Olivia Moultrie scored Portland's opener in the 17th minute and assisted Reilyn Turner's empty-net seal in the 89th. Two goals at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium were enough on a Sunday afternoon when Chicago kept more of the ball, took more shots, and could not find a way past Mackenzie Arnold. The Thorns leave Evanston with three wins in seven days, sole possession of first place, and a 6-1-1 record that matches the 2013 inaugural-championship side through eight league games. Nineteen points. Four clear of Washington Spirit. The math keeps working because the plan keeps working.
Full match highlights on YouTube.
Three in Seven.
Five weeks ago Portland lost 3-1 at Snapdragon Stadium. The Thorns looked tired and a step slow against a San Diego side that was supposed to be a Shield contender. That afternoon was a checkpoint, not a verdict. Since then Portland is unbeaten in five matches, has won the last three in seven days, and has gone from chasing the table to leading it.
The week looked like this. Sunday, April 26: Thorns 2-1 at Angel City (recap). Pietra Tordin in the 76th, Sophia Wilson in the 95th. Wednesday, April 29: Thorns 2-0 vs San Diego (recap). Marie Müller on her first NWSL goal in the 10th, Wilson at 64’. Sunday, May 3: Thorns 2-0 at Chicago. Moultrie at 17’, Turner at 89’.
Three wins. Six goals. Four different goalscorers. One conceded. The plan is working.
Couldn’t Write This Better for Liv.
Olivia Moultrie signed her professional contract with the Thorns when she was 13 years old. She had to win a federal court case to do it. She made her professional debut at 15. She has now played 96 NWSL matches, scored 22 goals, registered 14 assists, and earned a senior USWNT cap. On Sunday, on the road, against a Chicago side desperate for a result, she scored the opener and set up the seal.
The opener was a quick-trigger first-time finish at the top of the box from a Tordin lay-off. The assist was the picture: Moultrie spotted Turner on a diagonal run and put a long ball into the space behind the Chicago back line. The Stars keeper came out aggressively to cut it out, lost the duel, and Turner buried it.
That post lands different when you remember she was thirteen years old when she signed her contract.
Turner’s Fourth.
Reilyn Turner’s seal was her fourth Thorns goal of 2026. She scored at home against Seattle on March 20, at home against Kansas City on March 28, at North Carolina on April 4, and at Chicago on May 3. She has scored on the road, at Providence Park, on a header, with both feet, and now into an empty net. That is a forward learning a league.
She came to Portland in August 2024 in the trade that sent Janine Beckie to Racing Louisville. She was the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft out of UCLA. The Thorns are getting a player two seasons after the draft who looks like a year-round starter on the cheapest possible contract. That is the work.
Why Are the Thorns This Good?
Six honest reasons, every one of them verifiable.
One. The goalscorers are everywhere. Through eight NWSL matches, Portland has scored fourteen goals from at least seven different scorers (Tordin, Turner, Moultrie, Wilson, Müller, plus the two on the March 13 and April 4 sheets). In the three-win week alone, Tordin, Wilson, Müller, Moultrie, and Turner all found the net or the assist column. There is no single striker dependency to scout against.
Two. The new signings are producing immediately. Müller scored her first NWSL goal in the second match of her Portland career. Mimi Alidou has registered two NWSL assists. Tordin has four goals and three assists in eight league appearances and won Rookie of the Month twice. Turner is at four goals through eight games. The depth strategy did not need a full year of bedding in.
Three. Mackenzie Arnold and the back line have been ruthless. Three clean sheets across the three-win week. A saved penalty against San Diego on April 29. The Australia number one is reading the league at the level of a Shield contender’s number one and Portland is letting her.
Four. Portland is winning without dominating. Outshot 13 to 12 on Sunday. Outpossessed 51.7 to 48.3. Won 2-0 anyway. Against Angel City the shot count was even more lopsided in the wrong direction. This is the marker of a mature, road-savvy team that knows when to defend deep, when to break, and when to put a 30-yard ball over the top into 4,344 feet of empty space.
Five. The historical mark is real. The 2013 Thorns went 6-1-1 through their first eight league matches and won the inaugural NWSL Championship in November of that year. The 2016 Shield team was 3-4-1 at this checkpoint. The 2021 Shield team was 5-0-3. The 2026 Thorns sit at 6-1-1, 19 points, tied with 2013 and ahead of two Shield-winning sides at the same point in the season. Read the championships page for context.
Six. The standings gap is forming. Portland is on 19 points. Washington Spirit is on 15. San Diego is on 15. Gotham FC is on 14. Utah is on 13. Four points is one bad weekend for any of those clubs and one steady weekend for Portland. The summer is long, but the ledger is real.
By the Numbers
The match line is right above. The bigger numbers are these:
- Three wins in seven days: April 26, April 29, May 3.
- Five clean sheets in the last seven matches: at Washington (1-0), vs Seattle (2-0), vs Kansas City (2-0), vs San Diego (2-0), at Chicago (2-0).
