Reign at Spirit: Highlights, stats, quotes

Seattle Reign couldn't gather any offensive rhythm on Sunday on the road against the Washington Spirit. On the other end, two defensive miscommunications led to a Trinity Rodman brace – and the Reign fell to 7th place on the NWSL table after losing 2-0 at Audi Field.

The Reign are back at home on Sunday, September 14, hosting Racing Louisville, who currently sit just one point behind the Reign in 8th place. That match kicks off at 5 p.m. PT and will air on FOX 13+ locally and stream on NWSL+ and Paramount+.

Highlights

Stats

SCORING SUMMARY

 33' - Trinity Rodman (assisted by Leicy Santos) - WAS

81' - Trinity Rodman (assisted by Croix Bethune) - WAS

LINEUPS

57' - Sally Menti for Emeri Adames

82' - Mia Fishel for Jordyn Huitema; Nerilia Mondesir for Maddie Dahlien

85' - Ainsley McCammon for Jess Fishlock; Ana-Maria Crnogorčević for Lauren Barnes

67' - Croix Bethune for Leicy Santos; Gift Monday for Sofia Cantore

72' - Courtney Brown for Kate Wiesner; Kysha Sylla for Tara McKeown

POSSESSION

Spirit: 62.9%

Reign: 37.1%

EXPECTED GOALS

Spirit: 1.67

Reign: 0.51

TOTAL SHOTS

Spirit: 16

Reign: 7

SHOTS ON TARGET

Spirit: 7

Reign: 3

SHOTS OFF TARGET

Spirit: 4

Reign: 3

SHOTS BLOCKED

Spirit: 5

Reign: 1

SHOTS FROM INSIDE THE BOX

Spirit: 10

Reign: 6

TOUCHES INSIDE THE OPP. BOX

Spirit: 28

Reign: 11

PASSES

Spirit: 551

Reign: 325

PASSING ACCURACY

Spirit: 86.9%

Reign: 76.6%

PASSES IN FINAL THIRD

Spirit: 146

Reign: 64

PASS ACCURACY IN FINAL THIRD

Spirit: 76%

Reign: 40.6%

CROSSES (EXCLUDING CORNERS)

Spirit: 12

Reign: 9

CORNERS WON

Spirit: 4

Reign: 2

OFFSIDES

Spirit: 1

Reign: 1

FOULS

Spirit: 6

Reign: 3

YELLOW CARDS

Spirit: 1

Reign: 0

RED CARDS

Spirit: 0

Reign: 0

Quotes

Laura Harvey

 Thoughts on the match:

I thought it was a tough one for us. We had moments of doing okay, but the way we'd set up ourselves defensively meant we had to talk to each other, we had to communicate, and on the two goals, we didn't do that and we were punished for it. And yeah, some of our quality going forward when we won the ball back was okay. Some of it was, we'd get it and we'd give it straight back to them. So I think we just have to get back to the fundamentals, is my honest opinion. Back to the fundamentals of what has made us who we've been this year, and I think we came away from that a little bit today.

On how the team did in addressing Washington's threats:

We did it well for a lot of the time. They want the ball. They have a lot of people low. They don't put loads of players high. We were okay with them having it in certain places, but when you defend that way, you've got to really communicate and understand what each other is doing. And there was a couple of periods where we didn't do that, and they punished us.

On if the team improved in parts of the second half:

In patches, yes. But we didn't put in a full half performance in either half, I didn't think. But yeah, getting Sally [Menti] in the game helped. She was one of the ones that was sick before the game. She didn't land in DC till last night because she'd been sick. So we managed to get one of our ones that had been sick on the plane late. And we know with Sally, she has quality in those moments, but we are a team that when we set ourselves up and the game looks the way we think it's going to look, we do really well. We're pretty good at seeing what's happening and being able to do well. If it looks like how we've prepared, if a team changes, we don't see it in the second half. When Croix [Bethune] came on, it changed the way we needed to build, and it takes us 15 minutes to see it. We just keep doing the same things and giving the ball back. I think that's my point around going back to the fundamentals. I think we have to go back to the fundamentals of football and what makes us successful and not overcomplicated.

