Reign fall to Dash at home

The Seattle Reign broke their three-game unbeaten streak with a frustrating loss to the Houston Dash on a drizzly Mother’s Day evening in Seattle. Though points were in reach until the final whistle, rookie Maggie Graham's goal in the 57th minute was the difference maker.

Neither team assembled any real chances in the first half as they fumbled through 45 minutes that were as chaotic as they were uneventful. Both sides started in a five-back formation, which proved defensively successful but limited transition play and attacking buildup. The Reign managed some quality passes, including a few line-breakers from Ji So-Yun and Jordyn Huitema. The slow pace of the match, sprinkled with offside calls, puzzling foul calls, and some light pushing and shoving, extinguished any threat.

Seattle looked to find their footing in the second half, attempting to establish their familiar speedy transition play. Unfortunately, it was Houston who capitalized, breaking the stalemate with the match's lone goal in the 57th minute. Phoebe McClernon gave Yazmeen Ryan too much space on a dribble down the left side, and Ryan found Ryan Gareis ready and waiting at the near post. Gareis slipped the ball back out to Maggie Graham, who beat Lu Barnes in the box and finished.

Head coach Laura Harvey made some tactical changes following the goal, adding Madison Curry, Shae Holmes, Ainsley McCammon, Emeri Adames, and Maddie Mercado to the mix throughout the second half. As the clock neared 90, a vision all too familiar to Reign fans 0f 2024 set in as the offensive spark struck late but never quite lit a flame.

File under: soooo close

What worked: Claudia Dickey

Though not tested extensively by Houston, Dickey continues to perform very well for the Reign. Opting to go 1v1 with Yazmeen Ryan on one of Houston's best open play chances of the match, she made a brilliant point-blank save with her knee(?) that rebounded securely to the feet of Jordyn Bugg.

Harvey spoke highly of Dickey in the post-game press conference, sharing that she believes Dickey is one of, if not the best, keepers in the league with high potential for more. “If she continues on the trajectory that she's on, I believe she's got every tool to be able to be this country's number one goalkeeper.”

What didn’t work: Shrug emoji

The only certainty about this match for the Reign: it was chaotic, lethargic, and not very fun. It was the Monday of NWSL matches.

“I thought we were lackluster. I thought we never really got going and I think the frustrating part about that is when it's the whole team,” Harvey said.

Captain Lu Barnes agreed that the match was a bit disjointed. “We lacked a little bit of chemistry today... just not on the same page. You go down 1-0 and you have a lot of momentum, it becomes chaos so you've got to find a little calmness in those moments.”

Fresh off the pitch, Harvey had yet to determine a cause for the poor performance. “Honestly, I don't know. There was nothing different in how we prepared. These are games we have to make sure we turn up for, but we talked about it. We have a vulnerable, honest room... we'll be analytical so we can try and make sure it doesn't happen again.”

Moments before Harvey's presser, two of her veterans were at the mic doing just that.

Midfielder Angharad James-Turner took accountability for Seattle's lack of creation: “We weren't good enough in and out of possession. We weren't creating chances that we would like our forwards to have, and that's on us as midfielders and defenders behind.”

Barnes also reflected on her performance, citing veterans stepping up to set the pace in high-energy moments as a needed fix.

The Reign, now 3-2-3 and just above the playoff line in 8th place, will have to course correct quickly before traveling to Racing Louisville this Friday (5/16). The match will stream at 4:30 pm PT on NWSL+.