It wasn't the most dominant match or the prettiest of victories, but Seattle Reign came out on top against Bay FC over the weekend, earning a 2-0 win at home. Sofia Huerta broke the deadlock in the 51st minute, scoring a penalty kick, and Brittany Ratcliffe put it away with a stoppage-time finish in the 92nd to seal it.
Here are three stats from the Reign's 2-0 win against Bay FC.
June Ash Eden
72.2%
The Reign completed 72.2% of their final-third passes in this match, the best final-third pass accuracy rate of any game where the Reign didn't have a player (or two) advantage due to opponent red cards.
The Reign's 133 attempted attacking-third passes were also among their most this season. In the matches where it was 11v11 for the full 90 minutes, 133 marks the fourth-most attempted final-third passes this season (behind the 2-1 loss in Louisville and 1-0 wins against Houston and Chicago in August).
This time, it was high volume AND high accuracy.
When the Reign faced Bay FC on the road back in August, they attempted only 77 final-third passes and had a 58.4% pass accuracy rate. The Reign also had just 44.8% possession that game.
So, what changed? For one, the Reign have been slowly getting more comfortable in their build-up. And the results are starting to show. Maddie Mercado, who started at center forward, completed 13 final-third passes; Sofia Huerta 12; Maddie Dahlien 11; and Ryanne Brown and Sally Menti each completed 10. The team shared the offensive load and found each other well in attack.
Second, Bay FC did well to break the Reign's press in the first half.
"We're a team who wants to be on the front foot and to press and keep teams in their half, and they skipped that press, and I think we struggled a little bit with that," Sofia Huerta said after the match. "They had really good hold-up play and were getting in behind, and it caused some problems especially in the first half."
That limited the Reign's transitional opportunities and forced Seattle to be more methodical in their build-up. Transitional moments often involve riskier vertical passes, which is another reason the Reign attempted and completed more final-third passes in their home match against Bay.
23
If there's one thing to nitpick about the Reign's attack, it was the number of crosses they attempted that didn't connect. The Reign attempted 23 crosses and added four corner kicks, but completed just seven of these 27 attempts (26% accuracy).
Sofia Huerta completed 2 of her 7 attempted crosses, while Nérilia Mondésir, who otherwise had a strong outing, completed just 1 of her 6 attempts. Dahlien and Mercado both went 1-for-3.
Twenty-three attempts mark the third-most crosses behind the Reign's 2-1 road loss to Louisville and their 2-0 road loss to Portland, where the Reign played up two players and the Thorns packed numbers into the box.
In the Reign's 3-2 road win against Bay FC, they attempted just eight crosses and three corners, completing four.
A 26% cross completion rate isn't that bad — it's about average for the league — but there were so many "so close" cross attempts, and it became frustrating to watch the missed chances after a while. Crosses ultimately weren't what led to the Reign's most dangerous chances either; those came from balls in behind and interplay around the box.
The Reign are still one of the most dangerous crossing teams and still complete the most crosses per match. It's definitely part of their identity. I just think they can be a lot more strategic — and ruthless — in future games.
9
Bay FC's 1.04 xG suggests an average night would've produced a goal; Miller and the backline made sure it didn't.
Miller, stepping in for an injured Claudia Dickey for the second time this season, made four saves to earn another shutout — including a massive stop on a Claire Hutton shot from distance. When Miller wasn't coming up big, her backline kept most of the game in front of them, making sure Bay couldn't get any good looks behind the defense and in transition.
The Reign have now earned three straight shutout wins. Saturday evening's shutout against Bay FC was the team's ninth this season, tied for second most in the NWSL (behind Gotham's 13).
With the defense seemingly rounding into form at the right time, the Reign will look to keep the shutout streak alive as they push through the final stretch of the regular season.
The Reign have two big tests ahead this week, starting with a midweek road match against one of the league's strongest attacking teams in Angel City. That Wednesday night match kicks off at 7 p.m. PT and will stream on NWSL+. On Saturday, they'll continue their road trip to face Denver Summit.
