Goalkeeper
Claudia Dickey – 7
Plus. After a rare down match, Claudia Dickey needed a reset to bounce back, and she got one, making quality saves in the 2nd, 32nd, and 75th minute to preserve the clean sheet. The 2nd minute save stands as likely the largest, a right-footed Linda Ullmark effort from about 21 meters that had tone-setting banger to the corner printed as the shipping address before Claudia stamped it return to sender. On a waterlogged pitch in the Gulf Coast humidity, Houston asked only so many pointed questions, and Claudia had the answers when she needed them to keep them scoreless. She was quick off her line in the moments she needed to be, reading the ball well and cutting off chances.
Minus. Dickey's distribution was a bit below her usual standards, and she connected only infrequently on long passes and played a few too many short balls into spaces her teammates could not be favored to receive them.
Defenders
Madison Curry – 6
Plus. A very solid outing for Madison Curry, who did a bit of everything. Two shots, the better of them blocked out, and seven progressive passes. Six defensive contributions, including two tackles won and three clearances. Four of six duels won, repeatedly getting the better of Kat Rader and holding her own against Avery Patterson. She was effective progressing and shuttling the ball, with 53 touches and 17/19 passing in the defensive third and middle third.
Minus. The team struggled to find the final ball, and Madison Curry's five efforts – two crosses and three attempts over the top – to set up a shot ended in five failed efforts to set up a shot.
Phoebe McClernon – 7
Plus. Wreck 'Em Phoebs was a wrecking machine, filling the notebook with big moments to erase Houston chances. She had eleven recorded defensive contributions to go with three recoveries and three duels won. For most of the night, the Dash were relegated to attempting spectacular shots from twenty meters, few of which troubled Claudia Dickey's goal. McClernon drew the line and issued the challenge: here, and no further. The Dash could not break through.
Minus. An unnecessary foul led to an unnecessary set piece, and like most every player on the field, Pheobe struggled with the conditions – seeing moments that, with a little more weight on the pass, could've been a breakthrough into positive possession rather a turnover.
Emily Mason – 6
Plus. In the 60th minute, Emily Mason popped up on a corner kick with one of the game's better chances by a player not named Mia Fishel. (It was blocked, but it'd be nice to start getting set piece chances from defenders consistently!) She also led the team in touches with 77, turned up with eight defensive contributions, including two blocks and five clearances, and absolutely stood up Kiki van Zanten. Mason took charge of the right side of the defensive third and demanded Houston be perfect to beat her. They couldn't do it.
Minus. Someday, those tantalizing near-miss long passes are going to start hitting, right? Mason sees the field brilliantly but we're seven games deep now, and she still hasn't been able to connect that to the actual runners on the field.
Sofia Huerta – 6
Plus. Carrying and delivering the ball with more confidence than anyone on the pitch, Huerta connected on 38/40 passes, including three progressive passes and another delightfully weighted long switch that unfortunately hit the pitch and just died rather than feeding Maddie Dahlien in. We were treated to some vintage Sofia Huerta crosses and some excellent, chaos-making Sofia Huerta corners along the way, with Huerta engineering several of the Reign's best opportunities.
Minus. Huerta picked up an unnecessary card early in the second half, and while yes, it was her only foul of the game and referee Ndiaye was kind of on one at that point, she didn't need to make the foul and it forced her to play more cautious in a way that Kiki van Zanten nearly capitalized on with emphasis 30 minutes later.
Midfielders
Sam Meza – 7
Plus. Death, taxes, and Sam Meza winning seven-plus duels. She also had 11 recoveries and eight defensive contributions, won two free kicks, dropped three progressive passes, and popped up with two decent shots of her own, a 25th minute header off a corner and 56th minute crashing run to the top of the box. Meza has gotten so consistently good that it's becoming routine. Even when she's not putting it all together, she's still finding ways to exert her influence on the match, and she's still demanding the ball all across the middle third.
Minus. Uncharacteristically, Meza was caught in possession twice, dispossessed by the press once, and dribbled right through twice. She also lost a larger proportion of her duels than we're used to seeing, with Danielle Colaprico in particular victimizing her twice with the sort of craft you only develop by playing at this level for a long, long time.
