In their second match at ONE Spokane Stadium, the Reign once again held the line in their temporary home.
Unintimidated by Racing's heretofore excellent counterattacking prowess, Seattle started on the front foot – seizing the initiative early with goals by Maddie Mercado and Nérilia Mondésir before slamming the door shut with a second half of grimly efficient Laura Harvey locker-stuffing. While Racing Louisville did, eventually, find the scoresheet deep in second half stoppage time, Macy Blackburn's last gasp strike came too late for the visitors to muster a serious challenge.
At the risk of going too far out on the limb, I've seen enough. The Reign have 'the juice'. The Reign may or may not be genuinely elite, but they have swagger and sauce and they can both run and score and lock things absolutely the heck down when they need to. Two matches in Spokane, six points out of six, and seven five goals scored does wonders for the analytics.
And by the analytics, I naturally mean the only analytics that matter, your organically grown, locally sourced, farm-to-table Valkyratings.
Goalkeeper
Claudia Dickey – 7
Plus. Claw-dia wasn't faced with all that many high-percentage chances, but she did make three important saves (and a couple more gimme saves), parrying shots from inside the penalty area in the 52nd, 77th, and 92nd minutes. An early lapse in concentration might've gone on to cost the Reign points, and Dickey – as we've grown so used to these past couple seasons – was sharp when she needed to be, keeping Racing off the scoresheet until the absolute death. With the Reign dictating most of the possession, Claudia provided a consistent outlet and was safe on the ball in buildup (misplacing just 7 passes the entire night, all of them long and over the top) and quick to the ball when things got messy, ending the afternoon with 86 touches, 11 recoveries, and two big paws to break up aerial danger. All in all, a tidy day at the office.
Minus. It was so close to a shutout, and while it's hard to blame Claudia too much for Macy Blackburn's last-second tally, it would've been nice to see a huge save to send off the night on nothing but good vibes.
Defenders
Madison Curry – 7
Plus. For all the sickos who enjoy watching Madison Curry scrap it up on the left, it was a feast day, as she combined with Sofia Huerta to absolutely lock down the space in the wide areas. The scoresheet shows three tackles, three recoveries, two interceptions, six of nine duels won, and two fouls won in a physical battle with Taylor White and Lauren Milliet that Curry consistently won and won decisively. The vibes sheet also shows Curry getting forward and causing chaos as Racing's right side failed to either contain her or get past her. Eight progressive passes, one chance created, and a fabulous 32nd minute long ball buoyed a strong showing that provided both attacking width and defensive grit.
Minus. An 11th minute foul was probably unnecessary and gave Louisville a free kick from a decent position on their right attacking flank. Nothing came of it, and Madison's willingness to get in the mud and fight it out is a huge asset, but there are moments she could exercise a little more discretion in the necessity of the challenge.
Phoebe McClernon – 6 (off 84' for Ryanne Brown)
Plus. This sort of performance from McClernon just feels routine. 92% passing? Yeah, what else is new? Five clearances? Hell yeah, get that ball up the field and out of danger. Eighty-plus touches as McClernon, Mason, and Dickey choked the life out of any dreams Louisville might've had of getting on the ball in a dangerous space and making a comeback? You absolutely know it. It wasn't a perfect afternoon for Phoebe, but it was what she's consistently turned in, match after match, since winning the starting spot for the Reign: the sort of steady, sound defense that limits danger, funnels attackers away from goal, and forces opponents into hard decisions to carry the ball forward. The sort of defense that takes pressure off everyone else on the field.
Minus. An 18th minute foul was (have I said this before?) probably unnecessary, as Phoebe went over the top of her opponent, and gave Louisville a free kick from a dangerous central position. Katie O'Kane wasted it with a blast high and wide, but it was the sort of chance you don't need to give up to a team that you're bossing all around the pitch, one that could've given them new life.
Emily Mason – 6
Plus. With 12 defensive contributions – including seven clearances and two blocked shots – and three duels won, this was Emily's most active outing of the season, and arguably her best, as she, McClernon, and Dickey maintained a triangle of terror that Racing's attackers simply could not solve for. A new wrinkle to a strong game, she showed some really intriguing vision on her long passing, narrowly missing lethal connections a number of times, and even connecting on a few big upfield swings. Despite getting into a number of high-leverage challenges, Mason avoided conceding a single foul, timing every one of her tackles and aerials beautifully.
Minus. Narrowly missing connecting is still, ultimately, not connecting – while the vision is intriguing, the execution wasn't quite there; Racing did try to push the ball to Mason, betting they could win it back from her, and Mason did turn the ball back over to Louisville more than Dickey and McClernon combined. If she starts hitting those long connections more consistently, though, damn, watch out.
