The Portland Thorns traveled to Mexico this week with hopes of earning a continental trophy and a berth in two prestigious international tournaments. But it was Tigres UANL of Liga MX Femenil that captured a 2-0 victory in the Concacaf W Champions Cup semifinals in its home stadium near Monterrey Wednesday night, sending the Thorns to a consolation match Saturday against another Mexican team, Club America. Portland created the majority of the scoring opportunities, but let the game get away in two moments. In the 10th minute, Tigres scored on a corner kick when defender Aaliyah Farmer charged into the box unmarked and powered a header into the net. Things went from bad to worse in the 27th minute when Thorns goalkeeper Bella Bixby made an unforced error by flubbing a simple pass to a teammate that ended up in the path of Tigres striker Thebi Kgatlana, who scored easily with the goal completely vacated. Bixby bounced back to deny Kgatlana three minutes later with a sliding kick save to keep the deficit manageable going into halftime. Thorns coach Rob Gale pushed back at the suggestion from a local media member after the game that the opening minutes were a “nightmare” for Portland. “I totally disagree with that,” Gale said. “We controlled the ball. It was a set piece and a mistake. We camped out in Tigres’ territory the entire night, so it wasn’t a total nightmare.” Gale asserted that the Thorns “will learn from the experience,” but contended that his team was the superior side. “I’m disappointed in the goals we conceded, they didn’t earn those goals,” Gale stated. “The second goal was just unfortunate and it gifted them the opportunity to control the game and slow it down. We’re a young team and we’ll learn from this, but the better team didn’t win tonight, I’ll argue that with anyone. We want to put this right in the next game.” The Thorns took 11 shots in the first half, but couldn’t quite turn those promising opportunities into real threats. Portland put six of those shots on target, but all were relatively easy for Tigres keeper Itzel Gonzalez to handle. Rookie Caiya Hanks stood out for Portland, causing major problems for the Tigres’ defense on the left wing and generating the majority of the Thorns’ opportunities in dangerous areas. Quality finishing eluded the Thorns though, as one buildup after another ended in frustration. In the 61st minute, Deyna Castellanos found space in the penalty area with three teammates available, but played a pass into a void behind all three for a turnover, typifying a night in which nothing quite worked. The Thorns kept at it down the stretch. Substitute Pietra Tordin sent a solid header toward goal in the 65th minute that had Gonzalez beaten but sailed just wide of the left post. Hanks broke free in front of the net in the 74th minute, but a cross that would have given her a prime scoring chance flew a yard behind her. Hanks floated a shot from 15 yards in the 89th minute that forced Gonzalez into a leaping save, her best of the game. Despite 13 attempts at goal from inside the penalty area, a breakthrough never came, leaving the Thorns to play what amounts to an exhibition for third place at 4 p.m. Saturday on the same field. Portland previously defeated Club America 3-1 in the group stage of the competition last year. Gale said the field was “poor” and “chopped up” due to the semifinal between Club America and the NWSL’s Gotham FC that was played earlier in the day in a steady rain. “There are no excuses, though,” Gale added. “We’re looking forward to playing Club America, but this isn’t the result we wanted.” Tigres will face Gotham at 7 p.m. for the championship, plus spots in next year’s FIFA Women’s Champions Cup and the 2028 FIFA Women’s Club World Cup. The Thorns may still have a future opportunity to qualify for the latter tournament. -- Scott Sepich for The Oregonian/OregonLive