Reign vs. Angel City: Highlights, stats, quotes

Fresh off a trip to the UEFA Euros with Wales, Jess Fishlock subbed into the match at halftime and helped power Seattle Reign to a 2-0 win at home against Angel City.

Fishlock got on the end of Sofia Huerta's cross in the 66th minute and redirected it toward the goal with her head. After a scramble in front of the goal, the ball bounced back to Fishlock, who sent her shot into the left corner. In the 86th minute, she flicked Huerta's corner kick behind her, which bounced off an Angel City defender and into the back of the net.

Up next for the Reign (7-4-3, 24 points) is a road trip down south to face their rivals. They kick off against the Portland Thorns at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday, August 10. The match kicks will air on CBS Sports Network.

Highlights

Stats

SCORING SUMMARY

66’ - Jess Fishlock - SEA

86' - Own Goal - SEA

LINEUPS

46' - Jess Fishlock for Ji So-Yun

64' - Jordyn Huitema for Maddie Dahlien; Nerilia Mondesir for Emeri Adames

81' - Mia Fishel for Sally Menti

90+4' - Ainsley McCammon for Jess Fishlock

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63’ - MA Vignola for Evelyn Shores; Katie Zelem for Jun Endo

81' - Christen Press for Kennedy Fuller

90+4' - Maiara Niehues for Sveindis Jonsdottir; Julie Dufour for Riley Tiernan

ATTENDANCE

10,117 - Lumen Field, Seattle

POSSESSION

Reign: 52.8%

Angel City: 47.2%

EXPECTED GOALS

Reign: 0.56

Angel City: 0.19

TOTAL SHOTS

Reign: 10

Angel City: 8

SHOTS ON TARGET

Reign: 2

Angel City: 6

SHOTS OFF TARGET

Reign: 5

Angel City: 2

SHOTS BLOCKED

Reign: 3

Angel City: 0

SHOTS FROM INSIDE THE BOX

Reign: 6

Angel City: 3

TOUCHES INSIDE THE OPP. BOX

Reign: 15

Angel City: 13

PASSES

Reign: 390

Angel City: 354

PASSING ACCURACY

Reign: 79.7%

Angel City: 78.8%

PASSES IN FINAL THIRD

Reign: 90

Angel City: 82

PASSING ACCURACY IN FINAL THIRD

Reign: 62.2%

Angel City: 68.3%

CROSSES (EXCLUDING CORNERS)

Reign: 11

Angel City: 7

CORNERS WON

Reign: 4

Angel City: 4

OFFSIDES

Reign: 0

Angel City: 0

FOULS

Reign: 9

Angel City: 11

YELLOW CARDS

Reign: 0

Angel City: 0

RED CARDS

Reign: 0

Angel City: 0

Quotes

Laura Harvey

 Her thoughts on the match:

In the first half, we were a bit timid. We were a little bit second to a lot of things. We still had some moments in the first half where we did okay, but I just said to the players at halftime, I think to play the way we want to play, we've got to be brave and we've got to commit to what our plan is. And when we do that, we're good. I thought in the second half we did that. I thought the subs that came on were excellent, all of them. That's the luxury that we have now, that the starters may win the game and the subs are coming on to see it out or the starters may have to do a lot of hard work and might not get the rewards and then the subs might come on and get the rewards. And tonight it was that way around.

On the crowd:

It was amazing. I think we haven't played at home now for such a long time in the league, so to come back and have a big crowd. But we know two things about Seattle. One, they love Pride night and two, they love this team. So when they come out and support, it means so much to us. So hopefully we'll see 'em again in a couple of weeks.

On what it means to have Fishlock back:

A lot. I think over the years, Jess's role has always been that, whether coming off the bench, starting, which she's done a lot, she just gets the game at a really high level. Her understanding of the game is really high and to have the luxury to be able to let her watch the first half and work out how she's going to have success in the game, I don't need to talk to her about that. She's going to be able to do that. And then my job is just to give her some real pointers on things that I think she needs to be really good at and she gets it. And I think the team believes that about her too, that she's going to be in the right place when they need her to be and given the opportunity they believe she's going to create or score something for them. And she did that.

