On a competitive level, the three points from Jess Fishlock's 90th minute match-winner were a big damn deal, securing the Reign's spot in 6th and holding off one of their top competitors for an unsecured playoff spot. It was three points the Reign basically had to have, with four tough matches against other playoff contenders to round out their final six.
On every other level, it's hard to think of the three points as all that important.
Because in first-half stoppage time, Savannah DeMelo collapsed on the pitch. Everything that happened after that feels unimportant. Nothing but good vibes for DeMelo. A rare tip of the hat to the league for actually making the right call for a change, and postponing the match immediately.
But despite the weight of events on the original matchday – the season doesn't pause. The remainder of the match was played out two days later, and the Reign found a last-minute winner to cement their place in the standings.
Given everything, I will be affording a little more leeway than usual in these ratings. I'll talk about some things I liked from each player, but I'm not inclined to get real nitpicky about anything that went down, given what else went down. At the end of the day, there's a lot of things that'll always be more important than goals and saves.
Goalkeeper
Claudia Dickey – 7
On Sunday, Dickey made two quality saves on Ary Borges and one spectacular save on Savannah DeMelo to keep Louisville off the board and give her team a chance to find a winner. On Tuesday, she made another quality save on Borges late to keep things level. She also got a bit lucky in the 54th minute on a gigantic Emma Sears chance that had her dead to rights. Sears, fortunately, couldn't put a shot on frame from six yards out, and Louisville never found their breakthrough.
There's plenty to critique – her passing was... off, she looked less confident than we tend to expect of her in the air, she opted to hoof the ball and give possession back to Racing a number of times when it wasn't really necessary – but when all was finished and Jaclyn Metz whistled full time, it was another shutout for Claudia with another four big saves.
Defenders
Sofia Huerta – 5
Huerta had a bit of a rough opening half on Sunday, finding few opportunities to get forward or combine, losing the ball uncharacteristically, and providing little value passing or receiving the ball. She did find Mia Fishel's head with a decent set piece service, though the chance itself was not particularly dangerous. By the time the match was postponed, Huerta mostly looked to be a non-factor in the match, effectively quieted by a Racing side that gave her little space to combine and was consistently able to cut her out of the play defensively.
The postponed second half looked a little better for her, though it still wasn't a high-influence outing for Huerta, who ultimately settled for 68% passing on 48 touches, one shot-creating action, two clearances, and one duel won. As in the first half, Racing effectively quieted her, and Sof rarely found the game.
Phoebe McClernon – 6
Playing the left centerback in the three / five back for a change, McClernon was often tasked with shutting down DeMelo, Sears, and Sarah Weber, with middling results. On the one hand: none of them scored. On the other hand: there was a good mix of Dickey making big saves and Sears with a big miss after beating Phoebe cleanly to a killer delivery to keep that zero on the scoreline – Louisville's attackers found several big chances, and McClernon was responsible for at least two of them.
She also stamped out more than a few attacks, though, with four interceptions, four recoveries, and a blocked shot. And notably, Sears' big chance notwithstanding, she looked much more comfortable defending on the left on Tuesday than on Sunday.
Lauren Barnes – 6 (off 84' for Jess Fishlock)
Switching positions with McClernon for a game, Lauren Barnes played as the covering center in the back five, with mostly but not completely good results. She did well to set the tempo of the game with 80 touches and 84% passing, and she added 4 recoveries and 3 interceptions playing as the final line of defense. She also got properly cooked by Ella Hase in the 54th minute, leading to a chance that the Reign were very fortunate Sears couldn't finish, and got beaten by Borges twice for dangerous chances as well.
While occasionally a bit messy on both Sunday and Tuesday, it was for the most part a sound performance, and it ultimately proved enough to keep the Reign level late, until she subbed off for eventual match-winner Jess Fishlock in the 84th.
Jordyn Bugg – 7
A good, very active match from Jordyn, who touched the ball a team-leading 87 times and did quite a lot with it when she did, smoothly progressing the ball and putting her teammates in good spots to succeed. In a match with Sally Menti, Nérilia Mondésir, and Sam Meza all flashing their foot skill, it was Bugg with the most impressive dribbles, taking on and beating her defender twice to carry the ball and break pressure.
