Valkyratings: Continuing to get away with it

I'll just begin by quoting André.

And, honestly, look.

Nobody's going to claim this game against Gotham was a vintage performance. It was not a showcase of the beautiful game, in beautiful fashion, for a beautiful audience. It was not marked by magnificent buildups or clever spells of possession, it was not a free-flowing exchange of sporting philosophies. It was a smash, grab, scrap, and claw for a single point and zero goals in front of a Jersey audience that came to watch their team score goals and went home sad.

It also didn't really do much for the Reign's position in the standings, but, importantly, it didn't do much against it, either. It was a grind-it-out road draw against a very good side that saw the Reign once again find a way to pick up a point, any point will do, in a match where they were arguably outplayed and definitely outcreated.

Gotham had 63% of the possession, had a 10 to one shots advantage, completed 499 passes to the Reign's 247. Gotham had 174 touches in the attacking third to the Reign's 55, and 24 touches in the attacking penalty area to the Reign's 4. And at the full-time whistle, Gotham had zero goals to the Reign's zero, and finished on the back foot, the last big chance of the match going not to Rose Lavelle or Esther Gonzalez, but to Ainsley McCammon.

And, you know what, yes.

It was old-school, grit and sandpaper sufferball. It was anti-football.

It was outright footballing terrorism.

So let's rate some footballing terrorism.

Goalkeeper

Claudia Dickey – 8 (POTM)

Five saves. 1.6 post-shot expected goals against. Zero actual, meaningful, it's-on-the-sheet-and-it-counts goals against.

You can talk around the edges, wonder if Gotham could've taken some of their chances with more authority, nitpick at the defensive shape or an occasional apparent miscommunication with her back line, find whatever little flaws you want to find in her game. Ultimately, you're going to come back to that top line. Gotham had chances. They put five of those chances on target, four of them for better than average opportunities – including a 76th minute chance that Jaedyn Shaw tucks away nearly every time, but for Phoebe McClernon taking the venom off of it and Dickey calmly scooping up the leftovers.

The Reign were able to grind this match out to a hideously effective 0-0 draw – and in a position to almost steal the most hilarious match-winner possible at the death – because Dickey slammed the door on everything Gotham tried to do.

No team is going to want to face her in the postseason with elimination on the line.

Defenders

Madison Curry – 6

On the one hand, Curry didn't really manage to do anything with the ball. She's hardly in an exclusive club there, but across 90 minutes and 38 touches, she passed the ball to Gotham nearly as often as to her teammates, and was unable to consistently progress it out of her own defensive half.

On the other hand, so many defensive contributions, so many of them big-time, momentum-shattering ones. Three tackles, two blocks, six clearances, two recoveries. Madison was a destroyer in a game plan that called for 11 of them, throwing everything down to stop Gotham from breaking down her side.

Taken as a unit, the back line did just enough to throw Gotham off their game and keep things simple enough for Claudia Dickey to clean up. Curry was part of that whole-team, all-in effort to break up the momentum of an extremely offensively potent team, and that's not nothing.

Phoebe McClernon – 6

The back line was up against it repeatedly in Jersey, and Phoebe McClernon held things together. Along with Jordyn Bugg, she was one of the only Reign outfield players to consistently string passes together (to the tune of 79% completion), and one of the only Reign outfield players to avoid multiple rough turnovers in rough spots.

She also had big-time defensive contributions, like everybody else in a starting back four that came to dish out disappointment and destroy dreams, sweeping up the final line of confrontation with three clearances, two interceptions, a block, and four recoveries. She was skinned a bit by a beautiful Jaedyn Shaw touch to set up Rose Lavelle in the 31st minute, but it ultimately came to nothing, so who's really judging? She also absolutely demolished what could've been a huge chance for Shaw in the 76th, and then immediately after, still in the 76th minute, did it again.

Oh, and when the Reign finally did get their one shot of the match, in the 92nd minute? It was a big chance, and it started with McClernon pushing high to pressure on a corner, beating Lavelle for touch, and finding Ana-Maria Crnogorčeivć in the channel.

The individual performances were ragged around the edges, but McClernon was the center of a whole-team, all-in effort to break up the momentum of a dynamic attacking side. She led a back line that, ultimately, did do enough to hold Gotham scoreless, and did do enough to secure an extremely important point in very tight standings.

Jordyn Bugg – 6

The back line was up against it in Jersey, and Jordyn Bugg held things together. Sharing a 79% pass completion with McClernon (and with more touches and passes than any other Reign outfielder, generally), she was one of the few Reign players able to identify passes and complete them on a tough afternoon, rarely turning the ball over and even, occasionally, trying to progress it.

