Just five days after concluding the regular season with a cagey away draw at Orlando Pride, the Seattle Reign opened the NWSL playoffs with an away match at, again, Orlando.
The first half was a hard-fought affair, with the Reign holding a slight edge in possession and shots, but Orlando coming away with the lone goal of the opening frame, a first-time strike by Haley McCutcheon that skipped through Phoebe McClernon's legs and tucked just inside the far post, just beyond the reach of a sprawling Claudia Dickey. Julie Doyle's excellent cutback service gave McCutcheon the space to get her body right, and the one-touch finish was largely unsavable.
After taking the lead, Orlando did what Orlando has done to a masterful level all season: they fell into a mid-block, gumming up the midfield, conceding possession but making creation extremely difficult. The Reign had moments, not least amongst them an attempted Nérilia Mondésir bicycle kick in the early going, and a blocked effort by Jordyn Huitema from just beyond the penalty spot on a late corner. Ultimately, the Reign couldn't find the right connection: the pass, the cross, the final decision, something was always just missing, and ultimately, it was Orlando with the last good chance of the period, a strike from distance with a wicked bounce that Dickey sprawled out to control. Orlando took a 1-0 lead into the half.
The second frame started frenetic, though not necessarily with a surfeit of chances for either side. A scary moment in the 53rd minute saw Jordyn Bugg go down in the penalty area after taking a blindside hit to the back of the head. Halftime substitute Jess Fishlock got in on the break in the 54th, but put her shot just wide of the goal, and looked to be inches offside anyway. Marta delivered a ball to Lizbeth Ovalle in the 55th that looked momentarily to have drawn a penalty against McClernon, but she, too, was ruled to be offside.
With things growing increasingly heated and physical, the ref finally produced a yellow in the 57th minute – showing a card to Rafaelle for going through Maddie Mercado's legs late directly off the restart. The Reign also started to show some life as Marta showed her frustrations (repeatedly) on the ref cam. A good interchange in the 60th minute created a corner kick and a dangerous chance. A good sequence in the 61st minute won a free kick right on the edge of Orlando's penalty area. Sally Menti's ensuing shot struck the crossbar, bounced back into the mixer, and Orlando eventually cleared, but the Reign were making their intentions clear and refusing to go quietly without a knock-down, drag-out scrapping fight.
Coming on as a substitute, Maddie Dahlien had an immediate impact, stretching the field and further tilting the balance of play towards the Reign – a 68th minute switch of play put her into the penalty area at speed, but as she cut back to get a shot, Orlando collapsed and blocked it out. Countering up the left wing in the 73rd minute, Dahlien got two bites at the ball inside the area, but Cori Dyke blocked the first and she couldn't get enough on the second to beat goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse. In the 75th minute, Fishlock dropped a long pass to spring Mondésir up the right, and Mondésir's cross flashed into danger – but Emily Sams was right there to chest it down to Moorhouse. A minute later, Mercado got on the ball in the area and spun around her defender to create space, but Moorhouse barely got a foot out to make a desperate kick save.
For all the opportunities and all the momentum, the Reign could not seem to make a chance count. Time ticked away, and Orlando retreated deeper into their low block, putting space in and around the penalty area at a premium.
A bit of space finally opened up approaching the 90th minute as Menti wound up for a shot, only to have her leg taken out as she did. Despite replays showing no chance at the ball and a whole lot of the player taken out on the challenge, VAR declined to intervene, and Orlando kept their lead as the five minutes of added time began.
As stoppage time ended, Abdou Ndiaye showed no such hesitation going the other way, immediately pointing to the spot in Marta's favor as Sam Meza left a leg in late, and Luana buried the penalty to seal the match.
The Reign's season ends disappointingly, 2-0 losers of a match they did more than enough to get something out of, significantly outcreating and outworking Orlando on their own pitch.
WHAT WORKED: Fighting for it until the end
After going down 1-0, the Reign tilted the field for nearly the entire remainder of the match. After the goal, the Reign outshot the Pride 16-4, including a 10-2 edge on shots from inside the penalty area. Between the Pride's first goal and their last-gasp penalty, the Reign (per Opta) created 1.16 xG to the Pride's 0.1 and created 3 quality chances to the Pride's zero. The opportunities were there for the Reign, and but for an inch lower on a free kick, but for an inch to the right on a kick save, but for an obvious recommendation from Danielle Chesky in the VAR booth... the Reign could not make one of them count.
While the Pride ultimately succeeded in nursing and grinding out a lead for nearly 90 minutes, the Reign made them work for it, and the Reign were arguably fairly unlucky not to find the equalizer. All disappointment aside, if this was a flash of the Reign as they intend to play next season, it's a preview of something potentially very good.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK: Keeping them off the board
While neither team was necessarily dealing the big chances in the first half, the Reign couldn't find a moment out of their flashes, and Orlando found one big one, off the foot of Haley McCutcheon, a perfectly-placed first time shot off a low cross by Julie Doyle, tucked just inside the post in a transitional moment.
It wasn't necessarily a deserved lead, but all that mattered was the goal: Orlando had one, Seattle didn't, and the game state allowed them to solidify their defensive posture and demand a response.
Marta's no look pass helps set Haley McCutcheon up! Watch this precise finish from close in! Orlando leads the NWSL Quarterfinal against Seattle on Amazon Prime 👀
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-11-08T01:41:13.902Z
WHAT DIDN'T WORK: The treacherous woodwork
Perhaps the most frustrating chance of the day came in the 62nd minute for the Reign. Lining up for a free kick just outside the penalty area, Sally Menti caught all of it with her laces, and drove one to the top shelf. Unfortunately, it was about an inch and a half too top shelf, and bounced off the crossbar and back into the area. Though this created a moment of chaos and nerves for the Pride, the Reign were not able to capitalize – and a beautiful strike denied by the crossbar in the final third of the game felt like a microcosm of the game as a whole, a game of frequently good play, just inches shy of finding a reward.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK: Finding the equalizer
Blocked from just behind the penalty spot.
Struck cleanly but just off the crossbar and back out.
Cleverly struck through a screen, but just too far inside, near enough for Moorhouse to extend her foot for a last-gasp, playoffs-saving stop.
Taken out at the leg while taking a shot.
It was a match of sometimes, ball not go in for the Reign. After spending so much of the season forcing other teams to ask why ball not go in, it was, perhaps, appropriate that the Reign – in their final game of the season – arguably heavily outplayed their opposition, but came away on the losing end regardless.
With the loss, the Reign's season is over. An offseason of both hard changes and intriguing possibilities awaits.
