For the second time this year, the Reign surrendered more than 60% of possession to the opposing side, and for the second time this year, they walked away from the match with a gigantic W. While they didn't see much of the ball, the Reign absolutely dominated the midfield, constantly pushing San Diego back. With the ball at their feet, the Wave consistently settled for safe passes between their centerbacks, and had a hell of a time finding even intermittent dangerous touches in the Reign's attacking third.
Add a huge Claw-dia save, an absolute banger from Sally Menti in her first professional start, and Emeri Adames doing a bit of magic, and you've got the Reign once again stealing all three points from San Diego on the road.
This 2025 edition of the Reign isn't always good, and it isn't always fun, but they've found a way to be effective with a frequency that, coupled with reports that they are keen to add to the team this window, should alarm the league. As of the time of this writing, the Reign are in fifth place and have gone 4-2-1 against the rest of the current playoff field.
Goalkeeper
Claudia Dickey – 7
While Dickey didn't face a ton of danger – per Opta, the Reign conceded 0.94 xG, per ASA they conceded 0.69 – she did face three dangerous chances worth noting. The first came in the 64th minute, as Trinity Armstrong got her head to a Savannah McCaskill delivery, and Dickey denied her calmly. The second was Delphine Cascarino in the 75th minute, and, as you may remember, Delphine scored. More importantly, though, Cascarino got another big chance just two minutes later, and Claudia Dickey, in full stretch, got her fingers to it to deflect it off the woodwork and out. It was a goal-saving, game-saving bit of effort that kept the Reign on level terms and let them really go for it in the final stage of the match.
Going forward. Claudia Dickey is the best goalkeeper in the league, and I'll stand on Alyssa Naeher's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.
Defenders
Madison Curry – 6
Curry was an active and effective disruptor for the Reign throughout the match, with three interceptions, three recoveries, four clearances, and three duels won. While she didn't come away from her challenges with possession as often as we might be used to, she put in the hard challenge basically every time she had the opportunity, and the Wave were largely unable to create up her side of the pitch. She did have a little hiccup in the 75th minute – as Maria Sanchez whipped in the corner kick, Curry lost track of Cascarino's darting run, and the ball ended up in the back of the net. Fortunately, the Reign recovered from that one.
Going forward. Madison Curry is presumably going to continue throwing crushing tackles like flowers at a parade, and I will presumably continue to enjoy that about her.
Jordyn Bugg – 6
Jordyn Bugg led the side in progressive passes (4), passes into the final third (4), and touches (64) – while her passing accuracy left something to be desired at times, she understood the assignment perfectly, and when she had the ball at her feet and a moment to make a choice, she looked to spring the counter up field. While it didn't go anywhere in the first half, in the second, she (and the team as a whole) found more success and rhythm to it, probing at the Wave's defenses. She also took the Reign's first shot, a speculative 25-yard strike that was blocked well short of the goal, but gave a lovely preview of things to come as San Diego continued to leave lanes for the Reign to exploit. While Bugg gamely challenged Cascarino for San Diego's tying goal in the 75th minute, she was ultimately too easily beaten by the French attacking midforward.
Going forward. Some of it is still a work in progress for Bugg, but a work in progress is already one of the better centerbacks in the league.
Phoebe McClernon – 6
You can almost set a clock to McClernon stat lines. 52 touches, 92% passing, 11 clearances, 4 recoveries. As the anchor of a three / five back line, Phoebe provides relentless calm and consistency. She seldom chooses the flashy pass, and makes the safe choice under pressure, and that's good. There's a lot to be said about the Reign's improved defensive organization in 2025 versus 2024, and a lot of what there is to be said is McClernon has stepped the fuck up, grown into the unequivocal leader the Reign were sometimes lacking, and is always ready to calm things down and put out fires. Against the Wave, she led an effort that denied virtually everything the high-scoring, free-flying opposition tried to produce, conceding only on a well-worked set piece deep into the second half.
Going forward. McClernon might not break lines with her vision the way Bugg does at her best, and she might not throw gravity-altering tackles with the glee that Curry does, but she provides an indispensable level of steadiness to the Reign's operation.
Lauren Barnes – 6 (off 73' for Maddie Dahlien)
After getting beaten early and often against Visionary Multi-Team Mogul Michele Kang Presents: The Washington Spirit™️, Lauren Barnes had a real bounce back game, stymying Wave attackers whenever they actually did get into the attacking third with four recoveries, two clearances, and three duels won, while also providing some bite with quality passes forward (three progressive passes, and a key pass) – and she was credited with the assist on Menti's opening goal. Granted, most of that goal was Menti doing the spectacular, but the assist was still a justifiable reward for Barnes’ consistent probing distribution into dangerous midfield spaces.