On Lu Barnes and Lynn Biyendolo's status:

Yeah, Lu's [injury] is still from when she did whatever she did in the Chicago game. So she's really close. She's really close, but obviously, we don't want to risk Lu in any way. Lynn's had a couple of things going on in July that we just, if we needed her tonight, she was available. She definitely could have played, but I spoke to her when we made the Mia sub and just said, 'Look, if we need you, be ready.' If we don't need [her], keeping her off the surface as much as we can, we've got back-to-back games on turf, which is hard. So this was maybe a day early for us, but we could have utilized her if we needed to, but if we didn't, resting her up and getting her ready for next week was the priority.

Jess Fishlock and Mia Fishel

On getting her first NWSL appearance at home:

Fishel: Yeah, it was so much fun. I don't think I've ever been so stressed on the sidelines, just like how back and forth and close the game was, and I was itching to try to help in any way I can. I mean obviously seeing the goal from Fishlock you could take a deep breath and we can relax. I think that's when things opened up. So I was happy to come in when the team was loose and we were just trying to see it out. So yeah, debut amazing, and this team's amazing. It's been so easy transitioning from my last team to here and it's just big kudos to the staff and the team for getting me all settled.

On the changes she tried to bring at halftime:

Fishlock: I got to watch the first half, so I got to see kind of the pockets and what maybe I could do a little bit different that might help honestly. And then got a quick bit of tactical information from Laura before we went on, but I don't really think we were doing an awful lot wrong in the first half. We just weren't really connecting in the dangerous areas. So for me that was a priority for me that if I could get it in the pockets that I like that I was connecting and going forward and knowing that the players that we have, we can be dangerous. But no, halftime is all kind of whatever Laura did in the locker room, I just helped I'm sure.

On what Fishlock brought:

Fishel: At halftime, Laura lit a fire in us, she's just like, it's not good enough in all aspects. We didn't have enough fire, we weren't winning our first and second balls. So I think with that mentality coming into the second half and then adding Jess's technical ability, her leadership on the field, I think that it was the perfect combination to get that first goal.

On Sally Menti's performance and partnership with Sam Meza:

Fishlock: Yeah, I think their relationship in the midfield is evolving. I think the more that they get to play, it's both kind of their first time getting some regular minutes. Sally has come in and shown how good she can be. So I think for them it's just allowing them the space and the time to learn the game together. And you can definitely see their partnership is growing, but they're both really young and like I said, they're gaining the experience and I think what's kind of crucial is we allow them to do that and just encourage them to keep playing the way that they like to play and within our structure. And I think the more that they get minutes and get the experience, they're both just going to get better and better. And I think that to Mia's point, our group is really a group that allows people to grow and be themselves and we all try to get the very best out of each other and allow that to happen. I think the beauty of our group for those two specifically is we allow that not many people would kind of throw two younger people straight in and say, okay, we've got you back, we trust you. And I'm sure it'll be the same with Mia because we're just such a good group that allow for that to happen within these games. And so they're in a great spot, they're doing really well and they're just going to keep growing and that's really exciting for us.

On having Sofia Huerta back:

Fishlock: Oh, it's huge. So nice to have Sof back. Anyone of her service caliber, that ability you're going to miss, right? But she got a great opportunity and we were all really happy for her, but probably more happy that she's back. She just brings quality, experience, stability, everything that you would want. She brings leadership and she likes to take that responsibility too, which is always nice, especially with the younger groups that we have. And so I can't speak highly enough about Sof and I can't say how happy I am that she's back.

Fishel: Sof just has this aura about her. It's like this energy that when she's on the field, she's going to make something happen and that's why you want to get her the ball as often as possible because she just makes things happen. I think she's close to a record with assists or something. So that just kind of speaks highly of her and what she wants to do, be dangerous, get towards the goal and assist. So I'm personally really excited to continue to build our connection because I know she's whipping those balls in. So yeah, I'm excited for her.