The Rose City Breakdown

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown! On this episode, Melina conducts a film study from the Portland Thorns 4-0 demolition of Racing Louisville. Phuoc speaks with Sounder at Heart's (Ride of the Valkyries) Steve Voght to preview the Cascadia Derby and the best rivalry in all of women's sports: Portland Thorns vs Seattle Reign. And lastly, the duo discuss the signing of PSV midfielder Nina Nijs...

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown. On this episode, the duo and co-hosts Phuoc Nguyen (Fook Win) and Melina Gaspar discuss the upcoming summer transfer window, sharing their top targets and priorities. In the second half of the podcast, Brendan Devine of Butchertown Rundown joins us to preview the Racing Louisville matchup and the return of NWSL play.

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown podcast! The Portland Thorns have been one of the early surprises of the 2026 NWSL season. However, is everything perfect? Are they expected the favorites to win the shield and championship? Not so fast... Co-hosts Phuoc Nguyen (Fook Win) and Melina Gaspar bring out the report cards for the goalkeepers, backline, midfielders, frontline, coaching staff, and f...

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown - the professional women's sports podcast that covers the excellence in Portland. On this episode, we are joined by Sean Moran of the Royal Riot podcast to preview the clash of the titans, No. 2 Portland Thorns vs No. 1 Utah Royals. How have URFC become the best story in the NWSL? We discuss it all. Also we preview the game and which players and matchups wil...

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown! On this episode, Phuoc preview the Portland Thorns at Kansas City Current matchup with KC Soccer Journal's managing editor, Thad Bell. In Melina Corner's, her film review covers the keys to the 2-0 win over Bay FC!

On this episode of the Rose City Breakdown, we are joined by Sara Ach of the WOSO Show (The Women's Soccer Show), play-by-play for Stanford and Cal soccer, and the international NWSL broadcast to preview the Portland Thorns and Bay FC matchup. In Melina's corner, her film session covers the entirety of the 0-0 draw versus Angel City FC!

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown - the only dedicated women's professional sports podcast in Portland. The Portland Fire earned their first ever win off a buzzer-beater from Sarah Ashlee Barker - an upset 98-96 victory over New York Liberty. We'll be returning with our segment on the next episode. The Portland Thorns are coming off their second loss of the season, this time a 1-3 road loss...

The No. 1 ranked Portland Thorns head on the road to take on No. 15 Racing Louisville. To preview the matchup on this episode of The Rose City Breakdown, we are joined by Butchertown Rundown's Brendan Devine. We discuss the early struggles the team is facing, Bev Yanez's impact on young talent, the frontline of Emma Sears, Sarah Weber, and Kayla Fischer, key matchups, and much more. Does Louisvill...

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown - the only women's professional sports podcast in the city of Portland. The Portland Thorns are now four points clear in first place of the NWSL table. Melina Gaspar and I share our thoughts of the wins over San Diego Wave 2-0 and Chicago Stars 2-0. Who stood out and what lingering concerns are there? In Melina's corner, she highlights the standout play of J...

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown - The Women's Sports podcast for all professional sports in Portland. Melina is back better than ever with a new microphone and Phuoc is also there. On this episode, the duo discuss the key stats that determined the 2-1 road win for Portland Thorns over Angel City FC, Carolyn Calzada's strong debut, and much more. They also react to Soph Wilson's first goal...

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown! Phuoc Nguyen and Melina Gaspar are back to discuss the Portland Thorns' early season, who has stood out, lingering concerns, and much more. Melina's Corner returns with a full film breakdown from the North Carolina Courage match with positives and a few glaring cons. Also in the first-ever Portland Fire segment, Matt Bagley of Sports Illustrated (Oregon Sta...

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown! The NWSL is finally returning after the long international break. In the Portland Thorns' first match back, they'll be heading on the road and facing off against one of the biggest surprises in the NWSL, Angel City FC. I'm honored to be joined by Angels on Parade, Managing Editor Trebor Tracy, to preview this massive game. In the preview, we discuss ACFC's...

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown. Melina Gaspar is back and gives you a closer look at the Portland Thorns' decisive win over KC Current. In Melina's corner, she breaks down the impact of Olivia Moultrie, Cassandra Bogere, Soph Wilson, and so much more. To preview the NC Courage matchup, Phuoc Nguyen catches up with The Lion's Pitch to preview the latest matchup. Trevor Knoblich and Katheri...

The Rose City Breakdown duo immediately react to the Portland Thorns' first loss of the season, a 1-3 defeat at San Diego Wave. Melina breaks down what went wrong tactically and what metrics stood out the most. Phuoc speaks to Thad Bell of the KC Soccer Journal to preview the Saturday matchup between the two sides. They discuss the Chris Armas hire, trade of Claire Hutton, Temwa Chawinga's absence...

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown. In this episode, Melina Gaspar breaks down footage from the craziest Cascadia Derby ever. She focuses on Jessie Fleming's importance in attack and defense. She also discusses the six position moving forward without Cassandra Bogere (suspension). In the second half of the episode, Phuoc Nguyen speaks to Abe Zededa of All For XI and SanDiego. Futbol to previe...

Despite two red cards, the Portland Thorns took down the Seattle Reign 2-0 in front of a home opener record of 21,321 fans at Providence Park. Pietra Tordin chipped in two goal contributions, Reilyn Turner opened up her scoring account, and the Rose City recorded yet another shutout. Jessie Fleming, Morgan Messner, Sam Hiatt, and Isa Obaze have put on a masterclass and now have back-to-back shutou...

Welcome back to the Rose City Breakdown. Happy Cascadia Derby week! Portland Thorns vs Seattle Reign is widely-regarded as one of, if not the best rivalry in all of women's sports. Although these special matches are typically played later in the NWSL season, it is now the home opener for the Thorns - Friday at 5 p.m. PT on Prime Video. Phuoc and Melina break down the Portland Thorns opening day up...

The NWSL is back and kicking it off are the Portland Thorns and the Washington Spirit at Audi Field on Friday at 5 p.m. PST (Prime Video). To preview the Portland Thorns' 2026 season, we are joined by Expected Own Goals' (xOG) Evan Davis and Eric Morgan - two of the absolute best for women's soccer coverage. The xOG duo are brilliant and primarily focus on tactics and analytics in their coverage....

According to ESPN's Jeff Kassouf, the Portland Thorns have hired former Tottenham Hotspur manager, Robert Vilahamn. The Rose City Breakdown's Phuoc Nguyen and Melina Gaspar discuss the hire, the timing, and how Jeff Agoos failed his first true test as GM. The duo also provides a grade for the hire and a full assessment of why it doesn't meet the standards at the moment.

- Introductions - Was the offseason a failure? - Has ownership done enough or are they falling behind? - Where is the head coaching search at? Without a hire in place, is this a massive concern heading into the season? - Does a direct replacement at defensive for Sam Coffey take precedent as the biggest need? - CB ignored in the offseason - Preseason opener starts off with many issues from 2025 -...