Seattle Reign solved some of the second-half issues that have plagued them in recent weeks, coming from behind in the second half and even going ahead before conceding an equalizer in the 72nd minute. Ultimately, the Reign had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Angel City on Sunday evening.
Sally Menti and Mia Fishel both earned a goal and an assist – scoring within two minutes of each other early in the second half to give the Reign a 2-1 lead. But Angel City substitute Prisca Chilufya, back from WAFCON, got in behind the Reign defense in the 72nd minute and scored the equalizer.
The Reign (7-7-3, 24 points) finished the weekend equal on points with Angel City but just outside the playoff line due to goal differential. Up next is a home match against the Chicago Stars (4-13-1) on Friday, August 14. That match kicks off at 7 p.m. PT and will air on NWSL+.
June Ash Eden
Highlights
Stats
Scoring Summary
32' - Gisele Thompson (Assisted by Ary Borges) - ACFC
50' - Sally Menti (Assisted by Mia Fishel) - SEA
52' - Mia Fishel (Assisted by Sally Menti) - SEA
72' - Prisca Chilufya (Assisted by Evelyn Shores) - ACFC
Lineups
Today's starting XI against Angel City ⚽️ Lineup Notes ➡️ rgnfc.com/4fZGaRl
— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc.com) 5:03 PM · Aug 9, 2026
[image or embed]
66' - Nerilia Mondesir for Mia Fishel; Madison Curry for Ryanne Brown
75' - Angharad James-Turner for Sally Menti
88' - Emeri Adames for Maddie Dahlien; Holly Ward for Ainsley McCammon
The #AngelCityFC Starting XI for #SEAvLA. #Volemos | #NWSL | DoorDash
— Angel City FC (@angelcity.com) 5:16 PM · Aug 9, 2026
[image or embed]
55' - Cassandra Bogere for Jennie Immethun; Renee Lyles for Mallie McKenzie
86' - Deyna Castellanos for Pietra Tordin
ATTENDANCE
7,102
POSSESSION
Reign: 49.1%
Angel City: 50.9%
EXPECTED GOALS
Reign: 1.74
Angel City: 0.98
TOTAL SHOTS
Reign: 16
Angel City: 16
SHOTS ON TARGET
Reign: 6
Angel City: 6
SHOTS OFF TARGET
Reign: 7
Angel City: 5
SHOTS BLOCKED
Reign: 3
Angel City: 5
SHOTS FROM INSIDE THE BOX
Reign: 9
Angel City: 13
TOUCHES INSIDE THE OPP. BOX
Reign: 24
Angel City: 32
PASSES
Reign: 385
Angel City: 398
PASSING ACCURACY
Reign: 77.7%
Angel City: 76.1%
PASSES IN FINAL THIRD
Reign: 95
Angel City: 91
PASS ACCURACY IN FINAL THIRD
Reign: 62.1%
Angel City: 58.2%
CROSSES (EXCLUDING CORNERS)
Reign: 14
Angel City: 12
CORNERS TAKEN
Reign: 3
Angel City: 8
OFFSIDES
Reign: 1
Angel City: 2
FOULS
Reign: 7
Angel City: 8
YELLOW CARDS
Reign: 1
Angel City: 1
RED CARDS
Reign: 0
Angel City: 0
g+ GameFlow: NWSL Regular Season Seattle Reign v Angel City FC on August 09, 2026. #RGNvACFC ⚽️🤖
— g+ GameFlow (@gameflow.bsky.social) 5:46 AM · Aug 10, 2026
[image or embed]
Seattle Reign FC: 2 (1.74 xG) vs Angel City FC: 2 (0.98 xG) #SEAvLA | #HerefortheCrown | #AngelCityFC | #NWSL | 🤖⚽
— NWSL Analytics (@nwslstat.bsky.social) 8:46 PM · Aug 9, 2026
[image or embed]
Quotes
Laura Harvey
On the team's overall performance:
"I thought it was definitely not our best performance. But what I said to the players at the end is what can make good teams good is when they don't perform, that they don't lose. First half we really didn't get going. We came out second half like we've been doing in the start of a lot of first halves and changed the tempo of the game. I think disappointed on both goals really — I thought we could have done a little bit better on both, so that'll be something we look at. Overall I said to the players at the end, when you don't put in your best performance and you can come away without losing, then you've got to be relatively okay with that, but hungry for more."
