The timeless Jess Fishlock rescued a point for Seattle Reign on Friday night, scoring in the 84th minute to help secure a 1-1 draw at home against Bay FC. Fishlock started the play, finding Maddie Dahlien out wide to her left. Dahlien then whipped a cross into Mia Fishel, with the deflection and subsequent Bay clearance falling right to Fishlock, who settled with her chest, then smashed the ball into the right corner of the net.
Jess Fishlock. No caption needed. 🔥🐉
— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc.com) 2025-10-11T04:48:40.875Z
The Reign finished the evening in fifth place (9-7-8) with two games remaining in the NWSL regular season.
Despite creating several early chances, the Reign were the first to concede in the 31st minute. Jordyn Bugg had an unfortunate misplayed pass to Caprice Dydasco, and Bay FC suddenly had numbers in transition. Racheal Kundananji, with space on the right wing, crossed to a wide-open Taylor Huff on the far post, who tapped it into the left corner with her first touch to open the scoring.
The Reign and Bay both finished with 12 shots, with the Reign putting four on target to Bay's three.
What Worked: Jess Fishlock
The Reign midfielder continues to come up big when she's called upon. After so many finishing woes by her teammates, Fishlock calmly brought the ball down and buried her shot 20 minutes after subbing on — her only shot of the game. She's now tied with Emeri Adames for the team golden boot at six goals this year.
What Worked: More records for Lu Barnes
Lauren Barnes, a Reign original, subbed into the match late and became the first player in NWSL history to reach 250 games. This is a tough, tough league — it's hard to stay healthy and be consistent. Barnes has done just that for her career.
250 GAMES 👏 Lauren Barnes is the FIRST-EVER player in NWSL history to reach the milestone!
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-10-11T04:25:04.758Z
What Didn't Work: A goal against the run of play
Jordyn Bugg has been having a solid couple of months, and she was solid again for most of this match. She completed the most passes (62/67). Unfortunately, just one poor pass caught the Reign out of position and led to Bay FC's only goal. Huff's shot made up nearly half of Bay FC's entire expected goals total.
Racheal Kundananji sets up Taylor Huff for her 4th goal of the season!
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-10-11T03:51:39.291Z
This wasn't the team's only sloppy pass. The Reign struggled to find the front line, often choosing low-percentage balls over the top or misplaying simpler passes in the middle third of the pitch.
What Didn't Work: Finishing
The Reign had several big chances in the first half, and with some more clinical finishing, they could have been the ones leading at halftime. Emeri Adames dribbled to her left and got a shot off from the center of the box, but she hit it right at goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz. Dahlien was one-on-one with Silkowitz, who got wide and made a big save on the forward's shot, and Ainsley McCammon's shot on the rebound went just wide. Nérilia Mondésir also had an open look against Siklowitz but sent her shot off the left post, and Jordyn Huitema's header off a recycled corner was pushed off the crossbar by the Bay FC goalkeeper. On another night, the Reign could have won by several goals.
The Reign are back at home next Friday, October 17, for their final home match of the season. They'll host the Utah Royals at 7 p.m. PT. The match will air on FOX 13+, NWSL+, and Paramount+.
