Portland Thorns FC Crowned 2021 Women's International Champions Cup Winners After Thrilling Tournament

NEW YORK, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- It only seems fitting that Portland, affectionately known as Soccer City USA, not only hosted the 2021 Women's International Champions Cup (WICC), but also is home to this year's champion: Portland Thorns FC.

The hosts defeated reigning WICC champion Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 on a goal from Morgan Weaver in the 87th minute to give the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup winners the sixth trophy in franchise history and second this year.

In the third place match earlier that day, FC Barcelona outlasted the Houston Dash 3-2 thanks to a brace from 2021 UEFA Women's Player of the Year, Alexia Putellas. Overall the thrilling tournament included 15 goals and 1 penalty shootout across four matches played on August 18 and 21 at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon.

"We couldn't have asked for a better tournament in terms of the exciting world-class play on the field, including appearances from numerous Olympians having just returned from Tokyo, to the electric atmosphere at Providence Park," said Head of the WICC, Susie Fiore. "Soccer City USA certainly lived up to its name and fans were treated to some incredible soccer!"

This year's tournament welcomed approximately 25,000 supporters to Providence Park across both matchdays, while garnering more than 227,000 viewers aged 2 and up airing on the ESPN family of networks in the United States. The final saw a 37% increase in viewership compared to the 2019 event, and was up 78% from 2018.

The tournament was also broadcast internationally through partnerships with ESPN (Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean), DirecTV (South America), TV3 (Spain), NENT (Scandinavia), W Sport (sub-Saharan Africa), and Weibo (China). DAZN was the global broadcaster outside of these territories, giving the WICC distribution in a total of 236 markets.

Each participating club had to qualify to earn a spot in this year's WICC with qualification based on last season's results. The host Thorns qualified by winning the 2020 NWSL Fall Series, Lyon by winning the 2020 UEFA Women's Champions League and 2020 Division 1 Féminine, the Dash by winning the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, and Barcelona by winning the 2020 Primera División.

Weaver, who subbed into the scoreless championship match in the 82nd minute, returned to the field for the first time following an extensive absence due to injury. Five minutes later, she made her presence felt with a touch to beat the Lyon goalkeeper on a long ball from Christen Westphal, before tucking it into the far corner for the match-winning score.

NWSL-leading Portland continued its strong play on defense in the WICC by keeping seven-time UEFA Champions League winner Lyon off the scoreboard. Goalkeeper Bella Bixby made six saves for a clean sheet, while midfielder Natalia Kuikka was named player of the tournament.

The 2021 WICC got off to an exciting start on August 18 as Lyon duked it out in the first semifinal with treble-winning FC Barcelona 3-2 in a back-and-forth contest decided by Lyon's Melvine Malard's 85th-minute winner. Barcelona's Mariona Caldentey put the reigning UEFA Champions League winners ahead 1-0 within nine minutes before Lyon scored twice in a seven-minute span on goals by Amel Majri (20') and former Portland Thorn, Amandine Henry (27'), to take a 2-1 lead into halftime. Caldentey equalized in the 63rd minute before Malard's late dramatics sealed it for Lyon.

The drama spilled into the second, all-NWSL semifinal as the Thorns toppled the Dash 3-1 on penalty kicks thanks to three saves from Shelby Hogan, who was making her professional debut. The Dash was up 2-0 at the half on 2 goals from Shea Groom.  Natalia Kuikka scored in the 51^st minute, which was followed by 15-year old phenom Olivia Moultrie scoring her first goal as a professional on a direct freekick in the 58th minute to tie the score at 2-2, eventually forcing the penalty shootout.

The WICC continues to showcase the growth and support in women's soccer on and off the field. Blue-chip brands including Budweiser, Ally, BODYARMOR, Nike, Orbitz, Pacific Seafood, Shutterstock, Sport Oregon, Stage Front Tickets, Therabody, Turkish Airlines, Verizon, and YETI partnered with Women's ICC operator Relevent Sports Group (RSG) for this year's event, helping to grow the women's game through awareness, content, campaigns and initiatives. Sponsorship revenue more than doubled for the 2021 WICC compared to the 2019 WICC (there was no WICC in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic).

"Every summer we deliver the most exciting women's soccer tournament, and 2021 was no exception," Relevent Sports Group CEO Daniel Sillman said. "It's hard to put into words the feeling of seeing and hearing thousands of screaming and chanting fans back in the stands following the difficult times we all had to endure in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, but we're certainly glad to be back and can't wait for next year."

ABOUT RELEVENT SPORTS GROUP
Relevent Sports Group (RSG) is the premier soccer events and media business in North America and Asia. RSG operates the International Champions Cup, the summer's largest men's club tournament featuring the world's best teams in iconic venues, the WICC, and ICC Futures, a youth tournament for the top clubs in the world. Regarded as one of the most influential privately-owned soccer companies internationally, RSG is focused on expanding its footprint, creating a year-round soccer platform including new digital properties and the first-of-its-kind joint venture with LaLiga to promote soccer in North America.

CONTACT:
Matthew Kontos
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SOURCE Relevent Sports Group