Rookie Maddie Dahlien scored her second goal of the season, and Seattle Reign held on for the rest of the match to earn a 1-0 road win against Racing Louisville on Saturday afternoon.
A match that was initially supposed to kick off on Friday evening was moved to Saturday afternoon after a dangerous storm pushed through the region. Despite the disruption to their preparation, the Reign started with a lot of early pressure and energy, finding two good chances in the opening minutes.
In the 2nd minute, a Reign corner kick fell to Madison Curry at the top of the box. She unleashed a shot that brushed the crossbar and went out for a goal kick. A few minutes later, Lynn Biyendolo found Dahlien, who cut inside to her right foot and unleashed a shot in the box that was saved.
Racing Louisville then turned up their high press and put the Reign under a lot of pressure, putting a lot of balls into the box and earning several corner kicks. The Reign managed to defend those chances and found the opening goal in their own transition moment. In the 39th minute, Sam Meza picked the ball off Savannah DeMelo as she tried to win a clearance and quickly found a streaking Dahlien, who took one touch in the box and finished calmly into the far-post corner.
Louisville pushed for an equalizer in the second half and put the Reign under constant pressure in their defensive third, but the Reign defense held strong and helped goalkeeper Claudia Dickey earn her third shutout this season.
"It wasn't the prettiest game, wasn't the best possession or playing game we've ever played, but I'm very proud of the group for competing, making it difficult," Reign head coach Laura Harvey said after the match. "This is a tough place to play. [Louisville has] been on a roll, they're in form. The second half was really difficult for us, but I just said to some of the players there, 'I think that's our evolution now. How do we compete as hard as we just competed and show quality?' Because in some games we show our quality, but we don't compete the way we did today. And that might mean the difference between us getting three points and not."
The game marks the Reign's second road win, matching their total road wins in the club's disappointing 2024 season. The team advanced to 4-3-2 and will finish the weekend in a playoff position, regardless of other results.
What worked: Meza's disruption
Meza brought the same level of defensive energy in the opening 45 minutes that she's become known for these last few matches. This time, she turned that disruptive pressure into a goal — winning a ball in the middle of the field and immediately finding Dahlien in behind.
Sam Meza slips the most perfect ball through for Maddie Dahlien to finish in fashion 🤌
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-05-17T17:53:53.512Z
Harvey was thrilled to see Meza translate her high pressure into a chance this match, something they've been working on this season.
"[Sam] gets in those positions a lot, and it's just getting the ball out of her feet and playing it forward to those people who were threatening. And that was our game plan. Could we get Maddie [Dahlien] and Lynn [Biyendolo] down the sides of their centerbacks? We thought if we could, they'd be a threat, and that's how we scored."
Meza and Dahlien were happy to bring the connection they had together at UNC to the Reign — and hope to keep doing that more this season.
"Playing together at UNC, it's awesome to be able to connect in that way and to get the lone goal to get the win," Meza said.
"I think we found each other a lot today," Dahlien added. "When Sam looked up, most of the time I was making a run for her, and eventually it was going to happen. We watched back the goal, and that ball was really pretty."
What didn't work: All Louisville in the 2nd half
The Reign didn't get a single shot off in the second half and completed just 62 passes. Louisville, meanwhile, had 66% of possession, 10 shots, and seven corner kicks in the second half alone. The Reign rarely managed to get possession in their attacking half. It was a stressful 45 minutes.
Harvey told reporters after the match that they knew the wind would be a factor. The team had the wind in their favor in the first half, and while they were hoping it would calm down in the second half, it actually picked up more — contributing to Louisville's constant pressure.
What worked: Gritty defending
While the wind was a problem and Louisville had significant possession in the Reign's defensive third in the second half, Seattle did well to put numbers in the box and force Louisville into bad crosses or poor shots. Louisville only put one of their 20 shots on target, and that opportunity came in the first half.
"We just knew [in the] second half, they were just going to keep putting it on us. It's why we came here and played a back five, because we thought that we were going to have to deal with that a lot," Harvey said. "I still think there's things we can get better at to prevent that, but I thought inside the box, we put our bodies on the line. We made it really challenging for them."
Dickey did have to claim several corner kicks and crosses, and Harvey noted that the swirling wind made those a lot more challenging. Still, Dickey and the defense were able to win these balls and grind out three points.
"This year, we focused a lot on the details of set pieces, in and around the box," Dahlien said. "I think a lot of credit to Lloyd [Yaxley], but also the whole coaching staff. That's definitely been a focus for us. I think that's been really good."
Notable quote
"I think there were a lot of things that were out of our control ... the delay and then the wind today and the heat. And so just focusing on how we were going to grind through the game was our biggest focus. And if that was the way that we needed to play to get the three points, that's the way we needed to play, and then we can build on the things that we didn't like today." - Goalscorer Maddie Dahlien
Key stat
1 – Racing Louisville struggled to convert their chances and put just one of their 20 shots on target. The Reign put three of their four total shots on frame.
Seattle Reign return home next week before embarking on a three-game road trip in June. On Friday, May 23, they'll host the Washington Spirit at Lumen Field. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. PT and will air on Prime TV.
