Patch and Pin set for the first 18,000 people through the doors.

New episode, recorded Monday at Pappy's, the day after Bay and the first game of 2 without Wilson.

We tie Bay FC 2-2: Weaver scored early, Bay had a penalty overturned by VAR (Marissa was outside pretending it wasn’t happening for that part), Bay went ahead and still scored.

Hanks followed up her own rebound at 86' to save a point. 2nd time this season she’s saved our asses.

Dufour is back! 🇫🇷

We get into what's wrong with our back line. Marissa's take is that we don't have a six (we take a drink every time we say Sam Coffey) and need a faster more seasoned center-back next to Perry, we need some speed! She also wants the front office to start spending some money!!!

We have a fun Gossip Hour and discuss Soph's contract: it runs through 2026 and nothing's been announced. Marissa thinks she's leaving, but is also pretty sure she isn’t 🤷🏾‍♀️

Plus Marissa's Match week roundup of all the games and the table. Shit is crazy!! As of our recording, if we beat North Carolina on Friday, we're in.

We'll be at the game Friday in Rose City Red Card shirts. Come say hey!!

AVAILABLE ANYWHERE YOU LISTEN TO PODCASTS!

42 minutes. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2619164/episodes/19993387

Riveters have organized a raffle to help raise funds for Friends of Trees, the org Bella was supporting as a nominee for the Lauren Holiday award. Link to enter in comments

From the Bay FC match on 10/18/2026. The Thorns came away with a 2-2 tie.

Welcome back, Julie! 🌹

From the Bay FC/Thorns match on

Providence Park I love you. Best fans in the league and it's not even close.

Next game: North Carolina Courage.

From the Bay FC/Thorns match on 10/18/2026

I am NOT enjoying this.

This is my first year watching the thorns consistently (blazers new owner has started to ruin my interest in basketball). it’s obvious that the team is young but very talented, but like today seems to struggle later in games.

If things go badly at the end of the season I can see there being a coaching change, but how likely is it that there would be significant roster changes? Like is Sam completely washed or a bad fit for the lineup?

I know Moultrie is out so they need someone in the middle, but why would they move Pietra there when she was doing well at LW?

Sorry if these are dumb questions, I’ve actually really enjoyed watching the thorns despite the struggles this season and want to see if I am understanding the game better 😅

The overall game performace was simply uninspried. I suspect we had a lot of players with NT duties and just recently returned did not help.

The tactic set up was pretty good though, I like the 4411 system much more than the 4141 system, and I espeically like Weaver and Hanks for tuck in and protect the central area frequently. The elasticity of the formation in defense is vital, and this elasticity horizontally comes from winger/wide midfielders tuck in, as well as vertically from forwards/center backs dropping back/steppping up.

That being said, we simply had too many bad lapses through the game. The penalty that went away started from the right lane defense structure collapsed despite we outnumbered the opponents. The first conceded goal was due to a bad back pass and the second was due to very poor defense performance of Calzada. Equally frustrating is that the offense was disrupted due to frequent mistakes under little pressure as well. We had good moments for our attackers but we cannot control the game and sustain the offense pressure to score more goals and get the win.

The chance to qualify for the upper bracket appears to be low with a 3-point deficit and 2 matches at hand. It will be unacceptable if we miss the playoff, however, I have a low expectation for the final results this season given our situation at the moment.

LFG! 🌹

@ Bay FC

2PM PST/5PM EST on ESPN & KNRK-2

Bay is 14th in the table with 26 points and is out of the playoffs. Dropped their last 2 matched by a combined 2-8.

Thorns need max points here. An opportunity has opened up with both NC & Utah dropping yesterday. Reign play the bottom dwelling Stars in a late match. If the Thorns come away empty handed and the Reign win, next week's showdown with NC looms even larger.

Fotmob says ESPN and not ESPN2 like it sometimes says...

Does anyone have more info on the availability? (Especially of watching it late?)

We have a Disney Hulu ESPN bundle but it doesn't include ESPN 2.

We're picking up a new puppy tomorrow at 2 and won't catch the game live, but I'm hoping we can still watch it tomorrow instead of Monday when it would likely hit nwsl+

Welcome back, Julie!

OK, I have to vent about this. The Thorns posted on social media that the 10/23 home game will be a "Fan Appreciation" event. I am thinking that seeing these amazing players play is enough of a reward, but maybe the front office will do some sort of give away. However, there is no mention of anything they're doing other than playing a game to show their appreciation.

Fine, whatever. But today as a season ticket holder I get an email titled "Gear Up for Fan Appreciation". I think maybe that tells me what they're going to do to show their appreciation but no, it's a pitch to buy full price gear from them, because nothing makes me feel more appreciated more than a chance to spend my money on non-exclusive merchandise.

I really do appreciate being able to watch this team and I'll do it whether I get extra stuff from them or not. But nothing the front office has communicated tells me that they appreciate me being a fan.

Congrats, Soph!

The awards ceremony will take place on November 10th!

Post-game interview is from the October 13th, 2026 match. Tordin was subbed in at the 80'.

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown.

Since we were in the international break, we didn't record last week but we're back and reloaded.

What can you expect from this episode?

We talk about:

- Attacker Pietra Tordin earning her first cap for the USWNT as she joined Sophia Wilson in two tough friendlies against top-ranked Spain. We touch briefly in other Thorns in international duty as well.

- How the Portland Thorns have continued their home struggle, failing to win any of their past four matches at Providence Park.

- Have their playoff odds dropped? How can the side finish strong down the stretch or is it another Rose City late-season collapse?

- As announced by the NWSL last week, Sophia Wilson's red card for violent conduct has been upgraded to two matches. Has she played her final home match as Thorn?

- How will they make it work without the superstar? We discuss and preview the Bay FC match.

- In Melina's corner we analyze how the long-ball has given Portland trouble, the final third issues, and passing problems.

- Does possession matter? With the top three teams and six of the eight playoff teams listed with most possession it seems to be a new trend.

Congratulations, Tordin! Here's to many more minutes with the USWNT to come! ❤️🌹

Match played on 10/13/2026.

The US and Spain would tie 2-2.