Seattle Reign return home to Lumen Field for a Cascadia Rivalry clash against Portland Thorns FC on Sunday, July 12. It's just the fourth Reign match in Seattle this season, and the club will be looking for a boisterous home crowd — the fourth largest in club history — to help snap a run of just one win in their last eight games. The match kicks off at 1 p.m. PT and airs nationally on ESPN.
"It's the most organic, the most fiercest rivalry in the NWSL. I don't think it will ever be beaten," Reign head coach Laura Harvey said about the Cascadia match-up. "There's an utmost respect for what each other try to do and how we go about our business, whilst disliking each other and having that rivalry emotion around each other at the same time. And that's what true rivalries are about."
The Thorns arrive in strong form and sit comfortably in second place, fresh off a 4-0 rout of Racing Louisville that saw Jayden Perry, Pietra Tordin, Reilyn Turner, and Sophia Wilson all get on the scoresheet. Portland is now unbeaten in four of their last five matches under new head coach Robert Vilahamn.
The Reign, meanwhile, are coming off a 3-1 defeat at North Carolina in their first match back from the NWSL's month-long World Cup break. Sally Menti opened the scoring for Seattle, but Ashley Sanchez's brace and a penalty from Riley Jackson turned the match around for the hosts in the second half.
Shae Holmes and Claudia Dickey are still out for the weekend's match, and Jess Fishlock is "really close," according to Harvey. The team will decide after Saturday's training whether she'll be ready for the rivalry match.
Head-to-Head
The Thorns lead the all-time series 18-16-10, and Portland has the Reign's number of late. Seattle last beat Portland in April 2025 at Lumen Field.
- The Reign have scored 46 goals and conceded 51 in this matchup.
- Portland won the reverse fixture 2-0 back on March 20, a match that saw two Thorns red cards (Cassandra Bogere and Reyna Reyes) and NWSL debuts for Seattle's Holly Ward and Sofia Cedeño as second-half substitutes.
- This is the 45th all-time meeting between the two clubs.
2026 record
Seattle Reign: 4-6-2 (14 points, 11th place)
Portland Thorns: 8-3-3 (27 points, 2nd place)
Key departures
Portland's biggest offseason loss was captain and USWNT midfielder Sam Coffey, who was transferred to Manchester City of the WSL. The club also parted ways with head coach Rob Gale in November; assistant Sarah Lowdon served as interim through the preseason before Vilahamn was hired. The Thorns also did not offer a new contract to defender Kaitlyn Torpey, who started half of their games last year, and forward Mimi Alidou transferred to the Montreal Roses last week.
Key additions
Portland’s biggest addition of the off-season was the return of forward Sophia Wilson, who missed the 2025 season while on maternity leave. They also brought in midfielder Cassandra Bogere from SK Brann in Norway. The 21-year-old defensive midfielder has 12 starts for Portland. Their other offseason signings were primarily college players who have seen limited playing time. Portland recently added Dutch international midfielder Nina Nijstad on a transfer from PSV Eindhoven; she won't be available for Sunday's match.
Key stats
- Portland has played two more matches than the Reign.
- Portland ranks 1st in the league in goals (24) and assists (18) through 14 matches; Seattle sits 14th in goals (11).
- Seattle holds a slight possession edge in the season series stat sheet (51.07% to 45.84%), but Portland has done far more damage with the ball.
- Portland is outshooting the Reign, 9.2 shots per match to 7.8, and leads 5-to-3.75 in shots on target.
- The Reign have been held scoreless in four of their 12 matches this season and are 0-4-2 when they fail to score first.
Who to watch
Sophia Wilson
Portland's leading scorer with six goals, Wilson returned from maternity leave this season and has slotted right back into the club's frontline as its most dangerous target inside the box. She scored the fourth goal against Louisville, remains a constant threat in transition, and should never be given time to take defenders on 1v1. Just look at this opportunity from last week in transition that Wilson both started and finished:
Sophia Wilson with the backheel pass and the PERFECT finish ✨
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 6:00 PM · Jul 5, 2026
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As Harvey always says, prevention is better than cure when it comes to defending top players like Wilson. That means the Reign are going to try to cut off passes to the forward and clog the space around the box. How effective will they be?
