Portland Thorns defeat San Diego Wave in NWSL playoff after wild final minute of stoppage time

PORTLAND, Oregon — Two days before the NWSL semifinal between the Portland Thorns and San Diego Wave, Portland midfield Crystal Dunn admitted it’s sometimes been hard, in a season awash with off-field issues, to find joy playing “this beautiful game.”

“We’re trying to compete and win and balance this whole idea of playing for pride and playing for the name on our chest even though we know that what our club represents at this moment isn’t this shining light,” Dunn said Friday.

But Sunday at Providence Park, Dunn’s (very) late-game heroics assured that this club, at least for one day, won’t be known chiefly for its embattled owner and his mismanagement. Instead, it’ll be known for working moms and what they’re capable of.

Just five months after giving birth to son Marcel and with a little over a minute left in stoppage time, Dunn sent a right-footed rocket from the edge of the box over the outstretched arms of San Diego goal keeper Kailen Sheridan, giving the Thorns a 2-1 win and a trip to the NWSL final next weekend against Kansas City in Washington, D.C.

And to think, she almost skipped this season.

“There was apart of me that thought, maybe I just take the rest of this year off, maybe I hit reset and start fresh in 2023,” an obviously exuberant Dunn said afterward. “But for me, I always wanted to end this year the best way that I could.”

Told that it had been only 156 days since Dunn had given birth, Thorns coach Rhian Wilkinson deadpanned, “I have food in my fridge older than that.”

Dunn was back practicing just two months after giving birth, an accelerated timeline that she credits, in part, to husband Pierre Sourer, a professional trainer. Dunn liked pushing her body to the brink, she admitted. She wanted to contribute to her team — and show other moms what’s possible.

The score Sunday was cathartic not just because it was Dunn’s first goal as a mom, but because of everything hanging over the Thorns this season. The goal set off a wild celebration throughout Providence Park, where 22,035 rabid supporters erupted. Thorns midfielder Rocky Rodriguez described the moment as “an explosion of emotions for the whole stadium, and the whole city.”

“It’s been a long year, not just for our club but for the whole NWSL,” Dunn said. “But who’s not fired up to play in the semifinals? These are the moments where you can forget all the distractions.”

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Rodriguez had scored the Thorns’ other goal in the 21st minute, when the ball popped out to her and she needed just one touch to hit a gorgeously placed volley into the top corner. As Dunn left the postgame press conference Sunday, she joked that she was “just trying to be like Rocky.”

“For me (the shot) was just about, you have to get it on frame,” Dunn said of her score. “It’s the worst feeling in the world when you strike a ball and it goes sailing into the stands and you’re like, ‘I didn’t even give my teammates a chance.’”

San Diego struck first on a perfectly lofted ball from Alex Morgan, which Taylor Kornieck nodded in to go up 1-0 in the 8th minute. The teams played mostly even after that, and the game was on the cusp of going to extra time when Dunn, who had subbed in in the 62nd minute, made sure it ended on time — after all, her baby has a schedule to adhere to.

Dunn said Friday there have been times this season when everything got so heavy, it was tough for players to compartmentalize. That’s been particularly true the last three weeks, when ignoring off-field issues was next to impossible following the Oct. 3 release of a report commissioned by U.S. Soccer and led by former Attorney General Sally Yates which revealed wide spread abuse throughout the NWSL.

Portland owner Merritt Paulson was named as one of the worst offenders, and since the report’s publication, fans and numerous players — including Thorns star Becky Sauerbrunn — have called for Paulson to sell.

Paulson fired two front office executives days after the report published, but is still being pressured to leave the game he has long championed. Numerous sponsors have either severed ties or put their relationship with the clubs on pause.

A Thorns spokeswoman said Sunday she was unsure if Paulson attended the semifinal match. He was not visible in his usual seat in the owner’s box.

Fans, who have been vocal on social media about Paulson needing to exit, made their frustration clear on Sunday, too. Minutes before the game kicked off, thousands of fans held up “FOR SALE” signs.

But the story was Dunn, the 5-foot-1 veteran who has taken it upon herself to inject joy and energy into every room she enters, even when she was sidelined before and after giving birth. Dunn was a regular in the Thorns locker room all season, even as her baby belly grew and her due date approached. She found joy in connecting with teammates and “being an athlete, even if I wasn’t competing at the moment.”

“She should be the poster woman for everything,” Wilkinson said of Dunn. “I do think it’s a surprise to many that she’s actually pretty introverted, she’s pretty quiet. She gives what she feels is needed to her teammates and then does her own thing. That is the epitome of a leader — she knows what’s needed and she gives it.”

Sunday, what they needed was an emotional lift and another goal. She gave them both, then celebrated in the best way.

“Stepping off the field and being able to hold my child (right after), is exactly why I did all this,” Dunn said.

And just to clarify — she’s not sure if Marcel, was awake or napping when she sent the Thorns to the NWSL final. But she’s excited to show him the replay as he gets older, and explain why she credits him with an assist.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NWSL playoffs: Portland Thorns get dramatic win over San Diego Wave