It's also worth noting that she did lose Borges multiple times, and on another matchday, the Reign might've been punished for that. Her defense in recovery was sound, though, and she wasn't shy about getting into it and making it hard on Louisville's attackers. Three blocks, three tackles, three interceptions, and eight recoveries all speak to a massive night cleaning things up on her side of the pitch.
Madison Curry – 7
At right back, Madison Curry had one of her best matches in some time, showing well on both sides of the ball. Consistently further forward than any other Reign player except Jordyn Huitema, Curry was the architect of three quality chances for the Reign. The first came in the 12th minute, as she collected a quick first-time forward pass from Fishel, took the space, and delivered a killer early cross to Huitema, who tucked the ball just wide. The second came in the 56th minute, finding Sally Menti for a dangerous close range header that she couldn't quite keep on target. The third came late, an 86th minute cross that Huitema rose to meet with her head, forcing a necessary, if mostly routine, save out of Jordyn Bloomer.
Aside from providing the sort of service that could've been three assists with a bit more luck, Curry was a terrier on defense, with five tackles, three clearances, four blocks, and four out of four duels won. It's a results game, and the big result ultimately wasn't there for her, but she did a whole lot right in every phase of play.
Midfielders
Sally Menti – 6 (off 90'+5 for Angharad James-Turner)
Like much of the team, Menti had a bit of a rough first 45 minutes on Sunday, frequently losing her mark in transition and frequently struggling to connect with her teammates. In an opening frame that saw Louisville outshoot Seattle 10-3 (and best Seattle's chances by xG, 1.24 - 0.16), Menti was repeatedly in the wrong place at the wrong time to impact the play.
The thing is, two days later, she was an incisive, crashing engine that Louisville could scarcely contain: she won second balls and made hard, biting runs that created chaos and danger. She was also playing higher up the pitch more consistently, and she seems to thrive in those areas in a way she doesn't playing more withdrawn in defensive midfield with Meza. In the 55th minute, she turned a beautiful Fishel feed into a spectacular chance forcing a huge save. In the 56th, she got her head to a Curry cross and just couldn't quite keep it on target. Twenty minutes later, she helped put Curry in with a half-chance. She had two successful dribbles, both in the attacking third, and six of her eight recoveries came in the second half.
Sam Meza – 7
Throughout the balance of the match, Meza was the most consistently good player for the Reign. While Louisville was able to successfully swarm her when Menti got out of position – especially in the opening half – Meza was an absolute beast breaking things up and recovering even when outnumbered. She helped to keep the Reign in it in the first half, dropping tackles (3) and interceptions (also 3) all across the middle third, recovering the ball, doing the really unglamorous dirty work that turns 0 points into 1 and 1 point into 3. Often swarmed and outnumbered, she wasn't all that clean in passing, but she did enough to make sure it was still scoreless at the half.
And like most of the team, she came out stronger on Tuesday. A turn and touch to buy space and progress the ball. Two more big tackles. Constant, tenacious defensive energy and the intent to turn it into forward momentum. The Reign largely won the second half – one big letoff on Sears' chance notwithstanding – and Meza was the metronome that kept them moving forward. Sam is the future of this Reign side, but in a big way, she's also the present, the constant around which an unexpectedly competitive rebuilding year has coalesced.
Mia Fishel – 6 (off 72' for Maddie Dahlien)
Mia came out one of the Reign's best players and one of their only sources of danger in the opening frame on Sunday, accounting for two of the Reign's three first-half shots (granting that neither was particularly dangerous) and springing the attacking sequence that led to their best first-half chance, a Huitema Header that didn't quite find the mark. Finding a ton of space to work with in the channel between Huitema up front and Curry on the right, Fishel led the side with six progressive passes, three progressive receptions, and two progressive carries, and was one of just two players with a positive on-ball value (per ASA) in the first 45.
On Tuesday, she only played 25 minutes or so and was less effective even as the team, in general, played better; she did find a moment of magic with Nérilia Mondésir and played Menti in for a huge opportunity in the 55th minute, but largely faded after that. All in all, though she didn't get on the scoresheet, it was a good demonstration of exactly what she'll bring to the side and a promising glimpse of things to come: Big Fish playing big minutes and making things happen for the first time in a Reign kit.
