2013 Portland Thorns FC season

The 2013 season was the Portland Thorns' inaugural season in the newly created National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of women's professional soccer in the United States. The Thorns ended the 22-game regular season with a 10-6-6 record, qualifying them for the NWSL playoffs. In their semi-final game the team beat FC Kansas City 3-2 in extra time, qualifying them to play Western New York Flash in the championship. The Thorns beat the Flash 2–0, making Portland Thorns FC the NWSL champion.

Background
The league's founding was announced on November 21, 2012, with Portland as a host for one of eight teams. At that time it was announced by Portland Timbers' owner Merritt Paulson that the Timbers would own the team.

The chosen team, Portland Thorns FC, was announced on December 13, 2012, accompanied by the unveiling of its logo. Both the name and logo were intended to invoke Portland's nickname of the Rose City.

Cindy Parlow Cone was announced as the first head coach on December 19, 2012.

Roster
In the National Women's Soccer League's (NWSL) inaugural season, the eight founding clubs filled out their rosters through numerous mechanisms. First, teams are allocated national team players from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Next, teams go through the NWSL College Draft, a free agency period, the NWSL Supplemental Draft, and the signing of Discovery Players.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; font-size:90%; width:85%" ! style="background:#00000; color:black; text-align:center;"| No. ! style="background:#00000; color:black; text-align:center;"| Name ! style="background:#00000; color:black; text-align:center;"| Nationality ! style="background:#00000; color:black; text-align:center;"| Date of Birth (Age) ! style="background:#00000; color:black; text-align:center;"| Previous Club ! style="background:#00000; color:black; text-align:center;"| Signed Via / Notes ! colspan=6 style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Goalkeepers ! colspan=6 style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Defenders ! colspan=6 style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Midfielders ! colspan=6 style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Forwards
 * 1
 * Karina LeBlanc
 * March 30, 1980
 * 🇺🇸 magicJack (WPS)
 * National team allocation
 * 23
 * Adelaide Gay
 * November 3, 1989
 * University of North Carolina
 * Discovery player
 * November 3, 1989
 * University of North Carolina
 * Discovery player
 * Discovery player
 * 2
 * Marian Dougherty
 * November 25, 1984
 * 🇺🇸 magicJack (WPS)
 * Supplemental draft
 * 4
 * Emilee O'Neil
 * March 26, 1983
 * Stanford University
 * Discovery player
 * 5
 * Kathryn Williamson
 * August 1, 1989
 * University of Florida
 * NWSL College Draft
 * 7
 * Nikki Marshall
 * June 2, 1988
 * 🇺🇸Western New York Flash
 * Free agent
 * 11
 * Jazmyne Avant
 * January 30, 1990
 * 🇺🇸New York Fury
 * Discovery player
 * 16
 * Rachel Van Hollebeke
 * August 26, 1985
 * 🇺🇸 Boston Breakers
 * National team allocation
 * Jazmyne Avant
 * January 30, 1990
 * 🇺🇸New York Fury
 * Discovery player
 * 16
 * Rachel Van Hollebeke
 * August 26, 1985
 * 🇺🇸 Boston Breakers
 * National team allocation
 * August 26, 1985
 * 🇺🇸 Boston Breakers
 * National team allocation
 * 3
 * Elizabeth Guess
 * January 11, 1985
 * 🇺🇸 Boston Breakers
 * Waivers
 * 6
 * Meleana Shim
 * September 25, 1991
 * Santa Clara University
 * Discovery player
 * 8
 * Angie Kerr
 * March 29, 1987
 * 🇺🇸Sky Blue FC
 * Supplemental draft
 * 10
 * Allie Long
 * August 13, 1987
 * 🇺🇸New York Fury
 * Free Agent
 * 12
 * Becky Edwards
 * May 22, 1988
 * 🇸🇪Kristianstads DFF
 * Free agent
 * 17
 * Tobin Heath
 * May 29, 1988
 * 🇫🇷Paris Saint-Germain
 * National team allocation
 * 20
 * Courtney Wetzel
 * February 25, 1989
 * Oregon State University
 * Discovery player
 * 21
 * Nikki Washington
 * August 1, 1988
 * 🇦🇺Canberra United FC
 * Free agent
 * 🇫🇷Paris Saint-Germain
 * National team allocation
 * 20
 * Courtney Wetzel
 * February 25, 1989
 * Oregon State University
 * Discovery player
 * 21
 * Nikki Washington
 * August 1, 1988
 * 🇦🇺Canberra United FC
 * Free agent
 * August 1, 1988
 * 🇦🇺Canberra United FC
 * Free agent
 * Free agent
 * 9
 * Danielle Foxhoven
 * November 8, 1989
 * 🇷🇺FC Energy Voronezh
 * Discovery player
 * 12
 * Christine Sinclair (captain)
 * June 12, 1983
 * 🇺🇸 Western New York Flash
 * National team allocation
 * 13
 * Alex Morgan
 * July 2, 1989
 * 🇺🇸 Seattle Sounders Women
 * National team allocation
 * 18
 * Jessica Shufelt
 * May 29, 1990
 * 🇨🇦Ottawa Fury Women
 * Supplemental draft
 * National team allocation
 * 18
 * Jessica Shufelt
 * May 29, 1990
 * 🇨🇦Ottawa Fury Women
 * Supplemental draft
 * 🇨🇦Ottawa Fury Women
 * Supplemental draft

Competitions

 * All times Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−07:00)

Team statistics
Statistics accurate as of October 11, 2013

Goalkeeper stats
Last updated: October 11, 2013

Honors
NWSL Player of the Month

National Team Player Allocation
On January 11, 2013, the league held its player allocation for the national team players, with Portland receiving seven players: Rachel Buehler, Tobin Heath, Karina LeBlanc, Alex Morgan, Marlene Sandoval, Luz Saucedo, and Christine Sinclair. On January 23, 2013, Heath signed a six-month contract with Paris Saint-Germain and expected to join the Thorns FC once the French club's season is concluded. On March 21, 2013, Sandoval and Saucedo, the two allocated Mexico national team defenders, were removed from the team roster, due to an injury and decision by the Mexican Football Federation, respectively.

National Women's Soccer League College Draft
Each team in the NWSL got to pick once per round, with the draft order based on how well each team did in allocation. The Thorns picked eighth (last) in each round.

Supplemental Draft Picks
Any player that wasn’t selected in the NWSL College Draft, and was done with her college eligibility, was eligible for the NWSL Supplemental Draft. The draft lasted six rounds. Again, the Thorns selected eighth (last) in each round.