Reign at Thorns: Highlights, stats, quotes

Seattle Reign took a lead just three minutes into their rivalry clash against the Portland Thorns, but the home side rode the momentum from the crowd and walked away with a 4-2 win over the Reign.

Jess Fishlock slipped a pass to Emeri Adames behind Portland's backline, and she finished with her first touch. The Reign conceded a penalty kick in the 19th minute and failed to clear a set piece seven minutes later to finish the half down 2-1.

After the Thorns extended their lead to 3-1 early in the second half, again off a set piece, Fishlock gave the Reign life when she dove and headed in Madison Curry's cross. But the Thorns scored again immediately after.

The Reign (7-5-3) dropped to sixth place and now have a chance to bounce back in front of home fans next Monday, August 18, when they host the Chicago Stars (1-9-5) at Lumen Field. The match kicks off at 7 PM PT and will air on FOX 13+ and CBS Sports Network.

Highlights

Stats

SCORING SUMMARY

3’ - Emeri Adames (assisted by Jess Fishlock) - SEA

19’ - Sam Coffey (Penalty) - POR

26' - Reilyn Turner (assisted by Jessie Fleming) - POR

55’ - Reyna Reyes - POR

65' - Jess Fishlock (assisted by Madison Curry) - SEA

66' - Pietra Tordin (assisted by Hina Sugita) - POR

LINEUPS

60' - Lynn Biyendolo for Jordyn Huitema; Lauren Barnes for Jordyn Bugg

67’ - Mia Fishel for Sally Menti

78' - Nerilia Mondesir for Maddie Dahlien; Ji So-Yun for Jess Fishlock

75' - Kaitlyn Torpey for Mallie McKenzie; Deyna Castellanos for Pietra Tordin

84' - Mimi Alidou for Jessie Fleming; Payton Linnehan for Olivia Moultrie; Jayden Perry for Reilyn Turner

POSSESSION

Thorns: 40%

Reign: 60%

EXPECTED GOALS

Thorns: 4.35

Reign: 1.07

TOTAL SHOTS

Thorns: 23

Reign: 11

SHOTS ON TARGET

Thorns: 11

Reign: 3

SHOTS OFF TARGET

Thorns: 9

Reign: 3

SHOTS BLOCKED

Thorns: 3

Reign: 5

SHOTS FROM INSIDE THE BOX

Thorns: 14

Reign: 9

TOUCHES INSIDE THE OPP. BOX

Thorns: 31

Reign: 26

PASSES

Thorns: 299

Reign: 449

PASSING ACCURACY

Thorns: 75.6%

Reign: 83.1%

CROSSES

Thorns: 12

Reign: 29

CORNERS WON

Thorns: 4

Reign: 5

OFFSIDES

Thorns: 2

Reign: 1

FOULS

Thorns: 5

Reign: 11

YELLOW CARDS

Thorns: 0

Reign: 0

RED CARDS

Thorns: 0

Reign: 0

Quotes

Laura Harvey

Her thoughts on the game:

Obviously started well, but you're not going to win games if you concede four goals off set pieces – goals change games. You've got to be good in those moments. And we just weren't today, and we didn't do anything different. We prepared as we normally would. So I think that's probably the most disappointing is in moments where we could get a little bit of momentum, we gave up things on set pieces that just aren't acceptable really.

On why the team felt off and if the heat played a role:

I do think the heat, the first thing the heat impacts is your brain. That's what's challenging. And we play a style that you need to be able to use your brain and unfortunately that didn't happen. And yeah, you can look at the off passes and all that stuff, but one thing that really for me stands out is we conceded the goal off kickoff. We've just scored to get ourselves 3-2, back in the game, and we concede off the kickoff. That's all mental. That's just mental. And I think they're the things that the heat impacts, is sort of your ability to think quick and to be able to solve things quick with your brain.

On missing Phoebe McClernon’s impact and her injury status:

She's okay. I think she'll be okay for next week. It was just an acute injury that happened on Tuesday. So being in the [walking boot] just alleviates any pressure on the foot, but she'll be okay. And yeah, sometimes you dunno what you've got until it's not there. And today I felt like Phoebe's presence and organization we lacked a little bit. Yeah, it just highlighted how good she's been for us this year.