- Eight NWSL matches, 14 goals for, six against, +8 differential.
- Nineteen points. Four clear of second.
What’s Next.
Friday, May 8: at Racing Louisville. Lynn Family Stadium, 3:30 PM Pacific, NWSL+. The fourth match of the seven-day stretch is a Friday-evening road game on streaming. Then Bay FC at Providence Park on May 20 (Vintage Night), then Houston, then Kansas City, then a long summer.
Portland has not played four matches in nine days yet this season. That is the next test. Read the full 30-game schedule for the rest of it. If you are watching from Portland, the Riveters supporters group hosts watch parties at Toffee Club on Tuesday and Friday match days. The Providence Park guide covers the May 20 match home logistics. The combined Portland calendar keeps every Thorns, Fire, and Cascade match on one page.
The math keeps working because the plan keeps working. Three in seven is what depth, goalkeeping, and a 22-year-old who used to be 13-year-old looks like when it shows up at the same time.
By the Numbers
- Possession: Portland 48%, Chicago Stars 52%
- Shots: Portland 12, Chicago Stars 13
- Shots on Target: Portland 5, Chicago Stars 4
- Attendance: 4,344
- Referee: Brad Jensen
- Broadcast: ESPN 2
What's Next
- Full 30-game schedule with dates, times, TV, and theme nights
- Game Day Guide: Providence Park for transit, food, the Riveters, and what to wear
- Can't make the next one? Watch at The Sports Bra or host your own watch party
- Portland women's sports calendar with every Fire, Thorns, and Cascade game on one page
- Full 2026 roster with every player profile, stats, and highlights
- Why Portland is Title Town: three teams, three championships, one city
Players in This Match
Post-Match FAQ
What was the final score in Thorns vs Chicago Stars on May 3?
Portland Thorns 2, Chicago Stars 0 at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Illinois on Sunday, May 3, 2026. Olivia Moultrie scored in the 17th minute and Reilyn Turner sealed it on an empty net in the 89th.
Who scored for the Thorns at Chicago?
Olivia Moultrie scored Portland's opener in the 17th minute, finishing first-time at the top of the box from a Pietra Tordin lay-off. Reilyn Turner added the second in the 89th minute, running onto a long ball from Moultrie and finishing into the empty net after the Chicago keeper came out and lost the duel.
What was the attendance for Thorns at Chicago?
4,344 fans at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston. The Stars are playing their 2026 home matches at Northwestern Medicine Field rather than their previous SeatGeek Stadium home in Bridgeview.
Where are the Thorns in the NWSL standings?
First place. Six wins, one draw, one loss in eight matches. Nineteen points. Four points clear of second-place Washington Spirit (15 points). The only column where Portland is not currently winning is the goal-differential tie with Washington at +8.
How does this Thorns start compare to past Portland teams?
Through eight NWSL matches, the Thorns sit at 6-1-1 with 19 points. That matches the 2013 inaugural side that went on to win the first NWSL Championship. The 2016 Shield-winning team was 3-4-1 (13 points) at the same checkpoint. The 2021 Shield-winning team was 5-0-3 (18 points). This is a top-tier Portland start by any historical comparison.
Why is this called 'Three in Seven'?
Three wins in seven days. Portland beat Angel City on the road on April 26, beat San Diego at home on April 29, and beat Chicago on the road on May 3. Three different match shapes, three different scoring nights, three wins. Travel, turnaround, and depth all required.
How is Portland winning while being outshot?
Chicago outshot Portland 13 to 12 and held more of the ball, 51.7 percent to 48.3. Portland still won 2-0 because they were sharper in the final third (five shots on target to Chicago's four), Mackenzie Arnold did her job again, and the chances Portland created were the chances that mattered. Possession is not a scoreboard.
How many Thorns goals does Reilyn Turner have in 2026?
Four through eight NWSL matches. She scored at home against Seattle on March 20, at home against Kansas City on March 28, at North Carolina on April 4, and at Chicago on May 3. Turner came to Portland from Racing Louisville in August 2024 in the Janine Beckie trade after being the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft out of UCLA.
Was this Olivia Moultrie's first goal-and-assist NWSL match?
Moultrie scored in the 17th and assisted Turner's seal in the 89th. She has 22 NWSL career goals and 14 assists. She signed her professional contract with the Thorns at age 13 in 2021 after a federal court cleared the way for her early entry, made her professional debut at 15, and is now a USWNT-capped midfielder steering Portland's first-place season.
Who was the referee for Thorns at Chicago?
Brad Jensen. No yellow or red cards were shown to either side.
Where could I watch the Thorns vs Chicago Stars match?
ESPN2 carried the match live. National highlights also ran on the NWSL's social channels and the Thorns FC YouTube and X accounts.
When is the next Thorns match?
Friday, May 8 at Racing Louisville at Lynn Family Stadium, kickoff 3:30 PM Pacific on NWSL+. Then home against Bay FC on Wednesday, May 20 at Providence Park (Vintage Night).