Photo credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
The Portland Thorns have fired Rob Gale after nearly two seasons as the club’s head coach. Gale took over for Mike Norris on April 15, 2024, and led the club to a 22-17-10 regular season record through the end of this season. First assistant Adam Day has also left the Thorns.
“We are grateful to Rob for his dedication to the Thorns and the positive impact he has had on our players and staff,” Thorns General Manager Jeff Agoos said in a statement. “We thank Rob for his contributions and wish him the best in his next venture.”
Sarah Lowdown, who twice served as interim head coach for the Houston Dash, will fill that role for the Thorns as the coaching search begins.
The Thorns qualified for the playoffs in both of Gale’s seasons at the helm. After losing to Gotham in the 2024 quarterfinals, the club did one better in ’25 by beating the Wave in an overtime quarterfinal. Their season ended two weekends ago in a 2-0 loss to the Washington Spirit.
After the semi-final loss in Washington, Gale lamented the number of injuries the club had suffered during the season, saying the semi-final was “one game too many”. However, Sam Coffey reconsidered that idea.
“It’s not a disrespect to Rob, but I think it’s a bit of a subterfuge,” Coffey said. “I think we just got outplayed, and it’s definitely going to be a big lesson for the future if we keep playing in big games. Going forward, we have to be more composed and be able to take advantage of the different elements of the game that presented themselves today.”
It won’t be Gale leading the Thorns to their next big game. They join Bay FC and Kansas City Current as NWSL sides with coaching vacancies. The Courage will continue to operate under interim Nathan Thakaray after firing Sean Nahas last summer.
#Thorns #fires #Rob #Gale #coach #Equalizer #Soccer