Maddie Mercado – 6
Plus. I love Maddie's long shot, and she started things off in the first minute with a stinger of a long shot that demanded safe hands from Jane Campbell. She was also dynamic on the press, picked up six recoveries, and – playing more withdrawn for much of the match, behind Mia Fishel in holdup – delivered some really tantalizing balls for her teammates to run onto, creating two good chances, two more half-chances, and scarcely misplacing a pass all match.
Minus. I love Maddie's shot selection, quickness at getting the shot off, willingness to shoot hard from weird angles. I wish she'd attempted more than two shots in 90 minutes, as she's one of the best on the team at just drilling the ball in the direction of danger. She also lost three of four duels in the air, continuing the Reign's year-long struggle to win attacking headers.
Ainsley McCammon – 6 (off 81' for Angarad James-Turner)
Plus. There was a lot to like in Ainsley McCammon's game. Seven progressive passes, a blistering shot from distance, and two less-well-hit shots from closer in helped force Houston to respect the danger of the Reign's midfield. She got into it everywhere, with five recoveries, three defensive contributions, four duels won, and an engine that carried her up and down the pitch, providing cover in defensive transition and crashing forward when the opportunity arose.
Or, honestly, just her heatmap:
Minus. While she did plenty of good stuff on the ball, she also gave the ball away cheaply on several notable occasions. The gap between seeing the opportunity, which she may be the best on the team at, and executing the pass itself at game speed still poses issues for her. More importantly, the gap between seeing the opportunity and recognizing how it can break down if it doesn't connect remains a work in progress: four different underhit passes led directly to Houston counters. All of this should improve with time and reps, though.
Forwards
Emeri Adames – 5 (off 81' for Brittany Ratcliffe)
Plus. When she got on the ball in a dangerous space, Emeri Adames knew what her next pass needed to be without looking for it, and twice, she put the ball to a very good spot to generate a chance. There's a sense of flair and panache to Adames' game that the Reign don't have much of, and when she takes that ball and first-times it perfectly across the area to Mia Fishel, you can really just breathe the potential. Unfortunately, for this match at least, there was more frustrating potential than cathartic actuality.
Minus. As talented as she clearly is, Adames still needs to put all the pieces together, and there were moments that could have become shots that she ran herself clean out of being dangerous in. Playing forward against a side that wasn't really contesting the Reign's ability to shoot, Adames managed just one shot the entire match. Playing facilitator, Adames hit too many passes too quickly, leaving her teammates entirely out of the play. She also lost six of her seven duels, and had a particularly rough time helping contain Linda Ullmark.
Mia Fishel – 7 (POTM) (off 66' for Sally Menti)
Plus. The Reign of 2024 struggled with chance creation and seldom got the big, clear-cut looks that the elite teams in the league feasted on, averaging less than one high-value chance per match. Playing for just 66 minutes against Houston, Mia Fishel found three of them. One forced a good save from Campbell, one she scuffed and Campbell collected it easily, and one she, ah, lost her footing and shanked it well wide of goal. The outcome wasn't great. But that she was in that spot, ball on her foot, three times like that is very good. It will lead to goals. It's the sort of chance Fishel got repeatedly in Mexico, and sank at a record-setting clip. She was also really good in holdup play, created two chances for her teammates, won four of her five attempted dribbles, and won seven of her nine duels, including finally giving the Reign some big presence in the air. In every way except the finishing strike, this was the Fishel we've been waiting to see.
Minus. But oh my god I really need Big Fish to have a big goldfish energy about this and sink the next big chance she gets. That's the difference between a point and three in this outing. And for the purposes of this ratings column, it's the difference between a ~6.5 and a 9.
Maddie Dahlien – 6 (off 66' for Nérilia Mondésir)
Plus. Starting for the first time since the away match that shall not be named, Maddie Dahlien wasted no time reminding everybody that she can run right by you, beating players to the ball, to the dangerous spot, and on the defensive recovery. The Reign have missed that speed, and what it adds to their buildup. She had five touches in the attacking penalty area, two progressive passes, won three duels, and won a dangerous free kick. A 60th minute shot off a corner was a good look that unfortunately met a better block. Danger Maddie looked dangerous, and that can only be good for the Reign.
