Joy in SoCal: Reign beat Angel City, win third straight

After winning two of their first 16 regular-season games, the Seattle Reign have now won three straight coming out of the summer break. Their 3-2 win over Angel City also marked the second straight game in which they scored three goals after failing to score more than two in any of their first 17.

There was no shortage of drama in the 112+ minute thriller Friday evening at BMO Stadium. The action started early for Angel City, as Sydney Leroux slotted a ball to Alyssa Thompson in the 8th minute. Thompson found her signature high gear and torched the Reign defense down the left side, chipping in her fourth goal in three games.

Things weren’t looking good for Seattle against the threat of L.A.’s high-octane attack until the 30th minute, when Jordyn Huitema found herself in a footrace with goalkeeper Didi Haračić in the box. Haračić wasn’t able to corral the ball, but she did snag Huitema’s foot, resulting in a penalty which Sofia Huerta promptly scored. The equalizer was the spark that the Reign needed to grow into the game with confidence.

Not unlike last week in Louisville, the Reign were controlling the game without controlling possession. Also like last week in Louisville, Ji So-Yun scored a jaw-dropping banger. Shae Holmes crossed to Huitema in the box, who tapped it to Ji. She settled the ball to a near-standstill, then bent it in at the near post in superhuman fashion.

Tziarra King joined the goal party soon after, assisted by Ana-Maria Crnogorčević. The score was hard-earned for King after a first half full of saved shots and near misses.

Momentum shifted back in LA’s favor as the game wore on. They scored two goals that appeared good but were called back, to the fortune of the Reign. Seattle parked the bus and played solid defense, but they eventually gave up a header to Sydney Leroux in the 99th minute off a perfect cross from M. A. Vignola. The Angels continued knocking on the door, but Seattle were able to hold them off and walk away with all three points. 

WHAT WORKED: THE MAGICIAN

Even if you’ve already seen the Ji goal, you should watch it again, just for fun. 

As Ana-Maria Crnogorčević noted postgame, “if someone scores like this, it’s going to be Ji.”

WHAT WORKED: DISCIPLINED DEFENSE, CLOSING OUT HALVES

Last week I wrote about Sofia Huerta’s set pieces. She scored another brilliant penalty in this game, but her defense was also impressive. She set the tone for a back line that performed significantly better under pressure than they have throughout the season. They played with decisiveness and fearlessness that we haven’t seen very often this season, mitigating dangerous chances with aerial clearances. Keeping the ball off the ground and out of the box proved effective at stopping Angel City's sneaky offense.

Also highly encouraging: the Reign proved that they can close out a game. A few months ago, they were regularly conceding at the beginning and end of either half. Though they did give up one at the beginning, they demonstrated an ability to close out halves, even when tested defensively. Head Coach Laura Harvey agreed that this signifies positive growth: "We did see it out and that’s a big turning point for the group. I'm really proud of this group. I thought they dug in." She contrasted today's performance with the June 23rd match against Racing Louisville, where Seattle led the entire match but conceded in the 97th minute.

WHAT WORKED: VAR 

“When you’re on the winning side it’s like ‘thank God.’ When you’re on the losing side it’s like ‘what the hell?” - Tziarra King 

The Reign must have been blessed for this match, as most if not all of its (many) VAR decisions went in the Reign’s favor. 

WHAT DIDN’T WORK: WHATEVER WAS GOING ON FOR THOSE LAST TEN MINUTES

I can’t compliment the team’s newfound closing skills without mentioning that it wasn’t all roses. While maintaining a 3-1 lead for most of the second half, the Reign seemed to run out of gas as Becki Tweed made a series of attack-minded substitutions for Angel City. They managed to hold on for the win, but things looked a little scary at the end. In her postgame press conference, Coach Harvey said “I think that last 10, 15 minutes we need to look at and talk about because we
haven't been in the position too much this season where we've been leading. I think I messed up a little bit, but I'll reflect on that.”

“I came back in and I just felt a different vibe. I could just feel it. There was belief, there was a sense of belonging for the group. I think the summer signings have really helped us, all of them.”

Coach Harvey remarked that she noticed a different energy from her team following last week’s win in Louisville, which she missed due to illness. She credited the youth and veteran signings alike with helping the team find its footing again. “We just keep rolling, let’s just keep doing this and pushing forward in another big game next Monday against Gotham.”

Each game becomes more important than the last as the playoffs become more plausible with each win. Seattle's late-season streak has put them within one point of the final playoff spot. The Reign will have a little over a week to rest and prepare to face Gotham at home on Monday, September 16th at 7 p.m.