked really strong. I watched them against Denver, and it was a great comeback, but equally, I think the Thorns have been outstanding. I think they were really well prepared by the time Robert came in, and I think this is a top matchup.”
On Sunday, the Wave will host Bay FC, while the Thorns play on the road against the Chicago Stars.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Portland Thorns, San Diego Wave, NWSL
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