© Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
Five games into the 2026 National Women’s Soccer League season, the Portland Thorns find themselves second in the table with three wins and just one loss. They also find themselves having to get creative tactically with their striker options, able as they are to choose from returning U.S. women’s national team star Sophia Wilson, the in-form Reilyn Turner and the ever-improving Pietra Tordin. This is the proverbial good headache most coaches can only dream of.
Wilson is a known quantity in the league and her return from maternity leave is a huge boost to the team. Few strikers in the world can rival her combination of skill, speed and shooting threat. Turner is aerially strong and an intelligent runner who is always a threat on the opponent’s last line, while Tordin is a technically and physically strong center-forward who can contribute just as well with her back to goal as she can facing it.
While Wilson has been the team’s attacking leader in the past and is expected to fulfill that role again, Thorns’ new head coach Robert Vilahamn has taken note of both Turner and Tordin’s performances. After the team’s 2-0 win over the Kansas City Current, he highlighted Turner’s versatility but admitted that she is “probably…best in the No. 9 position.” And after the 2-0 victory over Seattle Reign he described Tordin as “top class” and predicted that she will likely follow Wilson and Turner in earning U.S. national team recognition in the future.
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