Moultrie's goal gives the Thorns a 1-0 win at the Spirit to open the NWSL season

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Olivia Moultrie scored early in the second half to give the Portland Thorns a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League season opener on Friday night.

It was the first road shutout for the Thorns against the Spirit since 2021. Portland fell to the Spirit 2-0 in the semifinals of the playoffs last season at Audi Field.

Moultrie broke through for the Thorns with her goal in the 52nd minute off a pass from Pietra Tordin. Moultrie broke by defender Tara Rudd and finished with a shot that Spirit goalkeeper Sandy MacIver couldn’t reach.

The Spirit, who went on to play in the NWSL title game last season but fell 1-0 to Gotham, welcomed a sellout crowd of 19,215 for the game.

Trinity Rodman started for the Spirit after signing a three-year deal to return in the offseason. The effort to keep Rodman prompted the NWSL to adopt the “High Impact Player” rule, which allows teams to go up to $1 million over the league's salary cap to sign players who meet certain criteria.

Hal Hershfelt had a shot from distance in the 75th minute hit the cross bar as the Spirit scrambled to equalize. Rodman had a header that popped up and over the goal in the final minutes.

Shortly thereafter, Sophia Wilson, who didn't play for the Thorns last season while on maternity leave, subbed into the game.

Wilson played her first minutes in more than a year in a preseason match against Mexican club Monterrey earlier this month.

There were questions around the Thorns this season after losing midfielder Sam Coffey to Manchester City in the offseason. Portland is also playing under a new coach, Robert Vilahamn, who joined the team for the first time earlier this month.

Andi Sullivan was unavailable for the Spirit because of illness.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer