It all started so well, bringing the heat in the ludicrous heat.
Not even three minutes in, Emeri Adames found her moment, found the back of the net, and stunned the home crowd at Providence Park. Back in a big way, the Reign took a shocking early lead against their biggest rivals and looked poised to right yet another wrong from last season's disaster of a campaign. And then the wheels came off, one after another.
Jordyn Bugg lost Reilyn Turner on the dribble, chased her into the area, and gave up an unnecessary penalty which Sam Coffey converted.
Turner then beat the entire back line by herself, getting in all alone to volley it home from five yards.
Olivia Moultrie threw a shross across the area and Reyna Reyes got free for an open header.
Jess Fishlock gave the Reign a gasp of life midway through the second half, closing the score to 3-2 on a brilliantly worked, brilliantly run header, but the Reign immediately conceded a fourth and final time barely a minute later to Pietra Tordin.
Despite the Thorns' best efforts to fail to kill off the game, the Reign couldn't find another good chance. The final whistle came mercifully. It would've been one thing to go to Portland and lose – nobody's beaten Portland on their home pitch this year, and rivalry games can get wild.
But losing like that, with the wounds so self-inflicted, the bad decisions so inexplicable...
What a disaster.
Goalkeeper
Claudia Dickey – 6
There's a certain bleak humor to saying Claudia Dickey was one of the Reign's best players on an afternoon where she also allowed four goals. That Portland's post-shot xG was 5.1 per Opta says enough all on its own – the four that got past her had a combined psxG of 3.16, with only Reyes' goal being one Dickey might've had a real chance at. Despite the absolute bombardment the Reign back line exposed her to, ranging from penalties to unmarked volleys to free headers, Dickey made seven saves, including huge, high-difficulty, close-range saves on Pietra Tordin in the 4th minute and Hina Sugita in the 19th. Faced with a collapsing backline and overrun midfield, Dickey did all she could, and unfortunately all she could do just wasn't enough.
Going forward. There's also a certain bleak humor in noting that Dickey's underlying goalkeeping numbers just got even better after a 4-2 loss. It's the sort of match that both proves her exceptional quality even under staggering adversity and may cost her dearly in 2025 awards consideration at the same time, given that goalkeeping awards still primarily reward team defense.
Defenders
Maddie Dahlien – 4 (off 78' for Nérilia Mondésir)
Dahlien played 77 minutes, ran the touchline repeatedly, and... touched the ball 18 times as she was, for the most part, a non-factor in the game. She infrequently had opportunities on the ball, and when she did, she was neither effective at receiving and holding up or playing in her teammates. The relative lack of threat from Dahlien's side gave the Thorns more space to commit numbers to the middle, and as the game progressed the Reign repeatedly failed to punish them for leaving Dahlien open in space. She did have a couple decent moments carrying the ball forward, including beating her defender and cutting into the penalty area for a nice cross. Unfortunately, it was a nice cross to nobody but Mackenzie Arnold.
Going forward. While I'm more sold than I was on Dahlien as a wingback, if you're going to play field-stretching wide players, have 60% of the ball, but never even really try to get it to your field-stretching wide players in space, you might as well just not?
Shae Holmes – 5
So what I liked: Shae Holmes showed an urgency and desire to get to the fucking ball that wasn't always evident from other defenders. She had nine recoveries, four clearances, and two interceptions in what was clearly the most active defensive shift on the Reign, and she was frequently sliding central to provide extra cover to Huerta and Bugg, albeit not always effectively. I also really liked her 3rd minute throw-in, taken quickly to find Fishlock darting up the middle, leading directly to the early Reign goal. What I didn't like so much: with the second most touches on the team, she drove possession, and a lot of that possession was messy, uncertain, and ended in quick turnovers and quicker counters. Shae herself misplaced a number of simple passes and gave Portland opportunities to run at an unsettled defense. She, along with Huerta, lost Reilyn Turner on Portland's go-ahead goal, allowing her in behind for an uncontested volley. Probably the best performance of the three center backs still amounted to, at best, a very mixed bag.
Going forward. When Phoebe McClernon is unavailable, I would much rather see Shae Holmes – or Lauren Barnes! – operate as the middle centerback than Sofia Huerta.
