Seattle Reign FC wraps up its three-game road trip on Saturday, August 1, as the club travels to PayPal Park to face Bay FC. Kickoff is at 5:45 p.m. PT, and the match airs nationally on ION with a live radio broadcast on 950 KJR AM.
This is match 16 of Seattle's 30-game regular season, meaning the Reign officially crossed the midseason mark after last weekend’s 2-0 win at San Diego. With 15 matches down and 15 to go, the Reign are in 10th place and four points back of the playoff line. While a few teams above the Reign have played 1-2 more matches, it's still very clear that the second half of the season will matter quite a bit for Seattle.
The Reign earned a 2-0 win in San Diego last weekend and have not been shut out since returning from the summer break. Bay FC, meanwhile, is coming off a narrow midweek loss at home to Gotham FC, falling 1-0 despite pushing the defending champions until the end. Expect some rotation from the home side after a three-match week, and for the Reign to be hungry for more goals and a full 90-minute performance.
Head-to-Head
- The Reign and Bay FC have met four times in the regular season, with Bay holding a 0-2-2 series edge.
- The Reign are 0-1-1 on the road against Bay FC.
- Seattle has scored four goals across the series; Bay FC has scored six.
- The two sides' last meeting, in October 2025 at Lumen Field, ended 1-1. Bay took an early lead before Jess Fishlock leveled it late as a substitute.
2026 record
Seattle Reign FC: 6-7-2 (20 points, 10th place)
Bay FC: 5-7-3 (18 points, 14th place)
Key stats
- Bay FC is 2-4-2 at home
- Seattle Reign are 3-4-1 on the road
- Jordan Silkowitz leads the league in saves (66), but Bay has still conceded 21 goals (tied for 8th in per-match goals conceded)
- Bay FC averages 9.2 shots per game compared to 7.9 for Seattle
- Seattle has actually out-crossed Bay, 264 (T-7th) to 232 (12th)
- Maddie Mercado leads Seattle with five goals and is riding a three-match scoring streak; Karlie Lema leads Bay FC with four goals
- Seattle has 11 different goalscorers this season, the most in the NWSL
Who to watch
Claire Hutton
Bay FC's midfield engine, Hutton arrived in a trade with Kansas City in February and was rewarded with a five-year contract extension a month later. The holding midfielder can dictate a match without piling up flashy numbers: she leads Bay FC in passes attempted (816), is second to midfielder Hannah Bebar in tackles (52), and can chip in going forward too, scoring from the penalty spot and adding an assist against Boston Legacy in July. A 2025 NWSL Best XI First Team selection and now a regular for the senior USWNT, Hutton is who the team looks to as they build from the back and is the player who will determine how much time and space Seattle's attackers get in central midfield. If the Reign can crowd her out of her preferred pockets, Bay's buildup could get a lot more disjointed.
Claire Hutton sees the run and Karlie Lema does the rest 👊
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 9:31 AM · Jul 5, 2026
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Kennedy Fuller
Newly acquired from Angel City FC in a June trade, Fuller has wasted little time making an impact in the Bay. She played every minute of her debut in the July 5 draw at Boston Legacy, then scored her first goal for the club the next match, a 2-0 win at Racing Louisville. Fuller brings a nonstop engine, as well as a level of close control and balance that makes her difficult to dispossess in tight areas. Lining up both on the wing and as an attacking midfielder, Fuller is good at finding pockets of space in those channels and crashing the box. She's someone to keep an eye on.
Kennedy Fuller and Bay FC making it look easy 😉
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 5:52 PM · Jul 10, 2026
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Karlie Lema
Lema is enjoying a breakout stretch for her hometown club. She leads Bay FC in goals (4), shots (23), and shots on target (15), and she's found the net in bunches lately, including a brace against North Carolina on July 18 (see below!). She's really fast, which means Lema is comfortable running in behind or finishing service from wide areas, which makes her a beneficiary of Bay's tendency to overload the flanks. Seattle's centerbacks will need to track her movement closely, while their teammates need to prevent balls in behind, because she doesn't need many chances to make one count.
KARLIE LEMA BRACE 🤯 Karlie Lema leads the charge for Bay FC!
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 1:35 PM · Jul 18, 2026
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SHE KEPT GOING! Karlie Lema takes it herself for Bay FC 💪
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 1:33 PM · Jul 18, 2026
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What to watch
A complete 90 minutes
Seattle's issue as of late hasn't been generating chances or even scoring goals. It's been sustaining performances for the full match. The Reign have conceded seven of their 19 goals in the final 15 minutes of matches this season. They've also failed to score in the second half in all but two games. This young Reign squad has been prone to letting matches slip either right after they settle in or when they should be closing things out.
With Bay FC also displaying some late-game vulnerability of their own, this match could hinge on which team plays a fuller, more consistent 90 rather than which team simply has the better moments.
Two young, streaky teams
The Reign and Bay FC actually have quite a bit in common. Both clubs defend in similar ways, making it hard for opponents to break them down, and are searching for the week-to-week consistency that the league's top teams have. Both rosters are full of young talent. Seattle's regular rotation includes 18-year-old Ainsley McCammon, 19-year-old Jordyn Bugg, and 20-year-old Emeri Adames, while Bay FC has built around a core of Lema (in her second pro season), 19-year-old Fuller, and 20-year-old Hutton. This youth movement has shown up in both the strong performances and somewhat streaky results. Seattle alternated wins and losses in each of its last five matches, and Bay FC has been similarly streaky, stringing together back-to-back wins over Louisville and North Carolina before dropping back-to-back matches to Houston and Gotham.
Overloads and punishing mistakes
As head coach Laura Harvey noted in the team's pre-match press conference, Bay FC are dangerous in transition and can punish teams when they make mistakes. According to American Soccer Analysis, they've scored four fast-break goals, which is the fourth most in the league.
Calm under pressure, Karlie Lema makes it count 😎
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 6:41 PM · Jul 10, 2026
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Bay has done really well preventing transitional goals as well, allowing a league-low seven fastbreak shots. The Reign are going to need to be smart about when they try to build out of the back and when they look for the long option, as Bay FC's speed can be a real problem.
On the other end, American Soccer Analysis data shows that the Reign are one of the league's best interrupting teams. Can the Reign's pressure and ability to win the ball back quickly work in their favor again on Saturday?
In the build-up, Bay likes to push its fullbacks high up the pitch while its wide attackers tuck into half-spaces. That combination creates overloads against a lone fullback. If Seattle's outside backs get caught flat-footed, Bay FC has multiple different players capable of exploiting the extra numbers. The wide players will need to be disciplined about tracking back, and the holding midfielders will need to pay attention to when they need to pull wide or protect the middle of the pitch.
Kit matchup
Injury / Availability Report
Seattle Reign
Pending league report
Bay FC
Pending league report
How to watch
Seattle Reign kicks off against Bay FC at 5:45 p.m. PT on Saturday, August 1. The match airs nationally on ION. There is also a live radio broadcast on 950 KJR AM.
