PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Portland Thorns played rival Seattle on Wednesday night before a National Women's Soccer League-record crowd of 21,144.
It was the first sellout at Providence Park for the Thorns. Portland also held the previous NWSL attendance record of 19,123, set Aug. 3, 2014, for a match against the Houston Dash.
The Thorns lead the league in attendance by a wide margin, averaging 13,769 fans a game this season. Wednesday night's match will mark the fourth time the crowd has gone over 16,000 at the downtown stadium, which is also home to Major League Soccer's Portland Timbers.
The record for a professional women's soccer match in the United States was set in 2001, when 34,148 watched the Washington Freedom defeat the Bay Area CyberRays 1-0 at RFK Stadium. Mia Hamm starred for the Freedom while Brandi Chastain led the CyberRays.