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Jeff Kassouf
The Portland Thorns have announced the termination of head coach Rob Gale, the club confirmed on Tuesday.
Gale stepped in as head coach during the 2024 NWSL season after a successful stint as interim coach. Last year, the Thorns ended in sixth place, losing to NJ/NY Gotham FC in the quarterfinals.
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This marked Gale’s only full season in charge. The Thorns finished third in the league with an 11-7-8 (W-D-L) record, accumulating 40 points. They secured a victory against the San Diego Wave in the quarterfinal before being eliminated by the Washington Spirit in the semifinals.
The Thorns announced that assistant coach Sarah Lowdon will take over as interim head coach, while first assistant coach Adam Day has also departed from the club. The 2026 NWSL regular season is set to begin on March 13.
“We appreciate Rob’s dedication to the Thorns and the positive impact he has made on our players and staff,” said Thorns general manager Jeff Agoos in the team’s statement. “We thank Rob for his contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Portland experienced a tumultuous year marked by injuries and absences.
Three potential starters were sidelined with season-ending knee injuries during preseason, and star forward Sophia Wilson was on maternity leave for the entire season.
Following the Thorns’ semifinal loss on Nov. 15, captain Sam Coffey expressed pride in the team, while emphasizing the need for improved consistency moving forward.
“The immediate word that comes to mind is consistency,” Coffey remarked. “We have the potential to be exceptional, especially at home. However, we need to be more resilient when playing away; I believe that was evident in today’s match. We possess too much talent to not exhibit greater consistency in our performances, and that applies to every level of the organization. We can work on being more committed to showing up every day and maintaining consistency in our details, performance, and training.”