Sofia Huerta – 4
Huerta spent most of the match playing as the middle centerback in a back three / back five, leading me to frequently and loudly ask but why are we doing this during my rewatches. And the thing here is she was mostly fine, up until she wasn't (she was slow to react on the second service that led to Reilyn Turner's goal and a non-factor in a crowded eighteen on Reyna Reyes') – she was active and clean on the ball, she had 8 recoveries, and was one of just two Reign players (alongside Jordyn Huitema) to win a majority of her duels. She led the Reign in shot-creating actions, but most of her offensive contribution came on corner kicks, free kicks, and one very well-worked combination with Madison Curry. Ultimately, in too many high impact moments, she wasn't where she needed to be, wasn't able to get the ball clear when she absolutely needed to get it clear, wasn't able to relieve the pressure as Portland, with 40% of the possession, nonetheless dictated play right down the middle.
The absence of McClernon made for some hard decisions, and putting Huerta's comfortable passing in the middle might on paper have seemed an interesting wrinkle to frustrate Gale's overloaded midfields, but...
Going forward. ...putting Huerta in a less comfortable, more defensively unforgiving position where you also took away much of her ability to be a consistent attacking threat in the run of play feels like it may in fact not have been the move. One of a few ways I think Laura Harvey outfoxed herself in this one.
Jordyn Bugg – 4 (off 60' for Lauren Barnes)
This was a rough, rough outing for Bugg, who seemed to miss the coverage McClernon provides in defense more than anybody. Seeing less of the ball than she's used to, she was also unusually shaky on it, turning it over twice on short passes in her defensive third, both leading to Portland shots. A 9th minute chance fell to Pietra Tordin while she watched from behind the play. A number of times, she went into challenges she didn't need to in a dangerous place – and beyond just going into challenges she didn't need to, she went into challenges and lost them, leaving the rest of the defense to deal with the fallout. The 17th minute penalty was particularly egregious, as, after failing to contest Riley Tiernan's dribble, she simply went through Tiernan's back without a clear plan to win the ball, and with little apparent need to make the challenge at all, as the defense was actually fairly well positioned to defend the shot or the cutback. A lot went wrong for Bugg, more of it self-inflicted than not.
Going forward. Take the lumps and learn from them. The thing about a generationally talented 18-year-old winning a starting spot so emphatically is she's still 18 years old, and sometimes the youth and inexperience is going to show.
Madison Curry – 5
Arguably the best performance on the back line, Madison Curry had the assist on Jess Fishlock's moment-of-hope goal and brought her usual energy and intensity to a game that really wanted for more of both. While she was significantly more effective than Dahlien on the opposite side, she still got less time on the ball than the Reign could have used, as – despite racking up more than 300 touches between Dickey, Bugg, Huerta, and Holmes – the Reign consistently failed to find and use their field-stretching width. She put in several crosses, a few of them really good, but only one found a target. While the Reign mostly want her to press high up the field and provide verticality when they line her up like this, Curry was unusually uninvolved defensively, and the Thorns isolated and victimized Jordyn Bugg a number of times when Curry was too high to provide support. Lacking the usual safety valve McClernon provides, this proved disastrous in a couple key moments.
Going forward. Curry is a legitimate threat at either fullback position and is really growing into the role.
Midfielders
Jess Fishlock – 7 (POTM) (off 78' for Ji So-yun)
If there's on player who can always, always, always be counted on to bring it against Portland, it's Jess "Fucking" Fishlock, who turned in yet another vintage distill it bottle it sell it at a premium performance against the Reign's original rival. Parlaying just 26 touches on the ball into 5 progressive passes, 3 passes into the penalty area, 4 shots, a goal, an assist, and the only goddamn moments of hope the Reign mustered in the match, Fishlock was the Reign's best, most consistent, most unimpeachable player. She contributed a bit to the softness of the Reign's midfield, losing her duels against Tordin and Sugita, and was less of an influence off the ball than she has been in the past, but despite that, she was head and shoulders above the field, the only Reign player who turned in a better-than-average performance on a sweltering and miserable day of work.
Going forward. Fun stats: per 90 minutes, Jess Fishlock is 95th percentile or better in expected goals, expected assists, touches in the penalty area, and shots taken. She can't play as many minutes as she could in her tireless youth, but she gives absolutely everything in every minute she does play.
Sam Meza – 5
Two things. Firstly, this might've been Sam Meza's worst performance of the season, as she was frequently outnumbered and outmaneuvered in an overcrowded midfield where Portland had the numbers and the ball skills to make life miserable on her. Secondly, even considering that, she still won four tackles, blocked three shots, and racked up three interceptions, two clearances, and four recoveries, providing basically 100% of the midfield bite that the Reign could muster on the day. Her worst moment, unfortunately, was biting way too hard on Olivia Moultrie (who is both the most prolific diver in the league and extremely clever with her feet – a really dangerous player to commit hard against), leaving Moultrie nothing but time to pick her ball, ending in Reyna Reyes knocking home the Thorns' third, and ultimately game-winning, goal.
