Leading into the Reign’s match against Portland, things felt a bit grim. Sure, there were promising signs. Talented players starting to show what they could do. Things to keep the flame of hope alive for the future.
But also, the present had an increasingly dire pall about it, a sense of doom. The team as constructed is flawed, missing some essential spice to bring the dish together, and matchdays kept turning up hard-fought losses with few rewards.
The Reign needed a statement win badly. They came up with something signature, absolutely eating their biggest rivals' lunch.
The Thorns took 25 shots, only two of them (a 12' shot by Olivia Moultrie and a 25' attempt by Pietra Tordin) actually decent chances, and put on a clinic in carrying the ball but doing nothing dangerous with it. Meanwhile, led by Sam Meza's absolutely ridiculous fight and energy, the Reign midfield and defense shredded everything promising and forced Portland into ever more-frustrated, more-desperate, more-low percentage attempts.
The Reign's two goals were well-deserved, and Portland could've taken another 25 shots like that and never gotten one past Cassie Miller.
The final whistle was a mercy on the visiting Thorns.
Goalkeeper
Cassie Miller – 8
Miller was great, though, it should be noted, not actually asked to do all that much exceptional. Which is a funny thing to say about a match wherein her opposition took (again) 25 shots, and put 8 of them on target, but the defense in front of her gave Portland no good lanes and no good options time after time.
A goalkeeper can only save the shots that get through to them, though, and Cassie saved eight out of eight, for the Reign's first shutout since May 1st.
She was also calm and assured coming off her line, good in the air, and no-nonsense with the ball at her feet. In a match where Portland was failing to create anything, it was just as important not to give them anything cheap, and Miller did not.
Defenders
Sofia Huerta – 6
Nothing too much, just 90% passing, a chance created, 6 progressive passes, 4 of 7 duels won, and 2 free kicks won. Huerta was quieter than we often see her in successful Reign outings, both because the Thorns stopped trying to challenge her and Ryanne Brown after some early success but more memorable early failure, and because the Thorns kept getting sucked into the midfield and getting double-teamed by Sam Meza and somehow also Sam Meza.
When on the ball, Huerta was an effective shuttler and kept things moving, infrequently turned it over, and helped put other people into good positions. Sometimes, that's all the match requires of you, and while we didn't get a magical SofiAssist to extend her all-time record, we got plenty of positive play.
Jordyn Bugg – 7
With 75 touches and 57 of 61 completed passes, Jordyn Bugg was a near-faultless distributor from the back line, cool as a whole dang cucumber salad under pressure and steely in her composure in finding the right pass at the right time. To this end, she had 4 progressive passes and 2 silky long balls into space that helpd build out attacks, and put in a really nice cross along the way as well.
No less important was Bugg's relentless defensive effort, which saw her win 3 of 4 duels while notching 6 recoveries, 6 clearances, and 3 blocks. In partnership with Phoebe McClernon, Bugg provided coverage up the middle that Portland simply could not break down, making indispensable contributions to the Reign's first shutout in months.
Phoebe McClernon – 8
Do you like defensive contributions? How do you like SEVENTEEN defensive contributions? Because McClernon did that, with 6 tackles, 2 blocks, and 9 clearances. Do you like recoveries? Because she added 5 of those. Duels? Phoebe McClernon won 9 of 11. She also blew up every single dribble Portland tried to take at her, used her body to control possession and shrug off the press, and absolutely made life miserable for Olivia Moultrie in particular. You just gotta respect it.
Portland, as many teams do, attempted to show the ball from Jordyn Bugg to McClernon, preferring to bet against Phoebe's distribution, and McClernon burned them for it to the tune of 9 passes into the final third and 5 progressive passes, reminding that, while she may not have the indescribable beauty of Bugg's best long switches, she does have a cultured touch herself, and when the Reign's top CB pair are both on their game, there's no good option to contain their passing.
Ryanne Brown – 7 (off 78' for Emily Mason)
For most of her shift, Ryanne Brown put in a solid performance, mirroring Sofia Huerta with effective shuttling, strong defense in the moments it was asked for, and forays forward when the Thorns provided her the opportunity for it. She had some rusty touches – not much came of her long passing, and she was caught in possession early in the first half – but she cleaned things up as the game went on, went 19 for 21 on short and medium passes, won 4 of 8 duels and fought hard along the touchlines...
