Three Stats: Seattle Reign vs. San Diego Wave

On Friday evening, shortly after many players returned from grueling travel and time zone changes following a FIFA international break, Seattle Reign rotated their squad significantly against the San Diego Wave — a team sitting in second place and riding a six-game unbeaten streak. Thanks to two goals from Emeri Adames and Sally Menti, who got her first NWSL start, the Reign came away with a 2-1 road victory.

Here are three stats from the match.

3

The Reign only had seven shots against the San Diego Wave, but still managed to beat a team riding a six-game unbeaten streak on the road. One reason for that is how the Reign created those shots: in transition.

According to data from American Soccer Analysis (ASA), the Reign led the NWSL this week with three shots from a fastbreak opportunity against the Wave. One of those shots resulted in the game-winning goal scored by Emeri Adames. Opta defines a fastbreak as "an attempt created after a team quickly turns defense into attack, winning the ball in their own half (counter-attack)."

In my article highlighting some of the stats from the Reign's frustrating 2024 season, I noted that the Reign really struggled to create chances in transition last year. According to ASA data, the Reign averaged just 0.12 shots from fastbreaks per game in 2024 and didn't score a single fastbreak goal. Eleven games into the 2025 season, that number has jumped to 0.73 per match. The Reign have already scored two fastbreak goals, tied for first in the league.

As head coach Laura Harvey said after the game, the Reign feel really comfortable relying on their defense and then looking for transition moments, thanks to the players currently on the squad.

"I think right now the team that we need to be is: we need to be really solid defensively, and we need to be good in transition. And the attacking side, we can keep working at. I said that to the group after the Washington game that we have players that want to be good on the ball. We have that in our group, and it's not that we can't be that way, but I think being okay not being that way will win us games right now. And we can solve all of that later as long as we are good in transition. I think we just need to keep working at being who we are right now, and then when the summer comes, we have time to really master the other side of the ball. But I think tonight is an example of the team we can be right now. We can be that team, we can defend, we can let the other team have it. And we can hurt you in transition. And I'm all right with that."

32

Heading into the match, Harvey noted that she thought the Wave were the best team in the league. Much of this was due to the effectiveness of their two holding midfielders, Kenza Dali and Savannah McCaskill.

Those players were a big target for the Reign on the defensive end, with Ainsley McCammon, Sally Menti, Nérilia Mondésir, and Emeri Adames — and the substitutes who came on — all playing a crucial role in limiting the influence of those two and restricting their ability to find Delphine Cascarino further up the field. Adames, in particular, stuck like glue to McCaskill.

As a result, according to Wyscout data, Dali and McCaskill lost the ball a combined 32 times. A loss occurs anytime a player loses possession, including when a ball goes out of bounds, an unsuccessful pass is made, or the ball is taken from them. Dali lost the ball a team-high 20 times and McCaskill 12. It was the highest number of times Dali had lost possession this season and the most losses McCaskill has had since the Wave's six-game unbeaten run began.

"I said this before the game, I think they're the best football team in the league, San Diego, right now. And I think their two holding midfielders, Dali and McCaskill, have been superb this season," Harvey told reporters after the match. "So our game plan was to try and restrict how much influence they had on the ball and to restrict the amount of time the ball goes to Cascarino, because she's world-class. So that was their job. And we did a good job. There was times we lost them, there was times that they got away from us, but we solved it in different ways."

As the goals added (g+) data from ASA confirms, Dali and McCaskill ended up being some of the Wave's lowest performing players from a g+ perspective. That says a lot about how the Reign's young midfield and backline performed.

10

This stat came up in the recap as well, but it's worth repeating again. The Reign have 10 points from their first five road trips this season. They still have eight road matches to go, but they have already surpassed the number of road points they collected in all of 2024 (7).

In this match, the Reign took the lead but then allowed the Wave to equalize just seven minutes later. Instead of folding, the Reign pushed for a goal. Five of the Reign's seven shots came after San Diego scored, with Adames finding the game-winner in the 87th minute.

This says a lot about the team's mentality, as achieving results on the road requires a great deal of grit, team unity, and perseverance. It's not always going to be pretty, but the points matter a lot.

The Reign have a chance to continue showing they can be dominant on the road, as their three-game road trip continues this weekend in Chicago, Illinois. On Saturday, June 14, the club will take on the Chicago Stars. That game kicks off at 2 p.m. PT and will air on ION.