On what did work:

I think when we can get Jess and Emeri on the ball, we cause them problems. I think Jess's ball for Emeri for the goal and then we get, I dunno who played the ball out to Maddie Curry, but we get the ball out to Maddie Curry, cross, Jess goal. They're the things that we thought would be impactful and were, we just didn't do it often enough. And yeah, I always go out to it, you just can't concede four goals. I've set pieces and expect to win any game. No matter who you're playing, you can be playing the U-12 team, you're not going to win the game. So I think that that's just a very big lesson learned by us today that hopefully we can solve and come back from.

Jess Fishlock and Madison Curry

On the pace and grind of the match:

Fishlock: I mean, it was really hot out there. Not only that, what's difficult on turf is it's like our feet are on fire. And so obviously that probably played into the momentum parts of the game, and whenever people, each team could feel like they had a little bit more energy, they've probably gained a little bit momentum, and then that kind of flip-flopped throughout the 90 minutes. But yeah, that's probably why it was a bit more like that.

On their second goal:

Fishlock: It was great play, and then obviously the ball worked itself out wide, which I feel like we could have done a lot better with today. And we are very fortunate with some of the people that we have in wide areas, especially obviously MC [Madison Curry] here. Sof [Huerta] when she's out there, Emeri when she's out there, you kind of know that the delivery is going to be on point. And so I just made a late run into the box, and thankfully MC saw me. And then I just really had to focus on one, trying to get there. And then two, trying to get my head on there, because that's a stretch a little bit, and thankfully it went in, but I honestly thought at that point we were really going to step it up a little bit and put our foot down, and that was exactly what I thought we were going to do. And then we just completely switched off and conceded arguably one of the worst goals ever, two minutes after that. And so we really have to look at how that happened, why that happened, because that is just unacceptable. You can't claw yourself back in, be in a situation, and then throw it all away within 30 seconds. And so we really need to delve deep into the why of that situation

Curry: I was just trying to get on the ball a little bit more. I felt we struggled to get into wide areas, especially in threatening spaces. I feel like our movement along the back line was a little bit slow, so by the time they could switch it, I didn't have the opportunity to do what I wanted to do in the spaces I wanted to be. But that play was great. I came a little bit lower and I saw Jess in a free spot and I just hoped I could hit it to the right spot and thankfully it did that.

On this being one of the first road rivalry matches for young players:

Fishlock: I think what people really quite don't understand about this game is we can talk about rivalries across the league all you want, it's not worth this game and it's not like this game. I think that to your point, I would say yes, I would say we are doing great right now and I think we're in a great spot and coming into this game was really kind of a situation of, okay, we have a young team, we're learning a lot, but now we're in a different situation. Two teams, fierce rivalry. You're in a pressure cooker, not just literally today, but also figuratively with the crowd. And the intensity is always different in this kind of game, and you have to really feel bad and work your way through it, right?

Sometimes it'll hit you like a ton of bricks, and then with that experience, you'll slowly gain how to deal with these situations better and better. And so today for us was kind of like that. We said this is not about anybody else apart from us and seeing where we are testing ourselves in this environment with this team that we have now. To your point, it is young and we are trying to get there and our team are doing fantastic and our young players are doing brilliant. This was a different type of game. And I just said to Sammy [Meza] and Sally [Menti] now, don't think of this. Don't let it hit you deep. Don't get yourself into a dark hole with this because you will learn the most from this game and it will give you the most in terms of for your career in stepping forward. Sometimes you just got to have these difficult moments and how you learn from them will set you up to be more successful. And our team will make sure that we do that because it's okay, these moments are part of life.

Curry: As a young player it's hard to grasp such a big rivalry and all of the history that goes behind it. And I think taking time to sit with it, it's a lot. It's a lot to take in and you want to make the older players on the team proud. And I think that in turn turns into a lot of pressure and sometimes the pressure is too much and sometimes that shows on the field and sometimes it doesn't. And I think with the heat and the turf and just the way the game played out for us, it is a learning moment and now we're a part of the history and we can feel how much that sucks. And that's the biggest learning tool.