On what she said to the ref at the end of the game, and the scuffle with Angel City's coach on the sideline:
"I spoke to the ref and I said I didn't know if it was a penalty, but I didn't think it was a foul on us. I don't know what the sideline was apart from my hand being squeezed and kept hold of, which was not a nice feeling."
On the connection between Sally Menti and Mia Fishel on the two goals:
"I struggle to replay goals, but I think on both of them it comes off a bit of a transition moment, Ryanne Brown winning maybe both of the first balls. They showed quality in those moments, which I think we've seen from our front line over recent games. Sally, great turn, great finish. And for Mia — a great finish by Mia. So there are things that we can be really happy with and excited about. But I think for us to go where we want to go, we've got to perform better than we did tonight."
On changing the game at halftime:
"I said to the girls at halftime, if we play like we did in the first half, the result was going to stay what it was. We weren't going to get a win out of it, we weren't going to get anything out of it. We had to decide if we wanted to change that, and we did. I'm really happy with that. Just hungry for more really, I would say."
On defending setting the tone for the attack:
"First half, we didn't do enough — they had the ascendancy, we didn't. And I always believe this with us: how we defend sets the tone for how we attack. Both of our goals, I think, came off defending. And when we buy into that, when we live that, good things happen. In the first half, we were too passive. We didn't get on the front foot, we didn't put them under pressure. There were glimpses when we did it, good things happened, but it didn't happen enough. Second half, we were better at it, and good things happen."
On Mia Fishel's goal:
"You guys have asked me a lot about Mia in the last year, and I've said the same thing, and I'll continue to say it — she will get rewarded when she plays the way she's been playing since the summer break. And she's getting that recognition externally, internally in our locker room, because that's what we believed we signed. I knew it was going to take time with her, with someone who's been out for as long as she had. It's really hard to switch that back on, the sharpness needed, the willingness to keep doing all that hard work and not seeing it. And when you start to get those little glimpses of a reward, it makes you run faster, it makes you run harder for longer. I think you're starting to see that from her, which I'm really happy about."
On building their own identity coming out of the break:
"We'll always set ourselves up depending on what we think the opponent's going to give us, but what's been nice is a consistent-ish 11 and patterns in which we know we can excel. It dawned on me last week that we're really at the halfway mark, and it doesn't feel that way because it's a grind. And we're about to go on a three-game — this is the start of a four-game in 13-day stretch, so it doesn't get any easier anytime soon. So we have been able to have a settled 11. Do I think we're going to be able to have that moving forward in the next three games? No. So we've got to be able to prepare the people who can come on and do things. Today, another good example. I thought Curry did well when she came on, Haz did great when she came on. Emeri did well. You know, she was disappointed with her cross. It was the first thing she said to me, but I thought she did some good stuff. Coco, Holly was a threat. You know, we've got how many? 13 games left, we're going to need everybody."
On maintaining the standard set after the Portland game:
"We've definitely kept the standard offensively. I hate conceding goals no matter what. I don't care if we score eight. That's a layer for me that we've got to continue to reduce, because there will come a day we don't score multiple goals. So we've got to make it as challenging as possible for the opponent not to score multiple goals on us."
On why the team is scoring more goals now:
"Belief, a willingness to play behind an opponent. And I don't think we did that well enough tonight. A willingness to turn an opponent, a willingness to run stuff down, which we did tonight, and quality in and around that final third. The two finishes tonight were an example of that. We don't tend to score crappy goals. They don't happen. I watch some of the other games and I'm like, God, I wish that would happen to us. But we score good quality goals. I think that's been the big shift with us. Belief, and just playing into spaces that opponents don't want you to play into."
Sally Menti and Mia Fishel
On Mia's recent scoring run (three goals in her last four):
Fishel: "I wouldn't say anything feels different. I feel like I've definitely done more film, and there hasn't been a lot of change in the lineup. So when that happens, you're able to build connections and build off of what we're doing on the field, and I think that's helping me find a flow way quicker now in games."
On the team's increased scoring output since the break:
Menti: "I think, piggybacking off what Mia says, our chemistry in our front line has been growing every single game since the break. We understand each other's tendencies now, and I think that is just huge. We're all bought in. We're all bought into our game plans and what we need to do, and we need to score, and we're just bought into everything. It's great."