Sofia Huerta – 7
Plus. Though she didn't have another good chance to extend her career assists record, Huerta made up for it with a sandpaper and violence performance on the right side, combining with Curry to absolutely lock down space in the wide areas. She won five tackles and seven of eight duels, and added seven recoveries and two fouls won, consistently got into the right spot to contest, and more often than not, outright win the ball. While she didn't connect on any of her creative passes forward, she was still a positive in buildup, providing overlapping runs and a reliable dropback option for a Reign attack that showed it can also find scoring chances right up the middle.
Minus. Huerta wasn't able to get forward as consistently as she likes to (and as we'd like to see her), though at least some of that was a game state that favored caution and denying Racing any space to race.
Midfielders
Sam Meza – 8 (POTM)
Plus. It was Sam Meza's game. It's Sam Meza's season. It's Sam Meza's universe. With Huerta and Curry absolutely demolishing Racing's attempts to counter into wide spaces, Meza was ready and willing to demolish their attempts to play through the middle, too. She did so to the tune of five tackles, six recoveries, seven duels won, and literal, actual infinity dreams dashed. While crediting her with an assist on Mercado's opening goal is, admittedly, pretty generous scorekeeping, she had plenty of creative play beyond that, finding moments to pop up and spring the attack in the 38th, 46th, and 73rd minutes, and in general being calm, composed, and driven in possession. This was Meza's best performance of the season, and one of her best in a Reign kit.
Minus. No.
...okay, she did mistime a step and get dribbled through once, but still, no.
Nérilia Mondésir – 7
Plus. Obviously, it's hard to have a bigger plus than a game-winning goal, and Coco's tally was pretty special. A brilliant feed by Ainsley McCammon, a good run and touch, a clean and clinical finish. Nérilia's goal represented around half of the Reign's total xG, and was per Opta the only "big chance" of the afternoon. It was not by any means her only big contribution, though, as Mondésir was confident, creative, and disruptive in the middle of the park, winning six duels and two tackles, winning (and conceding) two free kicks, and completing particularly incisive passes in the 26th and 79th minutes. While Mondésir may not have completely arrived as a game-driving star, she's definitely gained a step, gained confidence, and gained familiarity with the league, and she's putting together a very tidy start to the season already.
Minus. As strong as her ball skills are, Mondésir still has a tendency to try to dribble out of too much trouble, and once again, it didn't really work out for her – on two different occasions, she tried (and failed) to dribble multiple defenders when she had a drop pass to preserve possession.
Ainsley McCammon – 7 (off 79' for Angharad James-Turner)
Plus. The game-winning assist to Nérilia Mondésir was a thing of beauty, a slick ball that sliced through Louisville's defense and put Coco through clean on goal. As she said in her post-match interview – "I know she's going to finish this." It wasn't just creating that big chance, though. Ainsley was one of the best players on the pitch, sparking more offense than anybody else, delivering seven passes into the final third and creating three chances, holding her ground admirably in a hard-fought midfield grind against older and more experienced opposition. McCammon won two fouls, five recoveries, and four duels throughout her shift, an essential part in both leading the Reign to a multi-goal lead and seeing it out in the second half.
Minus. Though she's already tall and strong, Ainsley wasn't always up to the physicality of Racing's midfield, and Sam Meza and Phoebe McClernon had to mop up a few potentially dangerous plays where she went in for the challenge but wasn't up to winning it. She's developing more sandpaper friction, but it's still in some ways a work in progress.
Forwards
Holly Ward – 6 (off 69' for Brittany Ratcliffe)
Plus. In her first start of the season, Holly Ward put in a perfectly decent target forward shift, effective at receiving the ball in attacking space and laying it off for a teammate. She found three touches in the opposition penalty area, completed 8 of 11 passes, and had one key pass. Target forward is a difficult role with a low incident rate and a high failure rate, and Holly found enough success to be intermittently dangerous and clear space for other attackers.
Minus. Target forward is a difficult role with a low incident rate and a high failure rate, and Holly had a number of moments where a slightly quicker decision, a slightly cleaner touch, a slightly stronger challenge might've tilted the field inexorably towards the Reign. Losing six of eight duels, committing two fouls, and losing the ball in possession three times amounted to a surfeit of moments that could've been more.
Maddie Mercado – 7
Plus. If you don't shoot, you don't score. You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take. You score one hundred percent of the shots you take that hit the back of the net. Whatever platitude you want to lean on, Maddie Mercado took a quick, screened shot and snuck it past Jordyn Bloomer to open the scoring. It was a bit lucky, as Bloomer bungled the save. It was also a genuinely clever strike, tucking around two defenders and forcing a save at the far post. She also created another chance with her back-to-goal passing, and then provided the hockey assist on Coco's game-winning goal, laying the ball to Ainsley McCammon with space, time, and a streaking Mondésir to play in.
