Poetic win for Reign keeps season alive

On Sunday, August 25, 2024, the Seattle Reign played their seventeenth match of the 2024 regular season against the North Carolina Courage. Although, by this point, hopes of making the playoffs had nearly faded for Seattle – and the team had traded top goal-scorer Bethany Balcer to Louisville – the game saw the highest attendance of any so far in 2024 (and second highest standalone attendance in club history) at 16,598, as the Reign held a pregame ceremony to retire legendary winger Megan Rapinoe’s number 15. The good vibes were cemented with a 1-0 win, coach Harvey’s 100^th victory, on a stoppage time goal by Emeri Adames (with some accidental help from Courage keeper Casey Murphy).

All rise for Rapinoe

Though the played her final game last year, the team honored her Sunday with one more award – the retirement of her jersey number. The team put together a pregame ceremony for the Seattle legend, beginning with skydivers landing on the field before league content creator and host Eduarda Pavão took the midfield stage to introduce Rapinoe. Megan walked out of the tunnel to a standing ovation from the crowd and made her way to the stage.

Several clips then played on the video screens of the stadium, featuring multiple notable people giving Megan a shoutout. These included Brian Schmetzer, Laura Harvey, and fellow US soccer legend Ali Krieger, as well as current USWNT head coach Emma Hayes, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, entertainers Macklemore and Eddie Vedder, current Washington governor Jay Inslee, and former Washington governor Christine Gregoire.

Rapinoe was then presented with a ceremonial jersey before beginning a short speech, in which she thanked the crowd, her family, and her wife Sue Bird for their support. Her most memorable line was when she reflected on her legacy.

“When you look up, I guess you’ll be thinking of me,” Rapinoe said. “But just know that every time I look at that number, I’m going to see you. I’m going see every pride flag, every trans flag, every Black Lives Matter flag, and every equal pay flag — and every ‘f— Portland’ flag.”

After her speech, there was some continued fanfare before the national anthem and the field being cleared for the start of play.

The starting lineup saw the presence of new pickups Ana-Maria Crnogorčević and Jordyn Bugg, with Claudia Dickey in net and many other Reign going to their familiar roles.

First half sees little chances and no scoring

The match began without momentum truly on either side, apart from a second minute drive up the left side by Zee, whose cross intended for Huitema went a little too far forward and bounced off the hands of North Carolina goalkeeper Casey Murphy. Neither did the Courage get much action in the first thirteen minutes, being limited to a couple of runs up the field by Courage right winger Cortnee Vine that Shae Holmes contained.

In the 14^th minute, Vine again drove up the right side of the field, but this time she almost completely broke away. She sent a cross to left winger Tyler Lussi, who was also charging down the field, but Sofia Huerta managed to tap her foot to the edge of the ball, barely enough to deflect it out of Lussi’s reach. The ensuing corner fell into Dickey’s arms, ending North Carolina’s first dire threat.

By this point in the game, however, the Courage were mostly able to hold possession, although a strong press from Seattle kept them from pushing forward and creating much danger. The Reign got a solid chance in the middle of the half, as the team got a corner kick in the 23^rd minute that led to a skipping shot off the post from Ji, but the Courage kept Seattle out of the net.

The rest of the half cooled down, as neither side wound up with much of an advantage over the other, though the Reign would get their best chance of the half in the 43^rd minute, with a Crnogorčević ball up to Fishlock that the latter dove to launch toward the goal. Murphy stood her ground and caught the ball, ending the chance.

Murphy’s Law takes away…

The second half was far more dynamic than the first, and the Reign had plenty of opportunities to go ahead. In the 52^nd, Ji got hold of a deflection in the center of the box and sent a shot to the bottom right corner of the net, but Murphy dove and kept it away. A minute later, Ana Maria Crnogorčević sent a cross in to the box, which got deflected in Zee’s direction. King took a shot, but it flew a few feet over the crossbar.

Seattle’s best chance yet came in the 58^th. Jess sent a pass to an open Zee positioned in the front of the box. Zee rapidly sent the ball towards the net, and it seemed there was no way for Murphy to prevent a goal. But Casey Murphy didn’t care about what it seemed was possible, and she dove forward and caught the shot.

The offense regrouped, and in the 60^th, the Reign again got an excellent chance. Huitema positioned herself in the center of the box, and Ji So-yun gave her a short cross. Huitema flicked her head forward to send the ball to the net, but again, Murphy reacted in time, snagging the ball and keeping the score tied at zero.

After this, the Courage managed to put together some momentum, although it failed to amount to more than a couple shots that Claudia Dickey scooped up in the net and one that zoomed outside of the right post.

Harvey then made some substitutions: in the 66^th, Latsko came on for Zee; in the 75^th, Nérilia Mondésir and Jaelin Howell, both new additions to Seattle, subbed in for Fishlock and Crnogorčević.

The fresh players brought new energy to Seattle. In the 78^th, Mondésir broke away and brought the ball to the box. First Huitema then Huerta took shots that were both blocked, before Howell took a shot that veered just outside of the right post.

From then on, Seattle had the momentum, though Murphy kept the score knotted at zero. As regulation ended, Harvey brought on two more subs: Adames and Athens in for Huitema and Ji. In the sixth minute of stoppage, Latsko sent a cross to Adames, giving her a chance to put the team ahead, but the ball went just a few feet out of Adames’ reach. It seemed as if another tie would emerge from an excellent Reign performance.

… and Murphy’s Law gives back!

In the seventh minute of stoppage time, the Reign finally caught a break. Veronica Latsko sent a cross into the box for Adames, who connected with a header.

The ball curls into the left post, bounces off it to Murphy, and then bounces off Murphy and rolls into the back of the net. The biggest crowd all year instantly jumps to their feet as the Reign City Riot fill the air with horns.

After a stellar performance from Casey Murphy all game, Seattle scores on Murphy’s own goal. Emeri Adames, for one, could hardly believe the moment.

“When everyone was running up to me after the game, I thought I was going to wake up and be in my bed,” Adames said after the game. “I actually thought I was dreaming.”

It is a cathartic win for Seattle, who have been plagued all year by strong performances without results in the net or on the scorecard. For 96 minutes on Sunday, it seemed like it was going to be another disappointing draw in a season slipping away. Despite not having a majority of possession, the Reign’s high press kept the Courage out of Seattle’s end of the pitch, while the Reign racked up 17 shots, 6 on target (compared to North Carolina’s 4 and 3).

“I thought we dominated,” Harvey said postgame. “If we weren’t going to win the game, it was going to be because we didn’t take our chances; if we lost the game, it was going to be because we made a mistake.”

There is a certain poetry in the fact that one of Seattle’s youngest players scored the winning last-minute goal on a day when the club celebrated one of its greatest players of the past. This is a fact that was not lost on anyone after the game, which gave Harvey something to clarify.

“[Rapinoe and Adames are] not the same; they’re different in how they play,” Harvey stated. “But Emeri is special in her own right. The thing that makes Pinoe so great is that she carved her own path, and Emeri needs to do the same thing.”

But it certainly feels as if there might have been a turn of the page on Sunday. The team and the fans certainly have come across a bolt of energy from their exciting win.

Moving forward

Despite starting the game in last place in the league, Seattle still has an outside shot at the postseason. The top eight teams in the NWSL this year will make it to the dance, and after Sunday, the Reign are in 12^th place, five points behind Racing Louisville for the last spot in the playoffs. Make no mistake: it would take an impeccable run of form from a Seattle team that has been struggling, but it is still possible with nine matches left in the year.

Seattle’s next match is on August 31st against Racing Louisville.