Caiya Hanks scored the tiebreaking goal in the 61st minute and Portland Thorns pulled away in the second half for a 4-1 victory over visiting Gotham FC on Tuesday night.
Hanks scored her first career goal by stepping into a right-footed shot in the center of the box after getting a pass from Sam Coffey and lifting the ball into the far side of the net.
Hanks scored after also getting her first career assist by setting up a goal by Marie-Yasmine Alidou in the seventh minute.
Jayden Perry added an insurance tally by converting a penalty kick in the 73rd for Portland (2-2-2, 8 points). Deyna Castellanos also scored in the 80th minute for the Thorns, who entered the night with just three goals through their first five games.
Esther Gonzalez produced her fifth goal of the season and tallied for the third straight game but Gotham (2-2-2, 8 points) saw a 10-game road unbeaten streak (6-0-4) across all competitions halted.
Portland goalie Mackenzie Arnold made both of her saves in the second half, including a point-blank stop on Gonzalez in the opening minute of the half to keep the contest tied. Gotham’s Ann-Katrin Berger stopped three shots.
Alidou opened the scoring from the center of the box by redirecting a pass from Hanks with her left foot into the center of the net.
A minute later, with Gotham on a two-on-two, Gabi Portilho eluded defender Jessie Fleming and got the ball to Gonzalez. Gonzalez finished off her latest goal by flicking a left-footed shot from close range into the vacated right corner of the net.
After Hanks scored, Perry blasted her penalty shot into the left side of the net when Berger dove to her right. Castellanos made it 4-1 by scoring from close range on a right-footed shot.
–Field Level Media
