Olivia Moultrie Marks 100th Appearance With Goal and Assist as Portland Thorns Beat Chicago Stars 2-0

Some players celebrate a milestone with cake. Olivia Moultrie celebrated hers by deciding a road game in Evanston before most of Chicago had finished Sunday brunch.

In her 100th NWSL regular-season appearance, Moultrie scored in the 17th minute and set up substitute Reilyn Turner in the 89th as the Portland Thorns beat the Chicago Stars 2-0 at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in front of 4,344 fans. It capped a three-match week in which Portland won all three, according to the club, and kept the Thorns unbeaten in five.

Tordin Knocks, Moultrie Answers

Portland came out hunting. Pietra Tordin forced Alyssa Naeher into a save in the 10th minute, Sophia Wilson had a shot blocked in the same sequence, and a minute later Tordin was inches wide from very close range off a corner. Chicago had an early problem, too, with Emma Egizii replacing Tessa Dellarose in the 10th minute because of an injury.

The breakthrough came in the 17th minute. Naeher saved Tordin's shot from a tight angle on the right, Tordin recovered the rebound, according to the Thorns, and she laid it back to Moultrie in the middle. Moultrie hammered a right-footed shot into the roof of the net from the center of the box. Clean, loud and very on brand.

Chicago responded with real energy. Mackenzie Arnold had already saved from Nádia Gomes in the 15th minute, and she pushed away an Egizii drive in the 21st. Michelle Alozie headed just over off a corner two minutes later, and the Stars kept the Portland back line busy with set pieces. Jordyn Huitema and Aaliyah Farmer both headed wide late in the half, and Alozie dragged a shot narrowly wide in stoppage time. Per the Stars, they took eight first-half shots and still went in trailing.

Portland was not simply sitting on the lead, either. Jessie Fleming fired just over from outside the box off a Moultrie pass after a corner in the 25th minute, M.A. Vignola sent a shot from the center of the box just over the bar in the 32nd, and Tordin cleared the crossbar from distance in the 42nd. Naeher then had to get down to save a Wilson shot from outside the box in the third minute of first-half stoppage time, Wilson's final act before Turner replaced her.

Arnold Holds the Line

Portland coach Robert Vilahamn sent on Turner for Wilson at halftime, and Chicago spent much of the second half on the front foot. The best chance of the afternoon came in the 51st minute, when Gomes headed the ball into Alozie's path and Alozie powered a header toward the top of the goal from very close range. Arnold got there.

That save was the hinge of the match. A 1-1 game with Chicago pressing would have been a very different afternoon. Instead, the Thorns kept their shape, absorbed corner after corner and waited for a chance to finish it.

The Stars kept trying. Jenna Bike had a shot blocked in the 59th minute, and Alozie forced one more save from Arnold from distance in the 85th. Portland's own attacking moments were sparse after the break, with substitute Deyna Castellanos missing from the left side of the box in the 79th.

The Dagger

Then, in the 89th minute, Moultrie found Turner with a long ball. According to the Thorns, Turner rounded Naeher, who had come off her line and out of the box, and slotted a left-footed finish into an empty net from the left side of the box. Game over. Kathrin Hendrich nearly pulled one back in stoppage time with a shot that flashed just past the top left corner after a corner, but the shutout held.

Moultrie, Tordin and the Wall

Moultrie's afternoon was efficient to the point of comedy: one shot, one goal, one assist. The Thorns say she became the youngest player to play in 100 regular-season games and only the 13th player in league history to score in their 100th NWSL appearance. She and Turner now share the team lead with four goals each, per the club, and Moultrie and Tordin share the team lead with three assists apiece.

Tordin was Portland's most active attacker, with four shots, two on target and the assist on the opener. Arnold made four saves and, according to the Thorns, recorded her second straight clean sheet and third of the season.

For Chicago, Alozie was the standout with four shots, two on target. The Stars also noted that Hendrich completed 43 of her 45 passes. Naeher made three saves.

Chicago Won the Stat Sheet, Not the Game

• Shots: Chicago 13, Portland 12. Portland put five on target to Chicago's four.
• Corners: Chicago 11, Portland 5. The Stars lived on set pieces and never converted one.
• Crosses: Chicago sent in 25 crosses to Portland's nine.
• Possession: Chicago had 52.5 percent of the ball.
• Discipline: Not a single yellow card for either side, with only 15 fouls combined.

Portland's Perfect Week, Chicago's Drought

Portland moves to 6-1-1 with 19 points. The week began with a 2-1 win at Angel City FC and continued with a 2-0 home win over the San Diego Wave before this one. The Thorns say they remain undefeated when scoring first this season and now have five clean sheets in eight matches. Per the club, it was also the second time this season the Thorns have strung together back-to-back clean sheets. They head to Racing Louisville FC on Friday.

Chicago drops to 2-0-6 with six points. It was a second straight home loss without a goal for the Stars after a 2-0 defeat to Gotham FC, and Chicago has now been shut out in six of its eight matches. The Stars hit the road next, starting at the Kansas City Current on May 10.

Moultrie's Main Character Energy

There are milestone games where the honoree gets a nice graphic and a polite round of applause. Then there is whatever Moultrie did on Sunday, which was closer to a season finale where the lead character resolves every plot line herself. One hundred games in, she still plays like she has something to prove, and Portland is reaping every bit of it.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Club notes as reported by the Portland Thorns and the Chicago Stars; neither club's recap included postgame quotes.