The 2015 season is the

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

's third season of existence in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. After a disappointing end to the 2014 season that saw the team knocked out of the 2014 NWSL Championship Playoffs by eventual league champions FC Kansas City, head coach Paul Riley sought to make changes that would bolster the team's roster to account for the players who would be called up to their respective national teams during the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

. After stellar performances in 2014, goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and midfielder

Verónica Boquete Verónica Boquete Giadans (born 9 April 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or midfielder for Italian Serie A club Fiorentina. As well as in her native Spain, she has played professionally for clubs in the United ...

were both named to the ten player shortlist of the 2014

FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representati ...

and Boquete was named to the NWSL Best XI as well as being named 2014 Supporters' Player of the Year. The team made a number of signings before the 2015 season including

Genoveva Añonma ''Genoveva'', Op. 81, is an opera in four acts by Robert Schumann in the genre of German Romanticism with a libretto by Robert Reinick and the composer. The only opera Schumann ever wrote, it received its first performance on 25 June 1850 at ...

who captains the

Equatorial Guinea women's national football team The Equatorial Guinea women's national football team, nicknamed the Nzalang Femenino, has represented Equatorial Guinea in international women's football competition since 2000. It is controlled by the Equatoguinean Football Federation, the gov ...

, a 2015 NWSL College Draft day trade of the Thorns' 2014 season leading scorer Jessica McDonald for

Jodie Taylor Jodie Lee Taylor (born 17 May 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for San Diego Wave of NWSL. She began her club career with local team Tranmere Rovers and had brief spells in her home country with Birmingham City, ...

of the

England women's national football team The England women's national football team, also known as the Lionesses, have been governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). England played its first i ...

and leading scorer of the

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and cont ...

, and defender Kat Williamson, former Thorns player who had been traded away during the 2014 season. Several players were loaned out in the offseason including defender Rachel Van Hollebeke to Iga Football Club Kunoichi of the Japanese Nadeshiko League, and goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and defender

Stephanie Catley Stephanie-Elise Catley (born 26 January 1994) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Arsenal and the Australia national team. She can play in many positions in defence, such as left-back, centre-back or sweeper ...

to the

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victor ...

of the W-League. Midfielder

chose to sign with 1. FFC Frankfurt rather than remain with the Thorns for the 2015 season, and three players retired in the offseason, including defender Nikki Marshall, midfielder

Sarah Huffman Sarah Eileen Huffman (born March 5, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player who last played for Portland Thorns FC of the NWSL. Early life Huffman was born in Danbury, Connecticut. She grew up in Flower Mound, Texas and attend ...

, and midfielder

Angie Kerr Angela Beth Woznuk Kerr (; born March 29, 1985) is an American former soccer midfielder who played professionally through October 21, 2014. Her career culminated with Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League and she played as a ...

. On April 6, 2015, the Thorns unveiled their 2015 kits that were the first custom designs by

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

in the league. Due to the national team player callups for the

, the league announced that they would be taking a two-week break and shortening the season from 24 to 20 games. The Thorns finished the 2015 season with 23 points from 20 games and did not reach the playoffs, the first (and as of 2020, the only) season in which they did not reach the playoffs.

Club

Coaching staff

Roster

* – denotes amateur call-ups Source
Portland Thorns (archived)

Match results

Key

Pre-season

Regular season

Standings

;Results summary ;Results by round

Squad statistics

Source: NWSL Key to positions: FW – Forward, MF –

Midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, DF – Defender, GK –

Goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Player Transactions

National Team Player Allocation

On January 14, 2015, the league held its

NWSL Player Allocation The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) federation players were players whose salaries for playing in the NWSL were paid for by their respective national federations from 2013 to 2021. American federation players were contracted to the United Sta ...

with Portland receiving six players: returning

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles ( 1991, 1999, 2015, an ...

players

Alex Morgan Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker and captains for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division o ...

, Rachel Van Hollebeke, and Tobin Heath, returning Canada women's national soccer team player Christine Sinclair, and new Canadian internationals

Kaylyn Kyle Kaylyn McKenzie Kyle (born October 6, 1988) is a former Canadian soccer player who last played as a midfielder for the Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League. She was also a member of Canada women's national soccer team, winning a ...

, and

Rhian Wilkinson Rhian Emilie Wilkinson (born May 12, 1982) is a Canadian professional soccer coach and former player. She was most recently the head coach of Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), where she led the team to the 2022 NW ...

National Women's Soccer League College Draft

The Thorns did not have a pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft, but through a series of draft day trades they acquired forward and

player

from the

Transfers In

Transfers Out

National team participation

Several Thorns players have been selected to play for their national teams in the

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2015 Portland Thorns FC Season

Portland Thorns FC seasons

Portland