Olivia Moultrie
The Thorns' primary creative outlet in midfield, Moultrie continues to be the engine behind Portland's link-up play and was directly involved in the opening goal of last weekend's win. She's fourth in the league in chances created (25). In their last matchup, with Portland down a player for most of the game against the Reign, Moultrie took control and dominated. With five goals and five assists in just 12 matches, she's truly playing at an MVP level this year and gives Portland's midfield technical quality that Seattle's ball-winners will need to disrupt early.
Pietra Tordin
Tordin has been a menace in the final third all season, sitting among Portland's top contributors with four goals and six assists. She was also directly involved in the Thorns' 2-0 win over Seattle back in March, scoring the opening goal. Tordin's touch is really clean, and she's the forward doing most of the combination play and set-up work. She is just behind Moultrie in chances created (24), putting her fifth in the league, and sits at the top of the league in big chances created. Tordin might not be the loudest player on the field, but she knows how to pop into space and find teammates — on top of having quite the finishing touch.
A rocket from Pietra Tordin! 🧨
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 4:54 PM · Jul 5, 2026
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What to watch
Can the Reign contain Portland's attack?
The Thorns have scored 24 goals through 14 matches, top in the NWSL, and have three players with five or more goals (Wilson, Turner, Moultrie). Seattle's defense will need a complete performance, something that's been elusive of late; the Reign have conceded 16 goals in 12 matches and gave up three goals last week.
The Thorns are a first-half team this year; they create and score far more in the first half, then tend to stay organized and hold on for the win. If the Reign can contain Portland in the first half, that should hopefully give them confidence and momentum for the final 45 minutes. That's exactly how the Reign earned their 1-0 win at home last year — riding an early Maddie Dahlien goal, staying organized defensively, and benefiting from some great late saves by Claudia Dickey.
Home comfort at Lumen
Cascadia Rivalry matches at Lumen Field have historically favored the Reign, including a 1-0 win the last time these two met in Seattle. With just three home matches at Lumen Field so far, the Reign will be counting on a loud crowd to provide a spark. Nearly 14,000 fans are expected, which should make Lumen Field much more of a fortress than it's been this season. The Reign have historically delivered strong performances in regular-season matches with large crowds.
"I was able to go to the USA versus Australia game in Seattle — it was the most amazing environment," forward Maddie Dahlien said. "I'm hoping that we can kind of replicate that for the Portland game, and I know the fans will come out."
The Reign could also be boosted by Jess Fishlock's return, as the midfielder — who loves to come up big in this rivalry match — is back training with the club after getting injured on April 26 and may be healthy enough to feature on Sunday.
Finding their attacking consistency
The Reign sure looked threatening on offense for the first 60 minutes against North Carolina last week. Sally Menti and Mia Fishel were interchanging with ease; Fishel was causing all sorts of trouble with her movement and hold-up play; Sofia Huerta was making dangerous underlapping runs and getting lots of touches in the box; and the Reign dominated on the wings. Unfortunately, the Reign could only score once in that timeframe — and when the Courage earned their penalty, the momentum completely flipped.
Can the Reign build on that momentum and deliver a much better performance than they did in their last outing against the Thorns — when the Reign were up two players and struggled to create chances?
"It was a real catalyst for what was to come for us, of a lot of the things that we felt we didn't do a good job of," Harvey said about the Reign's poor performance against the Thorns earlier in the season. "We were isolating ourselves out wide when we were up at least one player, if not two, for a long time. So we worked a lot on creating overloads in wide areas, and then we went into Spokane and did a really good job of that."
Some of that combination play last week — which took place in 100-degree heat — has to give the team some confidence before taking on a Portland Thorns side that is vulnerable in transition. While the Thorns haven't given up many goals, they've conceded the third-most fast-break chances (according to American Soccer Analysis). The Reign could find success pressing high this match, especially at home.
"Can we turn ... North Carolina is a good example ... a good 45 minutes into a really good 90-minute performance? If we do that, we believe results will take care of themselves," Harvey said.
"We're creating so many chances, but now it's taking that final step, putting it into the back of the net," Dahlien added.
Kit matchup
Injury / Availability Report
Seattle Reign
Pending league report
Portland Thorns
Pending league report
How to watch
Seattle Reign kicks off against Portland Thorns FC at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday, July 12, at Lumen Field. The game will air nationally on ESPN and will also be available on 950 KJR AM radio.