...and scored an absolute masterpiece of a goal in the 8th minute, when she made an aggressive run to beat the back line, saw the opportunity to go far post from a hard angle, and placed it perfectly into the side netting. Could Mackenzie Arnold have read the play better and put herself in a position to actually make the save? Yeah, sure, probably, but she didn't, and Ryanne Brown brought Lumen Field to life with one beautiful moment.
Midfielders
Ainsley McCammon – 7 (off 78' for Angharad James-Turner)
You might look at Ainsley's top line numbers and come away a little unimpressed – 53 touches, just 25 for 37 passing, only 1 accurate long ball and only a few scant touches in the final third. You'd miss how effective McCammon actually was. The execution was sometimes not quite perfect, but she was seeing and lining up line-splitting passes from deep in a way that's incredibly promising to watch, fed Brown in for the opening (and game-winning) goal, and she did it while absolutely bossing Portland's midfield defensively.
And I do mean bossing. She won every duel she went into, she had 14 defensive contributions and 4 recoveries, she beat players to the ball on the ground and in the air, and she seamlessly covered for Sam Meza to get forward or drop back. Meza ate the Thorns' lunch all match, and McCammon stole their spare lunch money when they tried coming back for more.
Sam Meza – 8 (POTM)
It's Sam Meza's world and we're all just living in it.
You may think that some other player is more important to the Reign's identity or future, or that another holding midfielder in the league is better or with a higher upside, or any number of other incorrect premises, but the facts are the facts and we're firmly in the Mezazoic Era.
Anyway, in this one, Sam got into 20 duels, and although she only won 10 of them, she won 10 duels. And even in the ones she lost, she got stuck in and made things uncomfortable. Also, she won 6 tackles, notched 10 recoveries, completed 31 of 39 passes, including creating one big chance that ultimately went for the assist on the Reign's second goal, scrapped, fought, and battled relentlessly, and covered so much ground they're thinking of renaming the whole damn stadium after her*.
And just as important as her individual brilliance, Meza's collaboration with McCammon was next-level, a tier of effortless, drift-compatible rotation that we've often glimpsed the potential for but never actually seen come together like this. It couldn't have come against a better opponent, or in a time of greater need.
(* Not actually true**)
(** But it should be)
Sally Menti – 6 (off 65' for Nérilia Mondésir)
Since the break, Sally Menti has come out with a bit of a chip to her play and a whole lot more marking and work rate. Laura Harvey has spoken to her increased defensive effort and the hard work she's put in learning and improving in that field, and it's been showing on the pitch.
While she wasn't quite the destroyer of souls and stealer of essences that Meza and McCammon were behind her, she once again showed an intriguing display of low-frequency but extremely high-leverage running and chance creation from the attacking midfield spot, finding a big chance in the 31st minute and forcing a good save from Arnold from the edge of the box in the 39th. She also put in solid work tracking back and gumming things up, with 4 recoveries, 3 defensive contributions, and 4 of 7 duels won. I'm not necessarily sold on her as the solution at the position, but Menti has really stepped up her game here, and it has a lot to do with the Reign's newfound capacity for dynamic attacking play.
Forwards
Maddie Dahlien – 6 (off 89' for Brittany Ratcliffe)
For nearly 90 minutes, Danger Maddie just absolutely ran Marie Müller out of the game. Every time she got on the ball, she looked to burn, and she made the attacking left side her own, getting in behind early and often and putting in aggressive passes with the reckless abandon of a tough kid eager to set the record straight against a big rival.
In just 30 touches, she had 12 completed passes, 3 chances created (including one Opta Certified Big Chance), the hockey assist on Maddie Mercado's goal, a fairly ridiculous 0.54 expected assists overall, 2 successful dribbles, and 6 touches in the attacking penalty area. She also committed a couple fouls she probably didn't need to, and lost more duels than she won, but these are forgivable things in the greater context of taking the zoomies right at Portland's right back and demanding she yield the floor.
Mia Fishel – 6
It was another game without that elusive first goal for Big Fish, but also another game with two very good chances to score – a 43rd minute hit that she put wide, and a 74th minute header that was blocked out of play. The goals will come, even if she seems a bit cursed on that front right now – strikers are notoriously streaky because goals are notoriously hard to score, but Fishel keeps getting in the right place to get dangerous looks.
