Seattle Reign traveled to Harrison, New Jersey, last Sunday to face a Gotham team that was riding a six-game unbeaten streak and starting to click offensively. Gotham had scored 11 goals in their last five matches, including a 3-0 victory against Portland the week prior.
The Reign did well to limit Gotham's chances and walked away with a point thanks to a scoreless draw. What many now call "Harveyball" struck again, and Gotham was the latest team to walk away frustrated.
Here are three stats from the match.
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Laura Harvey told reporters after the match that the Reign planned to force Gotham to play toward their left wing — as far away as possible from where Rose Lavelle lines up in the midfield.
When the Reign defended, they kept left winger Maddie Dahlien higher. She, along with the other members of the front four — Jordyn Huitema, Nérilia Mondésir, and Emeri Adames — worked hard to funnel Gotham toward their left side.
Check out some of the screenshots from the Reign press in the first half that illustrate this approach. Notice how all the Reign's front four are turned, cutting off options to Gotham's right and essentially forcing Gotham to play to their left.
If Gotham's backline did manage to move the ball toward the right, Mondésir was there to cut off passing options to Lavelle.
The rare times the Reign didn't quite get their press right, or they were caught out of position after losing the ball, were typically when Gotham got shots off. Fortunately, most of these shots weren't particularly dangerous.
With Dahlien staying higher up the field on the left, Sofia Huerta was often left alone to pull a lot of defensive duties on the other side of the field. On the other end, Madison Curry was the beneficiary of the Reign shuttling Gotham's passing toward their left. Both Huerta and Curry were up for the task — and they each had 10 defensive actions (tackles, clearances, or interceptions), leading the match.
Here are some more stats from the fullbacks:
- Curry: 4 tackles, 6 clearances, 2 recoveries, and won 5/7 ground duels
- Huerta: 3 tackles, 3 clearances, 4 interceptions, 5 recoveries, and won 5/7 ground duels
The Reign did a lot of defending against Gotham. And in large part thanks to the lockdown defense on the wings, Gotham didn't have a lot of chances.
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Gotham finished the match with 63.9% possession and 689 touches, their highest totals all season. While the Reign sat in a mid-block, keeping numbers behind their opponent, their press was able to prevent Gotham from consistently putting the backline under pressure.
Here's a stat that helps confirm that: Gotham had 311 touches in the middle third of the pitch, their highest total all season (23 more middle-third touches than any other match).
But they didn't have their most touches in their attacking third or penalty area. What does this tell us? While the Reign did give Gotham arguably more possession than they wanted, Seattle also did well to ensure that Gotham was unable to do a lot when they had the ball (see stat #1!).
The Reign are consistently able to make small adjustments to their defensive shape and still limit their opponents. It's not always pretty, but it's put them in a strong position to fight for a playoff spot.
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The Reign made it to the NWSL final in 2023 in large part due to their defensive organization. Both playoff victories in the quarterfinal and semifinal that year were 1-0 wins. Getting their defensive shape right at this point in the NWSL season is critical. At the same time, the Reign need to create more chances in the attack.
The Reign finished with just one shot, and it was barely a shot — a half chance in front of the goal in the waning minutes. They had just four touches in Gotham's penalty box.
The Reign actually started this match against Gotham with some strong offensive rhythm, but they just couldn't find the final pass in their attacking third. Let's see if they can find any more luck at home this week against Bay FC.
The Reign are back at Lumen Field on Friday, October 10, taking on Bay FC. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. PT and will air on FOX 13+, NWSL+ and Paramount+.