On scoring two quick goals right out of the halftime break:
Fishel: "I think it was huge, because we've been talking about our second half performance and how we start fast in the first half. So I think this was another growing moment. Like, hey, now we know in the second half we have another gear in us, and we're trying to find ways at halftime to continue our legs and our momentum through film and talking. So I think that was a big win as well, knowing that we can come out the gate second half and get those goals."
Menti: "Laura gave us a good speech at halftime too, and she knew that we had more to give, and I think that something switched in my head too. I'm like, yeah, we’ve got to go for it. We're down 1-0, and normally we haven't come out hot in the second half. So for me, hearing Sof [Huerta], our leader on the field talk to us and hype us up before the second half, that helped me a lot, and we just went for it, and we were on our front foot the whole, most of the half."
On watching Mia Fishel's recent form up close:
Menti: "Her ability gives me confidence. The way she presses is huge for our team, and she really drives, and her work ethic is insane, and I'm so happy that she got a sick goal. Honestly didn't have much to do with it. I got an assist, but she did literally everything. I'm just so happy. She's kind of the staple of our front line, I think she's the leader of our front line, and she gives me confidence when she presses hard, when she does something good on the ball. I love playing with her."
On scoring her first goal at Lumen Field:
Menti: "It was really cool to celebrate with the crowd. We haven't been home a lot this season too, so when we score a goal it's like absolutely silent in the crowd. So it was really cool to run over to the sideline seeing everyone on their feet. It was honestly a special moment. It was Mia's first goal at Lumen, too, so it was a really special moment, honestly. I'll remember that forever."
On the team's mindset amid the push for the playoff line:
Menti: "Honestly, I feel like our team has done a really good job of not looking that far ahead. I think we focus on the next game. We know that we're on the bubble, but I think we've done a really good job of looking internal and doing what we need to do to keep getting better, and the season, we still have a decent amount of time. We know we're stressed about it for sure, we're on the bubble, but I think we've done a really good job of keeping our heads and literally just focusing on the next game, and we've come out of this break really hot, and I think we have a lot of confidence from it."
Fishel: "I agree with what Sal said. I feel like we have been focusing a lot on ourselves. We're not really paying attention to the other teams and the standings. We're going in and film, focusing on how we're going to build each week. What are we doing wrong, what's a weakness of ours, and we're building off of that. So I think if we just continue to keep in our bubble and do what we're doing, I think it'll be no problem getting into playoffs."
On the transition from Lauren Barnes as a teammate to a coach:
Menti: "I love Lu. I loved her as a teammate, I love her as a coach. I think the transition was pretty seamless, honestly. For her to come, she just obviously came out of the league, and to have that experience. It's not a coaching staff, but if I have something that I think only a player would get, I would go to her, and she's amazing. She gives me confidence, she always pulls me aside for pointers, and I respect her input so much, but I think it's been seamless and we all love Lu."
Fishel: "Yeah, she has a great energy, and obviously she has experience, so she knows what we're going through on a day-to-day basis. So those little tips that she gives us are just another redirection of like, hey, keep doing what you're doing, or maybe look at this a different perspective of things. So yeah, I think it's been great."
On the slower start to the first half:
Fishel: "I don't know. Sometimes you just come out like that, and it's something that we have to work on. Obviously we've been killing it coming out first half strong, and we have to go over film. I don't know what exactly happened. Maybe we didn't get enough pressure on their defense. So I think it'll take a little bit more time for us to really figure out what happened. Sometimes you just come out and we don't know what's going wrong until you look at it afterwards. So I don't know."
Menti: "Yeah, kind of like what Mia said, I don't know. And I think that we've been talking all season about being able to adapt mid-game, and we still need to push and keep working towards that, because obviously we struggled in the first half. But yeah, we keep going, we go again Friday."
On Laura Harvey's message to the team after the match:
Menti: "She said when we don't play our best, it's great to get points, honestly, and I think that's fine. That's what we wanted to hear. Obviously we were disappointed to concede that late goal. And honestly, the first goal is a breakdown, it's a set piece, and we need to do better in that position. But yeah, she just said it's good to get points when we don't play our best, and we really didn't play our best, but yeah, we learn, we keep going."