Minus. Danger Maddie also looked rusty, and other than that 60th minute attempt, she had no shots to speak of. She did have some good passes in the attacking third, but was, perhaps understandably, still a step or two out of sync with her teammates.
Substitutes
Sally Menti – 5 (on 66' for Mia Fishel)
The 66th minute double-sub was probably necessary, with Fishel and Dahlien both working back to full fitness, but Sally Menti and Nérilia Mondésir struggled to replicate their dynamism for the final half hour of the match.
For her part, Menti completed 6 of 8 passes and had three big-time defensive contributions, won four of five duels, and looks to be improving at what was a major weakness in her game last season, getting lost in defensive transition. However, with Mercado up top and Fishel out of the game, Menti was unable to maintain the efficacy and attacking intent up the middle of the pitch the Reign had enjoyed to that point.
Nérilia Mondésir – 5 (on 66' for Maddie Dahlien)
The 66th minute double-sub was probably necessary, with Fishel and Dahlien both working back to full fitness, but Sally Menti and Nérilia Mondésir struggled to replicate their dynamism for the final half hour of the match.
Coco played hard, winning three tackles and three duels while consistently looking to push forward when she got the ball, but she wasn't able to consistently upset Houston's shape the way Dahlien had previously, and as the match wore on, she found herself forced to play a lot more defense than offense. As good as she can be on the dribble, she also fell back on some frustrating past habits, dribbling herself into trouble late and losing the ball to numbers when a simple drop pass would've served the Reign better.
Brittany Ratcliffe – 5 (on 81' for Emeri Adames)
The 81st minute double sub didn't significantly alter the match, as Brittany Ratcliffe and Angarad James-Turner replaced Emeri Adames and Ainsley McCammon and Houston continued to tilt the field for the last 10 minutes of play.
Ratcliffe touched the ball four times, completed both of her passes, and ran hard for a recovery. She didn't really have an opportunity to change the game, and consequently, did not change it.
Angharad James-Turner – 5 (on 81' for Ainsley McCammon)
The 81st minute double sub didn't significantly alter the match, as Brittany Ratcliffe and Angarad James-Turner replaced Emeri Adames and Ainsley McCammon and Houston continued to tilt the field for the last 10 minutes of play.
Spelling McCammon, who had run like a maniac for 80-plus minutes, Haz touched the ball four times, completed two passes, and recorded two recoveries. Her main role was to be a positionally sound body in defense, and she did so, and that's just fine.
Dash POTM
Jane Campbell
Frustratingly, in addition to sometimes ball not go in, sometimes opposing keeper keep ball from going in. Jane Campbell was the busier of the two keepers, and secured a point for her side with some big-time Jane Campbell saves. In the future, I would like it if she made fewer big saves against the Reign, though I understand it is in fact her job to do so.
Referee
Abdou Ndiaye – 5?
I don't know, man. Sometimes I just don't know.
The Dash had more fouls, more fouls in transition, more players pushing the line of persistent infringement, more pullbacks, more shoves, and more incidental trips than the Reign, and nonetheless walked off the pitch with zero yellow cards to the Reign's four.
Ndiaye also had some well-worked advantage calls and worked cohesively with his ARs, communicated quickly, and kept the game moving.
I can't exactly be incensed by the performance, and he certainly didn't keep the Reign from scoring, but that yellow card discrepancy in the full context of the match made me feel like I was losing my mind every time I rewatched, in full or in part.
And Another Thing!
While the bounce back clean sheet was important after an absolute gutpunch by Utah, the Reign are now winless in three and need to get things back on track. They'll have their work cut out for them against a very good Washington Spirit team, riding high on star power and a plastic coyote.
I for one hope the Reign pay proper homage to Michele Kang's visionary vision of visualizing envisionment, and help her envision what it looks like to get absolutely thumped on the road by the team she actively sabotaged with the league's enthusiastic support.
