How we can we maximize the fantasy value of Portland’s offense?

by | Apr 8, 2023 | NWSL

Sophia Smith runs towards the left of the image in a black uniform with red details, past an opponent in a full red uniform with seafoam blue socks. She is chasing a blue and white ball on a bright green field.

The Thorns have come sprinting out of the gate in 2023, with four goals in each of their first two games. Half of those goals have been scored by Sophia Smith, who already has 52 fantasy points – over two-thirds more than her closest competitor, Alex Morgan. She probably won’t be logging a hat trick every week, but should probably be on your fantasy team for the foreseeable future. 

But which other Thorns should you target in order to maximize the value of the NWSL’s most prolific offense? The primary choices here are forward Morgan Weaver and midfielders Hina Sugita, Crystal Dunn, Christine Sinclair, and Sam Coffey. 

Sugita, while classified as an MF in FNWSL, primarily plays right winger for Portland and therefore has the potential to return FW-level goalscoring as an MF. She is, however, the most expensive of the non-Smith options on the Thorns – and you can probably get significant points from Portland at a lower cost. Weaver is $50k less expensive than Sugita and is second behind Smith in shots and shots on goal for Portland through two rounds. Sinclair may prove to be the highest-value player among these five (at only $225k) and looks to be the primary chance creator for Smith, Sugita, and Weaver. Her primary competition for assists is likely to be Sam Coffey, who has the same cost but has logged more defensive points so far. Between those two, I’d lean towards Coffey due to her being the primary set-piece taker for Portland. Crystal Dunn may be more of a high-risk, high-reward option, as she does feature heavily in the Thorns offense but hasn’t logged quite as many defensive points as her midfield teammates. 

So what does that all mean? You probably want at least three Thorns in your side (get it?) and it’s not a bad idea to have four. If you’re set at FW (e.g. say you have Alex Morgan or Mallory Swanson and another mid-price forward), I’d fill up my Portland quota in this order:

  1. Sophia Smith
  2. Sam Coffey
  3. Christine Sinclair
  4. Morgan Weaver
  5. Hina Sugita
  6. Crystal Dunn 

If you’re set at MF, I’d go in this direction:

  1. Sophia Smith
  2. Morgan Weaver
  3. Crystal Dunn
  4. Sam Coffey
  5. Christine Sinclair
  6. Hina Sugita