Nérilia Mondésir – 7 (off 90'+5 for Emily Mason)
This hasn't really been the season anybody envisioned for Nérilia, but she showed some of her best stuff against Louisville. As with Fishel, none of it showed up on the scoresheet, and she had some frustrating moments in the midst of it, but the good far outweighed the bad and there was some really tantalizing work to be done. Perhaps most importantly, she's showing real chemistry with Fishel, something she's struggled to find consistently in her relatively limited minutes this season.
After a quiet first half, Coco stepped. it. up. in the second. She won four tackles, six of eight duels, had eight recoveries, and won two free kicks. Her five shot-creating actions were the most on the team, and all came in the second half – she repeatedly found the open player and gave them the opportunity to run, and it led to very good chances in the 55th, 86th, and 89th minute. While there's no points for an Almost Hockey Assist in soccer, she was a danger that Louisville had no answer for, and while she won't be credited any counting stats for it, she was huge in the stretch of escalating Reign pressure that ended in Fishlock's game-winning goal.
Forwards
Jordyn Huitema – 7
I know, I get it, a forward's job is to score goals, and I would really love to see Huitema bang a few more of her opportunities in. I just can't look at the balance of play and not see Huitema's performance as approaching brilliance. Yes, she had the Reign's best chance of the first half, and then kissing the crossbar with the Reign's most dangerous chance of the game amidst her four second-half shots. And no, she ultimately couldn't convert any of them, but she positively terrorized Louisville's back line. She demanded their attention, got their attention, and created space for everyone else, while also getting good chances of her own.
Set aside the five shots (three on target) and the big chance: Huitema also won 7 of 10 duels (6 of 8 in the air), won three free kicks, had three shot creating actions, and gets the hockey assist that Coco didn't on Fishlock's match winner, her recovery high up the pitch and layoff to Dahlien giving the Reign a dangerous transitional moment with numbers to run. It's a team game, but the Reign probably don't win this one without Huitema turning out this performance.
Substitutes
Maddie Dahlien – 7 (on 72' for Mia Fishel)
While it's true she didn't play a lot, whew did she make an impact in her 20-plus minutes on the pitch. It took her just 14 touches to have three shots, three shot-creating actions, five progressive receptions, two progressive carries, and, oh, yes, the game-winning assist. Danger Maddie checked in and ran right at Louisville's defense, causing breakdown after breakdown, until it was one breakdown too many and the ball, to borrow from a certain luminary color commentator, WAS IN the back of the net.
Jess Fishlock – 7 (POTM) (on 84' for Lauren Barnes)
On some level, it feels off to give Player of the Match to Jess Fishlock after she played six minutes and stoppage – especially with players like Dickey, Meza, and Mondésir dealing out some solid performances for the full duration.
On every other level, this was a hard-fought match, scoreless at the time it was postponed, closely contested in the second half, absolutely begging for somebody, anybody, anywhere to step up and make a difference. Jess Fishlock checked in and it took her just over five minutes to make that difference and turn one point into three. Seven touches, three of them in the attacking penalty area, the only goal of the match, and the Reign with the tiniest bit of breathing room to keep their spot in the playoffs.
Another match, another big moment. Take a bow, Fish.
Emily Mason – N/A (on 90'+5 for Nérilia Mondésir)
We saw Emily Mason for the first time in about a month, and she played around two minutes of stoppage time.
She touched the ball once, and helped kill 10 or 15 seconds of clock seeing out the win.
Angharad James-Turner – N/A (on 90'+5 for Sally Menti)
We also saw Haz for the first time in about a month, and she too played around two minutes of stoppage time.
She had no touches, and helped kill 10 or 15 seconds of clock seeing out the win.
Referee
Jaclyn Metz – 8
A fairly new referee, I liked a lot of what I saw from Jaclyn – her yellow cards made sense, her foul calls were remarkably consistent, she didn't upend the game on anything weird or ticky-tacky. That has absolutely not been a given in NWSL this (or any) year, and it's worth calling attention to it when a referee's having a great day, or, in Metz' case, two.
Also: she handled the scare with Savannah DeMelo about as well as you could expect a ref to handle it, got the players off the pitch, talked to the coaches, and after the league made the (correct) call to postpone, she was back two days later on short notice to finish out the match. That too deserves some note and commendation.
We could do, and have done, a lot worse than Metz this year.
And Another Thing!
Nothing but good thoughts and good vibes for DeMelo.