Going forward. Look, the result sucked and she couldn't do it all in the midfield, but if this is as bad as it gets for Sam, the Mezazoic Era is going to be something really fucking special.
Sally Menti – 3 (off 67' for Mia Fishel)
On initial watch, I thought Sally Menti looked really lost, and her error directly conceded a goal to the Thorns, neither of which are good. On rewatch, I appreciated some aspects of her performance a little more; while she definitely looked out of her depth against the quick and skillful interchanges of Moultrie, Sugita, and Coffey, she was dogged in her efforts and got stuck in to good effect a number of times. On second rewatch, I thought she looked really lost, and her error directly conceded a goal to the Thorns, but she rarely got beaten the same way twice, she learned quickly from the Thorns' movements, and as the match developed, she could clearly see what she needed to do, even if she didn't (yet) have the wherewithal to execute it. We could go into a lot of minutiae here, but ultimately this was an inexperienced player getting absolutely bullied by league veterans in a rivalry match, and I think Menti has the sauce to do better next time.
Going forward. For Sally Menti, perhaps more than any other player, this match should provide a lot of game tape to learn and improve from. The Thorns bullied her a bit, but she was already showing a growing holistic understanding of how to adjust to that by the time she subbed off.
Forwards
Jordyn Huitema – 5 (off 60' for Lynn Biyendolo)
Huitema is a really good defensive forward, and I understand why Harvey wanted that on the pitch against Portland; she put in another defensively stout shift with five clearances, a blocked shot, two recoveries, and four of four duels won. She was also really solid in holdup, providing more value receiving the ball than any other Reign player. The main problem was, once again, the worst problem for a forward; she didn't provide enough danger, and I would've liked to see her fighting a little more to get on the end of some of those begging Curry crosses. This is less a problem in a two forward setup with Adames providing a direct threat, but Adames (or any other strike partner) will be more threatening if Huitema can get back to at least putting efforts towards the goal. All that said, this was not a bad performance, and while Huitema didn't contribute to a goal, she almost certainly prevented one, and was often more driven and better positioned on defense than the defenders around her.
Going forward. Heck it, given Huitema's ability to actually win a damn header and hold an offside line in this match, maybe she should've been our starting middle centerback.
Emeri Adames – 6
Barely past two minutes in, Emeri Adames ran up the gut, beating every defender to a wicked Fishlock through ball and touching the ball home past Mackenzie Arnold to open the scoring. It was a really exquisite finish, turning a great chance into certain goal, and an earned reward for one of the best striker's runs we've yet seen from Emeri. It was also the high water mark of the afternoon for her, as she spent much of the rest of the day running thanklessly and not receiving the ball, receiving the ball and then passing it to nobody (or worse, directly to Portland), or receiving the ball and trying for the speculative and spectacular rather than taking the extra touch to find more danger or completing the simple pass to keep the play alive. The duality of Adames at this point in her development – she has the flair and the drama, she does the unthinkable, and she also sometimes misses the obvious option in the moment.
Going forward. I love seeing Baby Pinoe score goals. I hope to one day soon also love seeing Baby Pinoe complete the pass that's there more frequently, rather than the audaciously creative pass that nobody else has even realized is an option, including her would-be receiver.
Substitutes
Lauren Barnes – 5 (on 60' for Jordyn Bugg)
Barnes came on for an overwhelmed Jordyn Bugg and in the next six minutes, the Reign scored and then immediately conceded. Notably, when Barnes came on, Holmes rotated to the central centerback role and Huerta moved right, and that movement put Huerta in a position to get the hockey assist on Fishlock's goal. Unfortunately, the entire back line was then beaten by a simple through ball and vertical run. As the remaining 20-plus minutes ground out, Lu came through with some big plays, with four recoveries, two clearances, and very crisp, confident 90% passing.
Going forward. Reading between the lines, Lu was probably not 90 minutes fit and might have figured into the starting lineup if she had been. It's unfortunate, as the back line mostly looked a lot more settled with her on the pitch.
Lynn Biyendolo – 4 (on 60' for Jordyn Huitema)
Lynn came on with the Reign chasing the game and needing some real opportunities, and unfortunately, she mostly couldn't provide them. She did put together two shot-creating actions with good combination play in the 73rd and 79th minutes, but she touched the ball infrequently and managed zero touches in the penalty area in 30-plus minutes on the pitch, which is... not ideal for a forward substituting on in a trailing game state.
