Following the roller-coaster of the 2024 season that saw a coaching change, a 6th place finish in the table, and getting knocked out in the quarterfinals, the expectations weren’t high for the Thorns after the pre-season announcement adding three players to the 2025 season-ending injury list (along with Sophia Wilson joining maternity leave). 

Still, the Thorns finished the 2025 season with one more win and three more draws than the 2024 season, ending 3rd in the table and getting knocked out of the semifinals by the Washington Spirit. The Thorns’ injury luck did not seem to turn around throughout the season, ending the season with a combined seven players on season-ending injury and maternity leave. 

The club led the league in points gained from losing position (13), and was 3rd in points dropped from a winning position (4). 

Portland has a solid number of players returning, and with a new training facility being built, and leading the league in average attendance, the Thorns are in a good position to have a strong offseason and continue momentum into 2026. 

The Positives

One of the most impressive parts of the season is that even with all of the injuries (22 players were on the injury report at one time or another), and without Sophia Wilson, the Thorns were able to score only one less goal than 2024. They had the 3rd most goals scored across the league (35) and were 4th in expected goals (40). 

On the defensive side, the Thorns did concede more goals in 2025 than 2024, but were still tied-4th in goals conceded (29), and were 6th in expected goals against (33.9) — always a good sign when you’ve allowed less goals than expected. The squad also only conceded one penalty throughout the regular season, and that single one was saved. 

The Thorns also signed Olivia Moultrie—the team’s 2025 leading goalscorer with 8 goals—to a 4-year contract extension through the 2029 season. Moultrie would’ve been a free agent next offseason. 

The Negatives

With only four wins coming away from Providence Park, the Thorns need more consistency on the road for 2026. After the semifinal loss, captain Sam Coffey said to the media in regards to the next steps for the team: 

“The word that comes to mind is consistency. We are so capable of being electric, especially at home. I think we can be a bit more durable on the road and that showed today in some ways. We have too much talent to not be more consistent with our performances, top to bottom, as an organization.”

After starting pre-season with two ACL tears and another knee injury, the players that Portland kept bringing in to fill in the frontline, in Caiya Hanks and Julie Dufour, both suffered ACL tears on the Providence Park turf. The Thorns finished the season with two goalkeepers on the bench to hit the required minimum gameday roster, but at the secondary transfer window, the club should’ve done more to sign more depth so they didn’t end the season at the league minimum of 22 players on the active roster. 

Roster Flexibility 

The Thorns have 23 players signed through 2026, including four players on the 2025 season-ending injury list. Although hopefully Morgan Weaver and Marie Müller will be back on the active roster for the start of season, Caiya Hanks and Julie Dufour—whose ACL tears were later in the season—will be best case back in the back half of the season. 

For 2026, Portland has seven of their eight international spots occupied (including Dufour and Müller’s which won’t actually be in use until they re-join active roster). 

So far in 2026 free agency, the Thorns have only re-signed one free agent, midfielder Mallie McKenzie to a 1-year contract. 

Offseason Priorities

The biggest offseason priority for the Thorns has to be re-signing Sophia Wilson. The 3x Best XI First Team, 2023 Golden Boot, and 2022 NWSL MVP is electric when she’s on the pitch and not only basically irreplaceable to the Thorns offense, but no team enjoys attempting to defend her. 

The other places that the Thorns need to invest in during the offseason is the centerback position which felt the loss of Becky Sauerbrunn’s retirement, and some depth in the midfield — which is down to only four signed for the upcoming season.