To go with those two good looks of her own, she created a good chance herself, and had 7 touches in the opposition box, 5 recoveries, and one attacking free kick won, leading the press from the front, fighting hard for the ball, and in general making things tough on Portland's central defense. Her holdup play remains a real strength, and when the Reign have overlapping runners to take advantage of it or provide her opportunities to get on the ball herself, good things happen.
Maddie Mercado – 7 (off 65' for Holly Ward)
First off, the goal was sublime. An excellent ball in by Meza, but the way Maddie Mercado rose to meet it and tucked that ball home to the corner was a thing of beauty. And second of all, Mercado's performance as a whole was pretty sublime.
Once again lining up on the right wing and absolutely thriving there, Maddie had 37 touches and used them to expose M.A. Vignola like it was a personal vendetta. Over the course of her shift, beyond the goal, she had 3 successful dribbles, 5 touches in the attacking penalty area (3 of which became shots from good positions), 3 recoveries, and a whole lot of hard running to keep Portland on the back foot. She did cough up the ball a bit easily at times, and she was one of the few Reign players to be significantly out-dueled by the Thorns, but her impact was undeniable from the opening whistle and she was rewarded for her work with a well-deserved goal.
Substitutes
Nérilia Mondésir – 6 (on 65' for Sally Menti)
After a hard and productive shift from Menti, Nérilia Mondésir subbed on to seize what hope Portland had left and scorch it out of them. Despite playing just 30 minutes and touching the ball only 12 times, she led the team with 4 chances created, and ensured that there would be no comeback forthcoming: the Thorns would have to deal with her, and she was not eager to be dealt with. A towering presence and outsized impact for her game minutes, and a little reminder that she's probably the best corner taker on the team right now – a couple of those deliveries were just high art.
Holly Ward – 5 (on 65' for Maddie Mercado)
Taking the right wing baton from a highly impactful Mercado, Holly Ward was somewhat less involved in the game, but still found a few moments to shine. Though she touched the ball just 6 times in 30-plus minutes, she nonetheless popped up at some key moments to deny Portland a shift in momentum: winning a free kick up the wing, pouncing on a corner for a huge chance off her left foot, feeding an overlapping Ryanne Brown to drive into attacking space. Holly was more quiet than not, but she did what the game needed of her.
Emily Mason – 5 (on 78' for Ryanne Brown)
Taking over for Ryanne Brown's excellent shift, Emily Mason came on late and helped hold things down for the final 15 minutes. She had 9 touches, 3 defensive contributions, and a hard-nosed duel win in that time.
Angharad James-Turner – 5 (on 78' for Ainsley McCammon)
Checking in for the excellent Ainsley McCammon, Haz turned in a professional 15 minutes, effectively defending space, winning an interception and a recovery, and hitting the ball deep into Portland territory when it came to her foot as the Reign killed off the final phase of the game.
Britanny Ratcliffe – N/A (on 89' for Maddie Dahlien)
The final sub of the match, Ratcliffe came on for stoppage time and touched the ball twice: a pass to keep possession, and a pure-grit give-me-that-ball moment to take it back. Not a single thing to criticize.
Thorns POTM
Jessie Fleming
Portland didn't create much, but what they did create overwhelmingly came off of Fleming's foot, including Moultrie's early opportunity, by far the best chance Portland would find on the afternoon. Playing for a team almost monomaniacally determined to not create danger, she created four chances, put one shot on frame, and completed 33 of 40 passes while consistently driving the ball forward into the danger areas.
Jessie Fleming had a really good match. Even knowing the outcome, some of her moves gave me anxiety during my rewatch. The Reign midfield was just better.
Referee
Abdou Ndiaye – 6
I'll be real, me and Abdou Ndiaye don't always see eye to eye on the game or how it should be called, but any time a referee looks at Olivia Moultrie diving three different times and just waves her to get back up, I feel positively disposed towards them.
I also just thought he did a good job of managing the game, letting rivals fight it out without letting it get out of hand. Sometimes, a match like this can get really ugly, especially the first meeting after a real contentious affair, but over-officiating that matchup can kill the vibes and drag a everything into the muck. Ndiaye didn't get caught up in the traps, showed cards, let the players play, and used his whistle often but mostly judiciously.
And Another Thing!
For homework, please write a ten-page essay about what Sam Meza means to you.