Going forward. Lynn was also probably not 90 minutes fit, and may not have been 30 minutes fit. It's unfortunate; when healthy, Biyendolo is a menace in every phase of play, but she's seldom been both healthy and available for the Reign this season.
Mia Fishel – 4 (on 67' for Sally Menti)
Almost 30 minutes, four touches, no shots. Fishel, brought on to make an impact with the Reign trailing by two and desperate to change things up, was a non-factor in the final phases of the game. She certainly made some good, and consistently unrewarded, vertical and diagonal runs. Given more time to get the rhythm of the game, maybe she does more. We'll never know.
Going forward. Not to repeat a narrative but we knew coming in that Fishel is working back to match fitness, and she also only just arrived with the team. This was a big ask and it's not necessarily worrisome that she couldn't change an already out-of-hand game with limited minutes. It's sure unfortunate how many of our should-be game-changers are health-challenged right now, though.
Ji So-yun – 5 (on 78' for Jess Fishlock)
Ji got on the ball often, passed cleanly, had three progressive passes and two progressive receptions in around 15 minutes of game time, and, in general, did well to consistently get the ball into the final third. Neither she nor her teammates did much with it from there, though she did have the key pass on a Madison Curry shot that in the 79th minute that likely represented the Reign's best opportunity of the closing phase of the game.
Going forward. The midfield begged for more influence from basically the opening whistle, and Ji's control and ball progression might've paid real dividends if she'd had more time to work.
Nérilia Mondésir – 4 (on 78' for Maddie Dahlien)
I have two main notes about Mondésir's short substitute appearance in this match. The first is that she got on the ball quite a bit for her short minutes but just could not complete a pass when she had to. The second is that I am still angry at some of the phantom fouls whistled against her. Mondésir apparently commits fouls by having a body and existing in space, and simultaneously cannot be fouled no matter how much of her body gets taken out from behind. Anyway, this wasn't a great outing by Coco, but more than anything, it was deeply frustrating to watch.
Going forward. I think Mondésir needs more minutes for her game to be effective, but she's struggling to win those minutes from short outings, which is a rough place to be in.
Also, I'm just going to bluntly say that I zero point zero percent believe that any given blonde white girl from California gets whistled for the phantom fouls that Mondésir does on an infuriatingly consistent basis.
Referee
Katya Koroleva – 7
This is a weird one, because I have a lot of complaints about the officiating overall, but Koroleva was pretty, pretty good in the center. She kept things under control without showing a card, her whistles made sense, the penalty she called against Jordyn Bugg was, unfortunately, dead-to-rights correct, she listened to her ARs and VAR and got the big calls right, she communicated with the players and set her lines (and the players largely respected those lines), she didn't allow much timewasting or extracurricular nonsense...
But also, she listened to her ARs, and her ARs had some, how to say, incredibly perplexing and frustrating moments along the way. Phantom offsides? You goddamn bet. AR-called phantom fouls? Whew, you'd better believe it. Inexplicably botched throw-in calls? Boy howdy! A weird fixation on whistling Mondésir, specifically, every time she so much as breathed in the vicinity of another player? You're not gonna believe this, but yes!
I watched this match three times and change, and every call I took issue with came from an AR, the majority of them at moments Katya couldn't be expected to see what had happened. Officiating is a team sport. Katya's team, ah, let her down a bit.
Going forward. I honestly like Koroleva as a CR, even if I sometimes disagree with her read on a play and often wish she was more willing to show some cheese.
And Another Thing!
André Carlisle called it a legendary galaxy-braining by Laura Harvey, and I have a hard time disagreeing. I remain disinclined to rate coaching, for all the same reasons as ever, but this is a rare match where I genuinely feel the difference was being out-coached. Or, perhaps more appropriately, out-coaching ourselves.
I don't understand giving a combined total of just 80 minutes for Ji, Biyendolo, Fishel, and Mondésir, all of it after we already had a multi-goal deficit to chase. While I am curious about what Harvs sees in her there going forward, I don't understand Sofia Huerta unexpectedly starting as the anchor centerback against our biggest rival in one of the biggest games of the season with no prior game reps at that position this year. I really don't understand how insistently we kept the game in the middle of the park where Portland is strongest and we were clearly struggling, especially after we had already so effectively frustrated Gale-ball by not doing that earlier in the season.
But here we are in the aftermath. Let go and let Harvs, I guess.
