Reign at Current: Highlights, stats, quotes

It was a tale of two halves for Seattle Reign, who couldn't get into their attacking third in the first half but managed to create more chances in the second against the league-leading Kansas City Current. It didn't ultimately matter, however, as the Current scored a penalty in the first half and finished off a controversial sequence in the second to win 2-0.

The Current clinched the NWSL Shield with the victory, becoming the fastest team in league history to do so.

Debinha scored the penalty after a video review determined that Angharad James-Turner blocked a cross with her extended arm as she was turning away in the box. Temwa Chawinga scored the second goal on her birthday, heading in a deflected shot. It appeared that Jordyn Bugg was fouled earlier on the play, but the referee wasn't called to the video monitor.

The Reign (8-7-6) will finish the weekend in sixth place and return home to host the North Carolina Courage on Sunday, September 28. That match kicks off at 5 p.m. PT and will air on FOX 13+, NWSL+, and Paramount+.

Highlights

Stats

SCORING SUMMARY

34' - Debina (Penalty) - KC

74' - Temwa Chawinga - KC

LINEUPS

46' - Maddie Dahlien for Lauren Barnes; Sally Menti for Angharad James-Turner

53' - Jess Fishlock for Mia Fishel

79' - Emeri Adames for Nerilia Mondesir

87' - Ainsley McCammon for Sam Meza

46' - Hailie Mace for Gabbie Robinson

62' - Lo'eau LaBonta for Rocky Rodriguez; Bea for Nichelle Prince; Elizabeth Ball for Hailie Mace

73' - Haley Hopkins for Debinha

POSSESSION

Current: 54.8%

Reign: 45.2%

EXPECTED GOALS

Current: 2.15

Reign: 0.65

TOTAL SHOTS

Current: 18

Reign: 9

SHOTS ON TARGET

Current: 8

Reign: 1

SHOTS OFF TARGET

Current: 8

Reign: 4

SHOTS BLOCKED

Current: 2

Reign: 4

SHOTS FROM INSIDE THE BOX

Current: 12

Reign: 6

TOUCHES INSIDE THE OPP. BOX

Current: 23

Reign: 17

PASSES

Current: 430

Reign: 342

PASSING ACCURACY

Current: 80%

Reign: 73.1%

PASSES IN FINAL THIRD

Current: 125

Reign: 107

PASS ACCURACY IN FINAL THIRD

Current: 72.8%

Reign: 61.7%

CROSSES (EXCLUDING CORNERS)

Current: 10

Reign: 17

CORNERS WON

Current: 5

Reign: 3

OFFSIDES

Current: 0

Reign: 0

FOULS

Current: 13

Reign: 14

YELLOW CARDS

Current: 2

Reign: 3

RED CARDS

Current: 0

Reign: 0

Quotes

Laura Harvey

Thoughts on the match:

I'm going to try not to get fined. The fourth official apologized to me at halftime because the lead up to their penalty, we should have had a free kick that she [the center official] played advantage and then gave them a free kick. So take that with what you will. And there was probably a foul on Jordyn Bugg on the second goal, but here we are, and I'm really proud of the players. Honestly, we didn't have any training time between Louisville and coming here. We tried to do something a little bit different in the first half. It didn't quite work. We were too on the back foot. I think if we hadn't have conceded, we might have kept it. They're a good team, obviously winning the shield tonight, with the record that they have, they don't need help. And I thought in the second half our players really dug in and showed their attitude and their mentality and we got more on the front foot and they found that difficult to deal with. So yeah, just disappointed with the goals really. They were preventable by no one else – none of the players, unfortunately.

On the impact of the subs:

I thought they did great. I think when we know what we are chasing, I always feel like our subs come on, do a good job. And they did that. I think Jess [Fishlock] and Maddie [Dahlien]'s relationship and movement caused them a ton of problems and we just lack that little bit of final finish really. I thought in the second half we were by far the most dominant team.

Phoebe McClernon and Madison Curry

Thoughts on the match:

McClernon: It's a bummer. I think the most infuriating part is that right now they're celebrating winning the shield, and that's infuriating. Not to be redundant, but I don't know. I think that we definitely showed some of our grit in the second half. I think that we had opportunities and we were much more imposing in the second half. So I definitely think there's positive takeaways, but I think that first half we were a little on our heels and it's tough to start a game that way.

If seeing KC getting the Shield gives them extra motivation:

McClernon: Yeah. I mean, on a scale of one to 10, it is 10. It's really infuriating. But you know what? There's a lot of season left and honestly, the shield means nothing if you come back and you win the championship, which is what we're fighting to do at the end of the day so they can go enjoy their little party. And yeah, we'll see who makes it the furthest.

On the frustration around giving up the penalty:

Curry: I mean, yeah, I think it's infuriating all around. Handballs these days are so subjective to whatever the referee wants to call. And it sucks when we see other ones not get called and that one is the one that does, and that's how we start our first half. But I think our ability to respond in the second half showed our character and our resiliency and yeah, we'll remember how this feels for a long time because this isn't how we feel the game should have ended and we'll take that and work and build off that.

If the extended match against Louisville impacted the team for this game:

Curry: I don't think it truly affected this game. I mean, it would've been awesome to have more prep days for sure, but I think we did execute our game plan as we learned it and we adjusted when we needed to. And I just think sometimes games don't go your way, and that's what tonight, at least in the second half felt like. And yeah, I think the short week, it's obviously not ideal, but I think we handled it the best that we could. And getting points at the Louisville game was huge. And then pushing onto this at Kansas City at home and we put a performance that we're proud of. I think that's a testament to our team and our grit.

If the team felt more comfortable in the four-back in the second half:

McClernon: I think we're pretty naturally comfortable in a five or at four. I don't think it matters from a comfortability perspective. I do think it matters from getting numbers up the field and having opportunities to overload them. As you could see, we had a lot of success getting down their left side because we had that extra player. And I just think that it also gives us the ability to press them in their defensive third, and I think that's a high risk, high reward against a team like Kansas City because they have players like Bia, Chawinga, and Debinha who are so good in transition and so good off of long balls. But I think that sometimes you just got to bet on yourself in those scenarios, and I feel like that's kind of what we did in the second half when we switched to that back four.