After what felt like 84 years, Seattle Reign returned to NWSL play on Friday evening, taking on Angel City FC. Thanks to a strong second half that saw Jess Fishlock and Sofia Huerta involved in both goals — the first scored by Fishlock and the second ruled an own goal — the Reign walked away with a 2-0 victory.
We talked about Jess Fishlock's second-half heroics already in our match recap. Here are three other stats from the Reign's 2-0 home win.
70
Before Friday's match against Angel City, the Reign hadn't played an NWSL match at Lumen Field in 70 days. It was great to be back at home. Not only did the Reign get three important points, but they won in front of a loud and energetic crowd of 10,117. That marked the Reign's highest attendance all season.
The team came into the match with a 2-3-1 record at home. They'll be working to build on their recent home performance and make Lumen Field a fortress for the rest of the season. To attract new fans, the Reign are following the Sounders' lead and offering a "First match on us" deal for their August 29 game against the San Diego Wave. Here's to their attendance numbers growing along with their results.
Your first Reign FC match is on us! 🎫 In partnership with Alaska Airlines, we're inviting first-time fans to come experience the electrifying energy of a home match at Lumen Field, absolutely FREE! Details ➡️ rgnfc.com/3UckPKg
— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc.com) 2025-08-04T17:04:14.670Z
0.19
While Angel City had better possession during the first 20 minutes of the game, the Reign took control after that. Throughout the game, they did well to limit Angel City's chances and keep their threats away from the goal. Angel City entered the game as one of the better chance-creating teams in the league. They were fourth in shots and in the top third in expected goals.
But on Friday, Angel City generated only 0.19 expected goals (xG) with their eight shots, their lowest total this season.
The average distance of their shot was 24.2 yards, well beyond the 18-yard box. Only three of their shots were from inside the box, and these were all low-percentage chances. The 24.2 yard average shot length was Angel City's second-highest average this year, behind only their prior match against the league-leading Kansas City Current, where Angel City managed just two shots all game.
Laura Harvey likes to say that prevention is better than a cure when it comes to limiting opponents. For the Reign on Friday, this meant preventing Angel City's frontline of Alyssa Thompson, Riley Tiernan, and Sveindís Jónsdóttir from getting touches in dangerous spots. In the Reign's 2-1 loss in March, Angel City had a season-high 38 touches in their box. On Friday night, this dropped to just 12.
As Harvey highlighted after the game, some of that has to do with the Reign stepping up higher and being more aggressive defensively. Instead of their wingbacks sitting deep along a back five, they pushed higher to prevent too many dangerous balls to Angel City's forwards. It certainly worked. Between minutes 50-90, Angel City generated just 0.02 xG. Talk about defensive dominance.
"I thought in the first half we were just timid and we dropped too much. And I understand it. [Sveindis] Jonsdottir and Alyssa [Thompson] are so quick. I get why we were worried about it, but I must have said this a thousand times in this room, prevention is better than cure. And in the second half, we were way more aggressive. And guess what? They didn't get anywhere near our goal as much. And the backline are a real key component of that, especially in the way that we currently play. If we have a back five, teams are going to get near our goal all the time. If we have a back three, it means we're being aggressive, and that's what we needed to be tonight."
24
Welcome back, Sofia Huerta. Slotting in at right wingback, Huerta led the Reign with 24 touches in their attacking third and three touches in their penalty box. She was third on the team in touches behind Jordyn Bugg and Phoebe McClernon.
Once the Reign settled into the match, they found Huerta consistently on the right wing. She began to pose problems for Angel City, and Huerta was ultimately able to whip in eight of her trademark crosses. Three of those crosses connected with a teammate, and one led directly to the Reign's opening goal. Huerta finished with three shot-creating actions and one goal-creating action.
There was never a doubt from Jess Fishlock 👏
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-08-02T04:07:14.373Z
Madison Curry, moving to the other side of the field as left wingback, also got involved higher up the pitch, often positioning herself as the highest player. She was third on the team with 13 touches in their attacking third, behind Huerta and Emeri Adames. Instead of relying on crossing, Curry combined with teammates when she got the ball. Like Huerta, she finished with three shot-creating actions.
On the other end, Curry showed incredible close-down speed on numerous occasions, stopping the runs of Alyssa Thompson and Sveindís Jónsdóttir more than once. As a sign of how often she frustrated Angel City attackers, she won a game-high four fouls.
Curry and Huerta are made for the Reign's new formation. Their athleticism, speed, engines, and confidence on the ball should scare opposing teams. And they're just getting started.
The win moved the Reign to fifth place, jumping over rivals Portland Thorns FC. The two sides face each other this Sunday, August 10, in their second Cascadia clash of the year. The match at Providence Park kicks off at 1 p.m. PT and will air on CBS.