Like every Reign defender, she put in her share of defensive contributions, with five clearances, three interceptions, and four recoveries. None of them came close to the importance of her 67th minute close-range block on Esther, turning a huge chance from 8 yards into nothing at all.

You can argue with the individual performances, say that nobody on the back line necessarily stood out as exceptional, but it's hard to argue with the results, and the results are a big damn shutout of one of the league's best attacking sides. Bugg anchored a back line that frustrated Gotham's attackers repeatedly, and, ultimately, did enough to secure a point.

Sofia Huerta – 6

Huerta spent a ton of time on the ball – with 58 touches, she was second only to Jordyn Bugg – but like everyone on the Reign, didn't necessarily do all that much with the ball when she had it. She completed 65% of her passes, both not great at her position and better than most of a team that was really struggling on the ball the whole match, and though she occasionally tried to spring the attack into action, had zero progressive passes or shot-creating actions.

But she also did a whole lot of hard defending, and her numbers bear it out – three tackles won, four interceptions, three clearances, five recoveries, and Midge Purce absolutely silent on her side of the pitch. Purce contributed to only one decent chance and committed a half-dozen fouls as she grew more visibly frustrated trying to find options, two of them on Sofia, specifically.

Gotham brought a front three that can terrorize back lines with Shaw, Lavelle, and Purce, then subbed on a golden boot contender in Esther for good measure, and it didn't matter. Huerta was part of a whole-unit, all-in back line effort that stymied everything they tried to throw. That matters, and that secured a point.

Midfielders

Sally Menti – 5 (off 46' for Ainsley McCammon)

Menti took a knock in the first half, and had to come off, which was perhaps a bit unfortunate, as she was one of the only Reign players in the opening frame who showed a consistent effort to get forward, make the pass, and continue her run. She completed 8 of 10 passes on 14 touches, won two tackles, won a free kick, and consistently made herself an option for her teammates.

With all that said, while she was more effective going forward than most of the team in the opening frame, that's not exactly blowing the doors off with praise. Gotham kept the Reign penned in and defending for their lives for long stretches of play, and Menti was only occasionally able to help break that up and create some breathing room.

Nérilia Mondésir – 5 (off 80' for Ana-Maria Crnogorčević)

While there wasn't much happening for the Reign in the attacking half, there were a few moments of quality, and Nérilia Mondésir was responsible for the only one of note in the opening half, a marauding run up the flank that ultimately fizzled out to nothing, but showcased some of the ball skill that Coco promised when the Reign first signed her. She completed 16 of 22 passes on 28 touches, including a progressive pass and progressive carry in a game where both were exceedingly hard to come by.

The Reign of 2025 differ from the Reign of 2024 in several ways, but one of the most important ones is their ability to meet physicality. Mondésir, along with Madison Curry, has been a solid contributor, able to shrug off hard challenges and give as good as she gets. Under relentless pressure from Gotham, Coco put in a tough shift, both taking and returning a number of fouls that broke things up for Gotham and gave breathing room for the Reign.

Sam Meza – 5

Once again, Sam Meza was the engine driving the Reign midfield, throwing down three tackles and six recoveries, but it was an unusually ineffective outing by her standards. She went into 13 duels, but won just three of them, and while she succeeded at slowing Gotham down in transition, she was a long way from her ball-winning, dream-stealing best. She got into scraps and gummed up the works, but she couldn't do enough with it, couldn't come away with ball, couldn't spring anything the other way on the rare occasions she did.

It was also – a theme of the match – enough. Enough to secure the point. Enough to hold Gotham back. Enough to contribute to an all-sandpaper, grit before glory defensive performance that came out of New Jersey with a shutout. It was not the Sam Meza the legends foretold, but it was the Sam Meza doing enough on a day she didn't have it all in front of her.

Forwards

Emeri Adames – 4 (off 70' for Mia Fishel)

This was not the match for Adames, who got on the ball less than any other starter (save Menti, who had to leave injured at the half) and was unable to create any big moments when she did. Gotham's pressure was relentless, the Reign's response a steadfast defensive shell, and though Emeri combined a few times, managed a nice run at one point, really wanted to will something into happening, she ultimately coughed up the ball in short passing situations too often and failed to really threaten Gotham's back four, and didn't touch the ball a single time in the attacking penalty area.

She did put in some work defending from the front, winning two free kicks and adding a block and four recoveries. It wasn't a disaster outing, and it was – yes – enough, in a match that needed enough. It just wasn't a particularly effective day at the office from the often dynamic but still inconsistent young forward. And it's another matchday where the Reign's starting forwards came away with a combined zero shots.

Jordyn Huitema – 5 (off 85' for Jess Fishlock)

Going forward, Huitema contributed very little. Another matchday where the Reign's starting forwards combined for zero shots, Huitema didn't touch the ball a single time in the attacking penalty area, and completed just 9 of 17 passes, struggling to provide an effective option in holdup in the rare moments the Reign had a chance to break.

