In the final regular season meeting with the Houston Dash, Seattle Reign FC earned a 1–0 win. This moves Reign FC’s all-time record against the Dash to 10–0–0, with an all-time road record of 5–0–0. This is the first time the two teams have played at Toyota Stadium, as the match was relocated due to Hurricane Harvey.
With the win, Reign FC (8–7–6, 30 pts) ends their current two-game losing streak. It was Seattle’s second shutout of the season against the Dash, and their third shutout overall. This was goalkeeper Lydia Williams first match with Reign FC, who made three saves in her shutout debut. The win also marks head coach and general manager Laura Harvey’s 50th all-time win in the NWSL.
“The most important thing for us tonight was three points and we got there in the end,” said Harvey. “I think we made harder work of it than it should’ve been, but we created more chances than we have done recently. For us, getting a clean sheet and winning 1-nil is something we have to take away. Credit to Houston, to put the game on and to turn up and play the way they did, credit to Omar, the players, a phenomenal effort by them.”
Reign FC’s first chance came in the first ten minutes of the match, when defender Merritt Mathias earned a penalty kick in the eighth minute of the match. After Mathias was fouled by defender Bruna Benites in the box, midfielder Jess Fishlock stepped up to take the penalty kick. Her initial shot was stopped by Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell, and the rebound from midfielder Rumi Utsugi was blocked as well.
In the 32nd minute, Reign FC had another chance to open the scoring, this time off a corner kick opportunity. Midfielder Christine Nairn found Fishlock in the box with her corner, but Fishlock’s header was blocked. Defender Rebekah Stott was able to get a shot off the rebound, but it was cleared off the line by Dash midfielder Andressinha.
Just five minutes into the second half, Mathias found the back of the net to give Reign FC a 1–0 lead. Forward Beverly Yanez played a through ball for Mathias, who took one touch into the box and then curled the ball past Campbell at the far post. It was Mathias’ second goal of the 2017 season.
Mathias was named Reign FC player of the match for her performance. She played 78 minutes in the match and tallied four shots, with two of those shots on goal. Mathias also created two chances in the match.
Tonight’s result sees Reign FC’s points total for the season improve to 30, and they move up one spot in the NWSL standings to fifth place. Currently, Seattle is just five points out of the fourth and final playoff spot. Other results today saw the Chicago Red Stars and FC Kansas City earn wins.
Reign FC’s next match is set for Saturday, September 9th when they face the Orlando Pride at Orlando City Stadium. This is the final meeting between the two teams in the 2017 NWSL regular season. Kickoff is set for 4:30pm PT. The previous meeting between the two teams saw Reign FC earn a point in a 1–1 draw at Memorial Stadium on May 21st.
