Portland Thorns FC, Goalkeeper Bella Bixby Exercise Mutual Option for 2026 Season
PORTLAND, Ore. (June 21, 2025) – Portland Thorns FC announced today that it has reached a mutual agreement with goalkeeper Bella Bixby to exercise her option for the 2026 season.
“Bella has been an influential player for this Club for several years and we are pleased to have her join us for next season,” President and General Manager of Soccer Operations Jeff Agoos said. “She is a veteran voice in our young locker room whose presence strengthens our Club’s culture, and we look forward to her continued impact in Portland.”
Bixby will remain in Portland after equaling the club record for most regular season clean sheets (26), which is also sixth most in NWSL history. The 2021 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year Finalist helped Portland secure its league-record third NWSL Championship in 2022 as well as the NWSL Shield and NWSL Challenge Cup in 2021.
“I am so excited to be spending another year in Portland,” Bixby said. “Not many players are fortunate enough to spend so many years with one club, let alone their hometown team. This club means so much to me and I’m incredibly proud to represent it for another season and continue chasing championships.”
A Milwaukie, Oregon native who played her collegiate soccer at Oregon State, the 29-year-old has become a major figure for her hometown club since being selected by Portland in the 2018 NWSL Draft. Bixby battled back from injuries during her first two professional seasons to earn her Thorns debut in 2020 and has gone on to register 66 matches with 190 saves in that span, 9th and 10th most in the NWSL respectively.
Her return to action after missing last season on maternity leave has seen the goalkeeper go unbeaten in four of six games played this season, playing a role in defending the Thorns current eight-match home unbeaten run.
Bixby is the longest tenured member on the active roster and serves as a veteran voice in Portland’s youthful locker room, a role she takes upmost pride in as the Thorns continue to build out its new chapter under RAJ Sports.
Portland Thorns FC, Goalkeeper Bella Bixby Exercise Mutual Option for 2026 Season
PORTLAND, Ore. (June 21, 2025) – Portland Thorns FC announced today that it has reached a mutual agreement with goalkeeper Bella Bixby to exercise her option for the 2026 season.
“Bella has been an influential player for this Club for several years and we are pleased to have her join us for next season,” President and General Manager of Soccer Operations Jeff Agoos said. “She is a veteran voice in our young locker room whose presence strengthens our Club’s culture, and we look forward to her continued impact in Portland.”
Bixby will remain in Portland after equaling the club record for most regular season clean sheets (26), which is also sixth most in NWSL history. The 2021 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year Finalist helped Portland secure its league-record third NWSL Championship in 2022 as well as the NWSL Shield and NWSL Challenge Cup in 2021.
“I am so excited to be spending another year in Portland,” Bixby said. “Not many players are fortunate enough to spend so many years with one club, let alone their hometown team. This club means so much to me and I’m incredibly proud to represent it for another season and continue chasing championships.”
A Milwaukie, Oregon native who played her collegiate soccer at Oregon State, the 29-year-old has become a major figure for her hometown club since being selected by Portland in the 2018 NWSL Draft. Bixby battled back from injuries during her first two professional seasons to earn her Thorns debut in 2020 and has gone on to register 66 matches with 190 saves in that span, 9th and 10th most in the NWSL respectively.
Her return to action after missing last season on maternity leave has seen the goalkeeper go unbeaten in four of six games played this season, playing a role in defending the Thorns current eight-match home unbeaten run.
Bixby is the longest tenured member on the active roster and serves as a veteran voice in Portland’s youthful locker room, a role she takes upmost pride in as the Thorns continue to build out its new chapter under RAJ Sports.
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