Going forward. That rough match against the Spirit may have been a blip – we're back on the Lunaissance express. With that said, fast technical attackers in wide spaces may still present a problem for the Barnes - Holmes left side.
Shae Holmes – 5 (off 80' for Emily Mason)
Showing up to play with good defensive energy and a tenacious attention to making Delphine Cascarino, specifically, have a bad time, Holmes was excellent in her role helping lock down the left side. She posted two blocks, three recoveries, two tackles, and an uncountable frequency of "tenacious guards where the opposition sizes you up and passes backwards instead", however you want to apply that stat. She was less successful on the other side of the ball, completing just 42% of her passes and failing to find an impact on the Wave's side of the field, but with Cascarino (a brilliantly worked set piece near the end of her shift aside) quiet and Kenza Dali frustrated, Holmes' defensive chops were enough to help the Reign secure all three points.
Going forward. Holmes looked more like her usual self, defending with verve and rarely getting beaten. I do think in the long term, her minutes would be better served centrally, with a more comfortable dribbler and passer (like Emily Mason!) at the left wingback spot.
Midfielders
Sally Menti – 7
Sally Menti's first professional start was absolutely tremendous, and I could spill so much ink about it – 51 touches to drive the Reign from the middle of the park! 83% passing, almost all of it under pressure and almost all of it putting the Reign in better spots than when she received it! Two tackles won, three duels won, a blocked shot, and four clearances as she and Ainsley McCammon absolutely demolished San Diego's outworked midfield! The surprisingly crafty dribbling to get herself passing and shooting lanes she never should've had! THAT FUCKIN' GOAL, goddamn!
Also... the Wave's best chance of the night came in the 22nd minute, when Sally Menti was dispossessed under pressure and Melanie Barcenas teed up Adriana Leon right into the danger zone for a hit. As Menti, Bugg, and McClernon scrambled to get back... Leon calmly put the shot well high and wide. Whew. Breathe and learn from it.
Going forward. If Sally Menti can offer this sort of performance with any sort of consistency, she's not just a Roosevelt High School kid earning a long-term contract with her hometown team, she's a future league superstar.
Ainsley McCammon – 6 (off 61' for Sam Meza)
With Sam Meza on the bench after a grueling international travel schedule, it fell to Ainsley McCammon to play the world-destroyer holding midfielder role, and she spent an hour proving herself up to the task. She pressed hard, tackled hard, won every single duel she went into, put in two recoveries, four tackles, and a clearance, and cleaned house when the Wave dared think they might build something centrally. She didn't get on the ball as much as she normally might like to, and with the Wave crashing in and pressuring often, she opted for safe rather than connected often; her passing reflects a high pressure role where get it the fuck out was frequently the first order of business. There's room to grow, but she's making good choices basically every time an opponent asks questions.
Going forward. In a midfield absolutely stacked with both savvy technical veterans and kids showing they can throw down, Ainsley has to do a lot to stand out. The thing is – she keeps on doing that. Menti and Adames might've stolen the show a bit in this one, but the youngest player on the Reign roster keeps proving she belongs even amidst the stiff competition.
Emeri Adames – 8 (POTM)
In some ways, this was a weird one for Emeri, who did a lot of defending from the front and applying pressure and had only fairly limited time on the ball. She's showing a much greater commitment to defending and making good choices in possession, though, and doing so without losing her flair for the dramatic and spectacular. San Diego spent most of the night passing in a big safe triangle between their centerbacks and goalkeeper, and Emeri's buzzing pressure continuously forced them into resetting – and her pressure paid off, with three of her five recoveries in the attacking half, along with a tackle won and a pass intercepted, winning the ball in high positions to allow the Reign chances to run. Sure, she missed a couple audacious passes and I'd love to see her hit them a little quicker or a little cleaner, but she also saw them and tried them, a thing this team needs someone doing with more frequency. Oh, and she took Jess Fishlock's chested ball in stride, faked multiple defenders out of their boots as she crossed into the penalty area, and absolutely laced the game winner to the far post.
Going forward. Give Emeri Adames more starts!
Forwards
Nérilia Mondésir – 5 (off 73' for Jess Fishlock)
While the Reign held just 38% of possession and spent relatively little time in the attacking third, Mondésir was surprisingly active, with 38 touches, crisp passing, and a lot of attacking intent. Unfortunately, with the Reign playing to demolish the midfield, actual chances to shake things up were fewer than they might've been, and Coco's touch let her down a few times when she might've had a chance to run or take on her defender – she succeeded at just one of five dribbles, and had just one touch in the attacking penalty area.