On the reason Mia Fishel has had limited minutes:

Well, we tried to get her on 10 minutes before they put her on. So before, I think they stood there for 10 minutes, Coco [Nerilia Mondesir] and Mia, and then they put them [some Spirit subs] on and they don't allow us to do the third one at the same time. So yeah, the plan was to try and get Mia on and give her 20-25, and I think they stood there for 10 minutes, and so it ended up only being 10.

On Jordyn Bugg's performance:

I thought that today was Jordan Bugg's best performance in a long time. Yeah, overall I thought she was. She did really well. I think just fundamental stuff she did well, she defended in the ways that we needed her to defend. When she got the ball, she tried to look for the passes that we'd spoken about, we thought we'd be on. And so she tried to do the things that we'd asked her to do and I thought she executed them pretty well.

On the upcoming tough schedule against top teams:

We've got to get points. I don't care what we learn, learn what you want, as long as we can get points. And we only get points if we execute the things we need to execute. And I'm going to keep repeating it. We've got to get back to the basics. Louisville are a very different team, very direct, very pacey on the width, not that bothered about playing through. You just want to get it from A to B as quickly as possible. And will pressure like their lives depends on it. So we've got to be prepared for that. And then we'll think about Kansas after that.

Sam Meza & Jordyn Bugg

On what the Spirit threw at them offensively:

Bugg: I think we did what we could and I think that we had kind of a rough game and I think we just need to learn from this game and move on. But I think defensively, it wasn't the best we played, but I think that given how many shots they had and only giving up two, I think that was, we did what we could.

On stopping Sofia Cantore:

Bugg: I mean, I knew she was a good player and I've watched some of her games that she's played overseas, but I think that I was able to read how she was playing and I think we communicated really well as a backline, which really helped me out. And I think that we were able to keep her from doing anything really.

On the Spirit never losing this season after scoring first and the Reign never winning after giving up the first goal:

Meza: Yeah, I mean, I think anytime that you get scored on first, obviously it's tough, and I think it's something that as a collective you just kind of have to grind through and figure out a way to get back into the game. Ultimately today we weren't able to do that, but I think considering the amount of shots, obviously we were very defensive this game. And I think that's one thing about us is that regardless of the score line, we're always going to give it our all defensively especially. So that's just something that we need to build on and I think something to just learn on.

On how much the illness affected the team's performance:

Bugg: I don't think it really affected us, and obviously we had some of our players that weren't able to travel with us, but I think that we were out there playing for them, and I don't really feel like it affected our game. I just think we just played a rough game and I think we need to move on from it and learn from it and just onto the next game.

On the threat Trinity Rodman provides:

Meza: Obviously she's amazing and she is one-of-one, honestly. And yeah, I mean, I think it's difficult. You have to respect her game and what she can do, and I think sometimes you don't get it right. And unfortunately tonight we weren't able to shut her down. She did get two goals, and that just speaks to kind who she is and what she can do on the pitch.

On dealing with the Spirit's press:

Meza: I think it's tough, right? Teams are going to press us, and I think it's about just kind of honestly living in that uncomfortable kind of space and just trying to do the best you can with it. I mean, when you're getting pressed like that, you just kind of have to figure it out on the fly, and I think obviously we're a pretty young team, so I think there's a lot to look forward to. There's a lot to learn and just a lot to improve on.

On how the team responds given the upcoming tough games:

Meza: I think one thing about this group is that we are very willing to and very willing and very eager to learn and just push through the next week and focus on the next game. Obviously every team poses different challenges, so I think ultimately it's about moving on to the next, we have Louisville next, which like you said, no team is really a pushover. So for us it's just really about focusing on one game at a time and kind of giving our best shot each game because ultimately we do want to be part of the eight teams that make it to the playoffs.

On adjusting to the Spirit's different styles and formations:

Bugg: I thought we adjusted pretty well. They did do a lot of different styles of formations, and I think that we were able to pick up on it during the game. I think just like I said, our communication is good enough to communicate to each player what they need to be doing differently and where they've changed and what we need to do. So I think that our communication and our coaches help with that as well on the sidelines.