Reign vs. Angel City FC: Preseason match preview and gamethread

Seattle Reign play their first official preseason game of 2026 on Saturday afternoon, against Angel City FC at the Coachella Valley Invitational. While the team has played some closed-door scrimmages against other NWSL teams, this will be the first chance for the public to see the Reign and for head coach Laura Harvey to evaluate her side in a regular match atmosphere. Fans in the Seattle area can watch the game on Fox 13+.

The Reign were one of the least active teams in the off-season but still saw some roster turnover, particularly in terms of departures. They said goodbye to goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska (transferred to Racing Louisville); defenders Lauren Barnes (retired), Julia Lester (end of contract) and Hanna Glas (retired); midfielders Mikayla Cluff (retired), Olivia van der Jagt (mutual contract termination) and Ji So-yun (end of contract); and forwards Ana-Maria Crnogorčević (end of contract) and Veronica Latsko (retired). The team will also be without forward Lynn Biyendolo to start the 2026 season as she is away on maternity leave.

To fill those holes, the team added rookie goalkeeper Evan O’Steen, young midfielder Sofia Cedeño, and veteran forward Brittany Ratcliffe. They also still have a couple of open roster spots, with several trialists in camp and the transfer window open through March 16. However, General Manager Lesle Gallimore has indicated that the club might not make any major signings until the summer transfer window as they assess how their existing roster functions, and the effects of the new High Impact Player rule, which is scheduled to come into effect this summer if not struck down as a CBA violation.

Here are some big questions we’ll be watching in this preseason match-up.

What formation(s) will the Reign utilize?

Reign head coach Laura Harvey surprised a lot of people last year by often setting up in a five-back formation instead of her long-favored 4-3-3. The wingbacks got forward a lot and were tasked with providing both width and service into the box. This came with the tradeoff of a less defined central attack, as the central attacking player was often required to combine the roles of attacking midfielder and target forward, sacrificing some effectiveness in each role. The Reign vastly outperformed their expected defensive numbers and gave up the third-fewest goals in the league, but on the other end of the field, they struggled to score last year, with only 9 multi-goal games and two wins by more than a single goal.

Will Harvey stick with that defensively stout 5-back formation, or will we see a shift to get more attacking talent onto the field in an effort to find more goals?

Who is going to be the creative playmaker?

This might be the most long-standing question for the Reign. When the team made a splash by signing Korean international legend Ji So-yun to offset the loss of Rose Lavelle, the expectation was that she’d be able to unlock the attack through her pinpoint passing and creative ball work. We got glimpses of that potential over the season and a half that she was in Seattle, but it never quite fully clicked and her time with the Reign fizzled out with a loan to Birmingham City for the second half of 2025. Over parts of last season, players like Jordyn Huitema, Jess Fishlock, and Sally Menti played in that role with varying success.

I expect we will again see some of those players in that spot, along with new signing Sofia Cedeño, but it is also the most likely position for the Reign to spend money this summer to bring in a star.

Where will the goals come from?

As mentioned above, the Reign struggled to put the ball into the net last year, and scored the fewest goals of any playoff team. There was hope that Biyendolo could be that key to scoring, but a combination of nagging injuries followed by a pregnancy announcement kept her off the field for much of the year. Summer signing Mia Fishel was similarly hyped, but failed to deliver much impact in limited minutes as she worked to regain fitness following a long-term knee injury and needed time to integrate with her new teammates.

Fishel finally had a proper off-season to finish her recovery, and has now been able to participate in a full preseason with her new teammates, so expectations are high that she can return to the goal-dangerous form which earned her USWNT call-ups and a big contract at Chelsea several years ago. Emeri Adames, Maddie Dahlien, Huitema and Nérilia Mondésir also showed flashes of potential last year, but identifying the right combination of players and tactics to best utilize their talents remains a challenge for Laura Harvey.

Will any trialists surprise us?

While the Reign likely won’t make a big signing until summer, they can still add some players on short-term contracts to fill Biyendolo’s roster spot until she returns, as well as while goalkeeper Cassie Miller remains on the long-term injury list. In prior seasons, trialists such as Bethany Balcer and Sally Menti made a splash in preseason and pushed their way onto the roster. Trialists this year include local U18 defender Vienna Whipple (who was also just named to the US U18 roster for the Pintar Cup later this month); midfielder and Reign Academy graduate Keeley Dockter; and forwards Ruby Hladek, Peyton Parsons and Chloe Seelhoff.

Which, if any, of these players gets an extended opportunity in this game could indicate who has made a good impression in camp and might earn one of those coveted roster spots.

How to Watch

Match date/kickoff time: Saturday, February 21st, 1:30 PM PT

Venue: Empire Polo Club, Indio, California

Broadcast: Fox 13+ (Seattle); Fox 11+ (Los Angeles)

Is this game available to stream for free in the US? Angel City will also stream the match on YouTube; the Fox streams are available via the FoxLocal app