Reign fight back for 2-1 win over North Carolina

After falling behind midway through the second half, the Reign dug deep and did something they hadn't done all season: won a game after falling behind.

The opening half was a low energy affair, with little action but the fouls (many) and one more solid save for Claudia Dickey's burgeoning goalkeeper of the year resume. The players seemed rusty, the referee seemed disinterested, and the 0-0 scoreline at the break was more than fair.

The second half was anything but, as both teams came out with far more purpose. Maddie Dahlien looked to have the go-ahead goal, hitting the shit out of a far post finish, but after VAR review she was ruled marginally offside. Almost immediately after the ruling, Hannah Betfort's picture-perfect header put the Courage up, 1-0.

The mood in the stadium noticeably soured. It felt as though the Reign were lining up for another disappointing result in a string of too many of them.

The Reign had other ideas.

Over the next 15 minutes, they ratcheted up the pressure searching for an equalizer, and found their breakthrough in the 71st – a Ryan Williams own goal. Ugly goals still count, and Emeri Adames' excellent ball across the face of goal and Jordyn Huitema's dangerous presence on the back post forced Williams to take a stab at the ball. Past her own keeper, as it turned out.

Then, in the 79th minute, Maddie Dahlien received the ball in stride, cut inside as she crossed into the penalty area, and slotted the ball home past Marisa Jordan for the game-winning goal.

There was work yet to do, and North Carolina threw numbers forward trying to claw back a result, but the Reign were able to stymie the visitors, holding them off until the referee blew his whistle for full time.

The huge 2-1 win sees the Reign jump several spots up the table. They now sit in 4th place with four games left to play.

WHAT WORKED: Fighting for it

On another night – in other matches this season – the Reign might've deflated after conceding Betfort's opening goal. It had the feeling of a backbreaker, the lynchpin to one last key loss that might see the team spin out of playoff positioning entirely.

Instead, they stepped up their game and found their just rewards. First, Emeri Adames got the ball with a clever run behind and wasted no time in whipping it across the face of goal, where a looming Jordyn Huitema forced Ryan Williams into her ill-fated intercession.

Then, not 10 minutes later, Maddie Dahlien made good on the danger she'd promised early in the second half, finding the Reign's go-ahead goal, for real this time. There was no marginal offside to overturn it, just a player driving with the ball, cutting to set herself up, and taking her chance.

For all the Reign have been a scrappy team often punching above their weight this year, they've seldom been able to pull results from trailing positions. Fighting back not just for a draw but for a win with huge playoff implications is a good sign that things are getting back on track for the Seattle side.

And because the Reign's first goal was ruled an own goal, they scored twice on just one shot on goal – that's efficiency!

WHAT WORKED: Claw-dia answering the call

The first half was not what anyone might call action-packed, but in the moments it mattered most, Claudia Dickey was ready to answer the call and keep the Reign in the game. No moment loomed larger than her snappy 6th minute save to keep North Carolina off the scoresheet.

The cross by Williams approached perfection, Manaka Matsukubo got her head to it with real power, but Dickey got her palms up quickly, deflecting the shot off the crossbar and out of the goal. North Carolina didn't test her again until the second half, but Claudia came up big once again in a big moment.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK: Starting strong

While Dickey's big early save set a tone and the Reign found a way to fight back and win it late, it was another match where they had to fight hard late in the match after being second-best in the opening frame. The Courage took the first four shots of the match, and the Reign managed just a single shot in the first half, which failed to challenge North Carolina goalkeeper Marisa Jordan.

While getting big performances off the bench and fighting back for points is good experience to have, and Emeri Adames, Ainsley McCammon, and Ana-Maria Crnogorčević all put in excellent shifts off the bench... it would be nice to see the Reign take charge of a match from the opening whistle for a change. Fortunately, though this was not the night for it, the Reign were able to dig deep and find the big win anyway.

"They're very genuine in the way they show up"

Speaking with the press postgame, Sam Meza and Maddie Dahlien talked about the match, fighting back for the win, and carrying forward a good performance to the end of the season. Speaking on the Reign's undefeated record at home since returning from the summer break, Meza was quick to talk about the fans.

Any time we can play at home, right, like it's the best. And playing in front of your fans is like none other. I think one thing about these fans is they show up, and they're very genuine in the way they show up. To feel that is just, honestly, it's great. It's awesome. It makes it easy to come out here and just put on a performance. Ultimately, we may not always get the performance, but you know, the last five, we've been pretty solid. So, happy we've been able to do that.

Dahlien agreed, adding her own thoughts on the challenges of the venue and the team and supporters growing into it.

I also think Lumen is a really hard space to fill with noise, and they do that. I mean, we hear them, we want them to keep showing up. It's honestly the reason why we're able to push forward. I think it's why our momentum was good in the second half, 'cause we had all those voices behind us.

"She's fantastic at it"

While acknowledging the Reign had struggled against the Courage and perhaps weren't wholly deserving of the three points, head coach Laura Harvey was effusive in her praise of Meza on the heels of yet another excellent performance by the midfielder.

She's just committed to what she wants to be good at. Her ability to break up plays is something like we've not seen in a long time, she's fantastic at it. And she's actually – her ceiling's so far away from where she is now. Which is so exciting. So, yeah, really really happy for Sammy. I thought she was going to have to come out with the knock she got, but I think that's a big part of Sammy's growth, too, is, you know – it's hard to play at this level every week. You're going to get kicked about and things might hurt. But you got to grind it out sometimes, and tonight she did that. So proud of her.

Harvey also had a very positive review of Ainsley McCammon's minutes on the pitch, noting that she'd initially thought of subbing on Mia Fishel, but thought the match suited what McCammon could bring.

I took a moment and thought we could maybe get Sally [Menti] higher and get Ainsley in. I thought the game suited Ainsley. I thought she would be able to get the ball in positions to hurt them. Ainsley's got quality, right? And I've said a lot with Ainsley that her journey is going to be a long one. Her career is going to have lows and highs. She's an exceptional talent, but we can't judge it on minutes right now. What she's done is when called upon, she shows everybody what her quality is.

The Reign go back on the road next week, facing Gotham FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The match will kick off Sunday, October 5th at 1:00 PM Pacific, and airs on Paramount+ and NWSL+.