Minus. Like Ward, Mercado did a lot of hard, thankless work in the final third, and a lot of it didn't exactly come off. When you score a goal and hockey assist another, the misses feel more like nitpicking, but they were still real – Mercado lost six of seven duels and coughed up the ball in possession twice. Plenty of moments that could've been more, especially in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Emeri Adames – 5 (off 69' for Sally Menti)
Plus. Emeri worked the right side of the field, overlapping and underlapping with Huerta in a performance that seldom gave Racing any space to counter into. She had a big tackle and three recoveries, and an excellent pass into a pocket of space in the center in the 41st minute.
Minus. On the whole, it was a pretty forgettable night for Adames, who, though occasionally making a big play, struggled to find the ball, and struggled to do much with it when she did find it. Completing just 9 of 15 passes, she had no key passes, no progressive passes, and no touches in the attacking penalty area. She's capable of much more, but, well, defending Racing's weirdo counterattacking thrusts can push a team into weird shapes, and that did Emeri no favors.
Substitutes
Brittany Ratcliffe – 5 (on 69' for Holly Ward)
Despite playing for 21+ minutes, Brittany Ratcliffe did not score a goal, which felt like a bit of a letdown after her nearly-two-goals-per-96 scoring pace heading into the game. She didn't spend much time on the ball, registering just 9 touches and completing two passes, but she did put in a big tackle, win a foul, and blast a shot from the top of the penalty area. A perfectly serviceable impact sub appearance at forward, doing enough to keep the opposition honest.
Sally Menti – 5 (on 69' for Emeri Adames)
Replacing Emeri Adames, Sally Menti played a short but fairly impactful shift controlling and breaking up play on the left, allowing Mondésir and James-Turner to shade further right and keep Louisville from assembling much danger until deep in stoppage time. Though she didn't spend much time on the ball, registering just 12 touches, she completed 6 of 7 passes, had 2 defensive contributions, won a duel, and put a time-killing pass up the left wing to help the Reign close things out.
Angharad James-Turner – 5 (on 79' for Ainsley McCammon)
With 11-plus minutes to cover, Angharad helped the Reign keep up the friction and grit against a Louisville side that was increasingly desperate to find the scoresheet. She had a clearance, a blocked shot, a duel won, and gave up a foul, one of the more actually necessary fouls the Reign committed on the afternoon. Perhaps not a game-changing appearance, but one that ate up minutes and frustrated a trailing opponent.
Ryanne Brown – N/A (on 84' for Pheobe McClernon)
After Phoebe McClernon went down with a (fortunately, apparently not serious) leg injury, Ryanne Brown came on to spell the last six-plus minutes of the match, and turned in a solid substitute defender shift, winning her only duel, hammering the ball clear, intercepting an entry pass, and blowing up an attacker with a timely tackle. Can't complain.
Racing POTM
Macy Blackburn
Coming on to the field in the 85th minute and finally getting Racing Louisville on the scoresheet in the 95th, Macy Blackburn provided a substantial portion of her side's danger despite her limited minutes, turning 7 touches into two chances in the penalty area and a last-gasp goal to spoil Claudia Dickey's shutout.
Referee
Gerald Flores – 6
After watching Macy Blackburn's goal and Jess Fishlock's non-goal against Kansas City a multitude of times each, allow me to just say with my whole and entire voice: JUSTICE FOR JESS FISHLOCK!!
But honestly I think Gerald Flores got most of the little things right, and all things being equal, I would also rather shots like that be called goals than not called goals, given that it's apparently too much to ask for NWSL to provide goalframe or goal line cameras that could give a more definitive look.
While he showed just one card throughout a match with more than 20 fouls, I thought Flores handled things well, kept the physicality from getting excessive, and let the players play where it was prudent to do so. I could argue that he let some 50/50s go that I'd rather have seen whistled, and whistled some that I'd rather have seen let go, but that's every ref, in every match – that's the nature of a difficult and often subjective job, not an indictment.
And Another Thing!
As a fun aside, the NWSL+ replay of this match is just missing the first 18 minutes of the match. And having watched from a bar, rather than my usual spot at home, I failed to record it for myself. Given that quite a lot of good stuff happened in that 18 minutes, I spent a significant portion of the week reconstructing as much of it as I could through highlights, social media responses, and the league website's surprisingly useful chalkboard function.
The things we do for love of the Reign totally whipping the competition. And like, at least it's not Stop90 anymore?
Anyway, the Reign should continue totally whipping the competition. It's fun.
