Huerta brace lifts Reign past Urawa Red Diamonds

Fullback Sofia Huerta wasted no time reintegrating herself with Seattle Reign in her first game back after returning from a year-long loan to Lyon, scoring both goals in the club’s 2-1 victory over Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds in a friendly on Sunday afternoon in front of 6,495 fans at Lumen Field.

Huerta opened the scoring in the 27th minute when Urawa failed to effectively clear a Reign corner kick. She picked up the loose ball 25 yards from goal and fired a shot which snuck through the crowded box and in the near corner. Urawa scored an equalizer in the 36th minute off a corner when midfielder Ena Takatsuka was left unmarked at the far post and easily redirected the ball into the open net.

Huerta completed her brace by converting a penalty kick in the 53rd minute after Jordyn Huitema was taken down in the box on a through ball.

The Reign starting lineup included a mix of depth players, new signings, and rotational players, as the club has a number of players still away after international duty, out with injuries, or managing minutes ahead of the back half of the NWSL season.

In addition to Huerta’s return, new signing Mia Fishel made her debut for the club, playing the first 30 minutes of the game. She was very active in combination with Nerilia Mondesir up top, but did not get on the score sheet before subbing out for Emeri Adames as she continues to build match fitness.

“I think getting Mia and Sofia some minutes was a big priority for us,” Reign head coach Laura Harvey told reporters after the game. “So, we did that, which was great. Trying a couple of different things, a couple of people in different positions.”

Urawa started the game with a high press which challenged the Reign as they attempted to build play out of the back. Maddie Prohaska came up with a big stop on an early Urawa chance when Mei Shimada timed a run perfectly to pick up a nicely weighted pass that split the Reign defense, charging out and making herself big to block the shot.

Halftime saw a number of changes for the Reign, with Sam Meza, Hanna Glas and Phoebe McClernon entering the match in place of Sally Menti, Emily Mason and Jordyn Bugg. In the 61st minute the club made their final changes, removing Huerta and Huitema for Maddie Mercado and Maddie Dahlien, the first time that all four Maddies have been on the field together for the Reign.

Urawa, who were playing their first match of the 2025/26 WE League preseason, kept their starters on the field for the first hour of the game, only making subs late.

Seattle's midseason fitness advantage showed as the match progressed, with the Reign getting several good looks on goal late in the game. Emeri Adames had a nice shot that struck side netting which many fans in attendance thought had gone in and Maddie Dahlien had a one-on-one opportunity after zooming past her defender, but the Urawa goalkeeper saw the danger and closed the gap to make a kick save.  

“We can have the next player up mentality everywhere on the field”

Harvey was very happy with the way her roster performed in the game, particularly some of the depth players who don’t see many minutes like goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska and fullback Hanna Glas.

“I think the the cool thing about the group right now – and obviously we’ve got a lot of people who aren't here – is we feel like we can have the next player up mentality everywhere on the field. Like every single position we have really good depth. And honestly picking rosters and starting 11s in the second half of the season is going to be really challenging. But that's credit to the players because they’re stepping up and showing the potential or the ability that we always believed they had. And I think it's probably the deepest roster I've ever had.”

“Coming back to the team has been really nice”

Huerta was full of praise for her teammates after the game and spoke with excitement about getting back into the swing of the NWSL next month.

“It’s been really nice being back. As you guys know, Seattle's home for me, so being away was difficult, but obviously rewarding in other ways. So, coming back to the team has been really nice and such a nice surprise. I love everyone on the team. The team’s done so well. I've been it's been really fun to watch from afar... Obviously I’m just wanting to fit in as I can because the team's just doing so well. So whatever I can do to contribute will be a positive.”

Next up for the Reign is another July friendly where they will travel to Portland to play the Thorns next Saturday evening, after which the NWSL regular season resumes with the Reign hosting Angel City FC at Lumen Field on Friday, August 1 for their annual pride celebration match.

Lineups and Subs

Seattle Reign FC – Maddie Prohaska; Sofia Huerta (Maddie Mercado 61’), Emily Mason (Phoebe McClernon 46’), Jordyn Bugg (Hanna Glas 46’), Madison Curry, Shae Holmes; Ainsley McCammon, Sally Menti (Sam Meza 46’); Jordyn Huitema (Maddie Dahlien 61’), Mia Fishel (Emeri Adames 32’), Nérilia Mondesir

Substitutes not used: Claudia Dickey, Neeku Purcell

Urawa Red Diamonds – Ikeda Sakiko; Goto Wakaba, Takahashi Hana, Nagashima Reina (Akimoto Kanon 74’), Sakurai Madoka (Okamura Raika 63’); Ito Miki, Tsunoda Fuka (Shibata Hanae 73’), Takatsuka Ena (Kato Chika 63’), Tanno Ririka (Fujisaki Satoko, 63’), Sakakibara Kotono (Ando Kozue 73’); Shimada Mei (Sugasawa Yuika 74’)

Substitutes not used: Ino Maya, Easther Mayi Kith