What she did contribute was a big-time defending from the front performance. Huitema, her inconsistent offensive contributions notwithstanding, remains one of the best defensive forwards in the league, and against Gotham, she turned in two tackles, two blocks, three clearances, two recoveries, and absolutely bullied the New Jersey midfield, winning four of six duels on the ground and six of eight in the air. Gotham repeatedly failed to get into the attack with a numbers advantage, and Huitema breaking up play in the middle and attacking third contributed enormously to that.

Maddie Dahlien – 6

Maddie Dahlien holds the distinction of being the lone Reign forward to find a touch in the attacking penalty area, but she also joins Huitema and Adames in contributing a total of zero attempts at goal. It’s hard to score when you don't shoot, and it’s hard to shoot when you can't get touches in dangerous places. Maddie did better than either Jordyn or Emeri at finding dangerous touches, but it was still too infrequent, the best of them coming very late, when her marauding won a corner (and the corner led to a really good 92nd minute chance to steal all three points.)

Like Huitema, though, Dahlien contributed a hard-nosed, take-all-comers defensive effort, and the holistic defensive contributions from back to front frustrated Gotham throughout. SIX tackles, two recoveries, an interception, and seven of 12 duels won – it was one of the most gutsy, pure-effort, don't let the ball past you showings Maddie's given us yet. It was essential to taking a point. We'll take that point and zoom with it.

Substitutes

Ainsley McCammon – 5 (on 46' for Sally Menti)

With Menti an unplanned halftime sub, McCammon saw more of the match than Harvey initially planned, and she largely accounted for herself well. She was active on both sides of the ball, completing 11 of 15 passes and winning two tackles, putting in 14 receptions and 3 progressive receptions alongside a clearance and a recovery. Most importantly, she played the game the Reign needed out of her, conservative when it mattered and aggressive when the rare opportunity showed.

Oh, and it was her movement in the area that left her wide open for AMC in the 92nd minute. She didn't get clean enough contact on the ball to beat Ann-Katrin Berger, but out of nothing, the Reign had a legitimate chance to steal all three points at the death, and it was McCammon recognizing the soft space and making herself a threat that created that shot.

Mia Fishel – 4 (on 70' for Emeri Adames)

Playing for 20 minutes against a home team delivering all the pressure, Fishel wasn't really able to change the narrative for the Reign, getting on the ball infrequently and doing relatively little with it. She committed two fouls in short minutes, one of them a great foul to take, one of them less so, and had one really slick run. Ultimately, though, she just didn't play for long, and didn't do much in that time.

Ana-Maria Crnogorčević – 5 (on 80' for Nérilia Mondésir)

While she's not gotten many minutes for the Reign this year, what Crnogorčević brings when she's available and on the field is consistent, and what she brings is relentless pressure and enough quality on the ball to create something with it. She was arguably the most important sub for the Reign's cheeky attempt to flip the match on its head in the dying moments, pressing and pressing and pressing to keep Gotham off-balance. She had just three touches, but parlayed them into three successful passes, a piercing run up the right-hand channel, and a key pass to McCammon that could've broken the game open after 90-plus minutes of scrap and fight.

Jess Fishlock – N/A (on 85' for Jordyn Huitema)

Jess Fishlock played for five-plus minutes, won a free kick, and completed no passes. You had to have her on for those last few minutes in case a Fishlock Moment arrived out of nothing, but it never did.

Referee

Elvis Osmanovic – 6

Osmanovic officiated a very physical match, with each side whistled for 13 fouls and three yellow cards shown between them, to Jordyn Bugg, Nérilia Mondésir, and Midge Purce. He was not, exactly, a paragon of consistency throughout, his whistle sometimes disappearing for long periods only to reemerge in scattershot fashion as he attempted to reassert his presence in the game, but neither was he notably bad.

I would have liked to see Purce shown yellow before her fifth foul, personally, but he did, actually, warn her and then immediately card her when she didn't heed the warning, and I respect that. I also think Josefine Hasbo should have seen a card after repeated infringements, and Elvis could have used his card a bit more judiciously to protect Jaelin Howell as well, who took a ton of contact from a number of different Reign players.

With that said, I'm not upset by his performance. We've seen how bad it can be, and this was not that.

And Another Thing!

We've tried playing the beautiful game in beautiful ways before – past editions of the Reign have played free-flowing, creative football, played tactically nuanced and velvety smooth matches that won Shields, set records, and made legends. And you what else? It won us a total of zero championships.

Maybe footballing terrorism will be the approach that finally gets us over that line. I'm not going to apologize for it if so.