Going forward. While not a bad performance by Mondésir, this wasn't really a game where her best attributes had a chance to shine.
Maddie Mercado – 5 (off 61' for Lynn Biyendolo)
This was a very quiet match for Mercado, with just 18 touches, two in the attacking penalty area. What she did offer was excellent hold-up play, scarcely putting a pass wrong and giving the Reign defense and midfield time to breathe, reset, and rebuild. While she was dispossessed more than any other player on the field, every dispossession came from a moment that could've created danger had the defender placed their foot an inch wrong – sometimes, when you force defenders to make hard plays, they just make them.
Going forward. Mercado continues to perform admirably filling in as a spot starter in whatever attacking role the Reign need her to.
Substitutes
Lynn Biyendolo – 5 (on 61' for Maddie Mercado)
Part of the first pair of substitutes with Sam Meza, Biyendolo's addition immediately made the Reign more goal-dangerous, taking two shots on 22 touches and playing a role in both of the Reign's goals, providing the hockey assist on Adames' game-winner and making the right pass to preserve the attack on Menti's stunner.
Going forward. Harvey has mentioned that Biyendolo has some lingering knocks and she is attempting to manage her minutes. With that said, inasmuch as Biyendolo can play, she should play. She does the football like few others.
Sam Meza – 6 (on 61' for Ainsley McCammon)
Part of the first pair of substitutes with Lynn Biyendolo, Sam Meza spelled McCammon at the hour mark and immediately helped the Reign tip the match against San Diego despite the possession disparity. In just 30 minutes, she won two tackles and eight recoveries, blocked a shot, and put in three shot-creating actions. With the ball at her feet, she made good decisions and turned every recovery into a chance to counterattack. She won't show up in the counting stats, but Meza was instrumental to the Reign ultimately winning the game.
Going forward. Meza has been the engine driving the Reign forward as a starter, and against San Diego, she was the engine driving the Reign forward off the bench. She continues to be utterly stellar.
Maddie Dahlien – 5 (on 73' for Lauren Barnes)
Part of the second pair of substitutes with Jess Fishlock, Dahlien took over the wingback role for about 10 minutes before Emily Mason allowed her to shift further forward, and she ran right at San Diego as they were tiring. It was, honestly, almost cruel. While she didn't actually touch the ball all that much, the mere threat she posed behind largely ended San Diego's already questionably effective efforts on the left, and allowed the Reign to press more aggressively, chasing – and eventually finding – the game winner.
Going forward. Maddie may only have two goals, but she gives the Reign a legitimate threat to break the lines, and forces opponents to respect the danger.
Jess Fishlock – 6 (on 73' for Nérilia Mondésir)
Part of the second pair of substitutes with Maddie Dahlien, Fishlock came on and promptly did Fishlock things all over the San Diego Wave's negative possession. A masterclass in making 13 touches and 20 minutes really, really count, she came away with a chest assist, an inch-perfect attacking third tackle won, and two shot-creating actions, one of them ending up in the back of the net.
(Opta credits her with zero SCAs, but Opta is, for the second time in as many games, simply incorrect on that.)
Going forward. I increasingly think that this team can go as far as Sam Meza can take them, but if Jess Fishlock can stay healthy and do Jess Fishlock things, that's going to be a hell of a lot farther.
Emily Mason – 5 (on 80' for Shae Holmes)
The final substitute of the night, Emily Mason came on for Shae Holmes as the Reign – perhaps uncharacteristically – really went for it. She didn't see all that much of the ball, but she had two recoveries, shepherded the ball out to safety a couple times, and most importantly, helped the Reign change their shape and throw more people into the attack in the final phase of the game.
Going forward. While returning and new players in the upcoming window may change the math, I continue to think Mason should be the first choice to start as left wingback.
Referee
Gerald Flores – 7
In the 53rd minute, Flores called advantage as Menti fouled but the Wave kept possession and ran into the attack, and then, when the advantage amounted to nothing, brought the ball back and showed Menti a deserved yellow card. I want to bring this, specifically, up because it feels so rare for PRO refs to remember that they can indeed call advantage and then still show a yellow when it's warranted. I hope they continue to remember that in the future, when it would benefit the Reign, but it was correctly applied this time. He also communicated with his VAR and clearly indicated when he was doing so, set his lines, and stuck to them.
Anyway I had few real complaints with Flores. It seems like basic stuff, but so much of it is so inconsistently done – I would love to see this sort of officiating more often.
And Another Thing..!
Possession is overrated. Get Harv'd, straight in the face.
