Reign fall 2-0 to Spirit on the road

A battered Seattle Reign side struggled to overcome an illness that spread throughout the squad this week and fell 2-0 to the Washington Spirit on the road. Trinity Rodman, now recovered from a back injury that kept her out for four months, scored both goals to give the Spirit a win at Audi Field.

The first 20 minutes saw both sides trying to get some rhythm, with neither team getting particularly dangerous looks. That all changed in the 33rd minute, when Leicy Santos was given time and sent a ball into the 18-yard box. Trinity Rodman snuck in behind Lauren Barnes to get to the cross and volleyed it into the left corner to open the scoring.

The Reign responded fairly well in the second half, with Maddie Dahlien getting a strong look on goal off a pass from Madison Curry in the 55th minute. Her attempt to shoot into the upper near-post corner was pushed away by Aubrey Kingsbury for a corner kick. Barnes sent a dangerous cross into the box for Jordyn Huitema in the 70th minute, but her header went straight to Kingsbury. Those were the Reign's only two shots on goal.

Rodman doubled the Spirit's lead in the 81st minute as Croix Bethune calmly held the ball in the right channel after beating Barnes. She waited for Rodman to run into the box, then slipped her a pass across the top of the box, which Rodman placed into the upper left corner with her first touch.

Sunday's match marked the first time the Reign had been shut out on the road. Despite the loss, the Reign (7-6-6) will finish the weekend above the playoff line. But the standings are tight.

What didn't work: Not defending as a unit

Credit to Trinity Rodman, whose touch was perfect on her opening goal. There wasn't much the Reign could do once Rodman stretched her left foot out and made contact, but there was a lot they could have done before that touch.

Left wingback Madison Curry stayed wide to mark Paige Metayer and started to get closer to Rodman right as the play unfolded, leaving Barnes unaware of the run happening behind her and Curry unable to help.

While Barnes took a step forward right as Santos sent her cross into the box, the backline didn't step in unison to try to push Rodman offside. They left just enough room to keep Rodman onside, with Jordyn Bugg stuck behind her mark, Sofia Cantore, on the right side.

The Reign also didn't step quickly enough to prevent Santos' ball into the box. Jess Fishlock, the closest player, was caught defending two players in the middle of the field.

What didn't work: Not defending as a unit, part two

The Reign, usually the team trying to score in transition, allowed the Spirit to double their lead late in the second half in a transitional moment. Part of that came by giving the ball away in dangerous spots, something the Reign did too often, which allowed the Spirit to get forward with the Reign out of position.

In the 81st minute, they were punished again for this. Bethune got in behind Barnes with a long ball over the top. While Barnes was able to recover, the rest of her teammates couldn't — especially in the middle of the pitch. That allowed Rodman to run onto Bethune's pass and get an uncontested shot off from the center of the 18-yard box.

"The way we were set up 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," Reign head coach Laura Harvey said after the match.

What worked: A relentless Jordyn Bugg and Sam Meza

Jordyn Bugg did well to contain Sofia Cantore on the right side of the pitch. Bugg, who had a couple of difficult outings at the beginning of August, finished with two tackles, five interceptions, five recoveries, and went 3/4 on ground duels. Cantore only had one shot all match – a speculative effort from distance.

"I thought today was Jordyn's best performance in a long time," Harvey said, pointing to one of the few positives. "Fundamental stuff, she did well. She defended in the ways we needed her to defend. When she got the ball, she tried to look for the passes that we'd spoken about that we thought would be on. She tried to do the things we'd asked her to do, and I thought she executed them pretty well."

Sam Meza was also relentless defensively, winning eight ground duels and eight tackles, notching 11 recoveries, and completing 25/32 passes. Unfortunately, often the only holding midfielder on the pitch for the Reign, Meza was asked to do a lot. She wasn't able to cover the ground on the second goal, and her teammates couldn't always provide the support she needed defensively — or take advantage when she won the ball in the midfield.

Sally Menti helped a little when she came on, but Harvey confirmed she only arrived yesterday on the plane, as she was one of the players who fell ill.

Up next, the Reign return to Lumen Field when they host Racing Louisville (7-7-5) on Sunday, September 14. That match kicks off at 5 p.m. PT and will air again on FOX 13+, NWSL+, and Paramount+.