"I think the biggest thing for me and just taking those conversations and soaking everything in that I can from all the coaches that I have, is mostly the consistency piece," Sears said. "I think that I have been a lot more intentional with the way that I'm playing, and I think that has ultimately benefitted my game. "I feel like I've found myself in a little bit more of a flow state in games and
The outstretched glove of Thorns goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold prevented Alyssa Malonson from giving Bay FC a 2-0 lead from 11 yards out in the 39th. Moultrie got the Thorns level in the 51st with a low shot past Bay goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz. The 20-year-old Thorns midfielder then deftly curled a direct free-kick around the Bay wall and just inside the post to make it 2-1 in the 69th.
The Portland Thorns will retire the No. 12 jersey of longtime forward Christine Sinclair in a ceremony at Providence Park on Oct. 4. Sinclair will also be the first player inducted into the team's Hall of Fame. Sinclair retired in 2024 as the world's leading international goal scorer with 190 goals for Canada. She was one of the first players in Thorns history, joining the team ahead of the inaugural NWSL season in 2013.
"I love seeing fellow NWSL athletes here represented in WAFCON. I think it is so important to see that African players are excelling in the NWSL, and then coming and excelling at WAFCON, just like Banda and Racheal Kundananji have shown."
The NWSL established a policy in 2021, stating: athletes who transition from male to female are eligible to compete if they declare their gender identity is female subject to testosterone levels being within typical limits of women athletes.
