Portland Thorns defender Emily Sonnett will compete for Australian Westfield W-League side Sydney FC during the NWSL offseason.

A growing number of NWSL players have spent their offseasons competing in Australia over the last few years. A total of 31 NWSL players, including multiple Thorns, competed in the W-League last winter.

Sonnett will return to Portland and rejoin the Thorns ahead of the 2018 NWSL season.

The 23-year-old defender started in all of Portland's 24 games this year, recording three goals and one assist during the regular season before scoring the game-wining goal for the Thorns in their semifinal playoff win over the Orlando Pride on Oct. 7 and recording the game-winning assist in the NWSL Championship on Oct. 14.

Sonnett was a key piece of a Portland backline that posted a 0.83 goals-against average in 2017 and conceded a league-fewest 20 goals during the season.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg