Once again rested and at home, the Reign turned in their second absolutely dominant, dynamic, categorical 1-0 win in three games. Allowing Houston virtually nothing on or off the ball, the Reign racked up chances, controlled possession, and, though the finishing was once again a bit profligate, found the goal they needed to see out another big three points.
The match was an important one for both sides – for Houston, an inconsistent but not incapable side, a win would've vaulted them into a tie for the eighth playoff spot. For the Reign, it cemented their hold on it, two points clear of Angel City and four points clear of the Denver Summit. For both sides, a loss would represent a major setback in the chase for playoff seeding.
Given the stakes, it was good to see the Reign absolutely seize the match by the horns and insist upon taking three points out of it. It would've been nice to find the insurance goal, but any three points is a good three points, and winning 1-0 when you maybe should've had two or three still gets you those three points in the bank.
The Reign are finding ways to get points when they're exhausted, get wins when they're profligate, and compete with good sides in bad situations. Nothing is guaranteed in this league, but two-thirds of the way through the season, the Reign have won themselves an enviable position for the home stretch.
Now let's break this one down.
Goalkeeper
Claudia Dickey – 6
Plus. Asked to make just one save, Claudia Dickey was up to the task on a shot from the corner of the area by Kat Rader in the 50th minute. Beyond that, most of her task was being a safe drop to preserve possession, completing passes to the back four, and on exactly two occasions, reading the through ball from Danielle Colaprico and getting off her line to snuff the chance. She did all of this with no foibles.
Minus. To be clear, Claudia didn't do anything wrong in this match. She just also didn't really have to do anything. Houston generated just 0.17 xG and just 0.09 xGOT. You can only face what the opposing team puts in front of you, and the Dash (and Reign back line) gave Dickey a vacation day.
Defenders
Sofia Huerta – 7
Plus. Sof was all over the buildup in this one, her overlapping and marauding with Maddie Dahlien a key part of the Reign's running riot up the left side. Despite Avery Patterson putting in occasionally heroic work to try to slow the Reign's left flank down, Huerta got into dangerous positions repeatedly, and put Dahlien into dangerous positions even more repeatedly. The Huerta Highlight Reel included 16 passes into the final third, 5 shot-creating actions, a big chance created, and winning 100% of her duels. You can't be mad about a performance like this.
Minus. I'm nitpicking a little bit, but for one of the greatest crossers in the history of the game, Huerta's crosses left a little something to be desired. Despite getting into good positions to cross repeatedly, she mostly couldn't connect with Mia Fishel and Maddie Mercado's confident attacking runs.
Jordyn Bugg – 7
Plus. High Confrontation Jordyn Bugg was in full force and to brilliant effect, winning 7 recoveries, 2 tackles, and 5 duels while routinely operating well up the pitch to strangle Houston's efforts at building through the middle. With the Dash unable to find an uncontested touch closer than 30 yards from the Reign goal, Bugg was also free to operate at her incisive best, spraying passes all over the field, her distribution one of the big highlights of the Reign's evening. She had one touch in the attacking penalty area, a glancing header off a set piece that could've been a goal with a little better direction.
Minus. I really would've loved to see her glance that header straight into the goal instead of wide. Rader also caught her in possession early in the second half, though it came to nothing much for Houston.
Phoebe McClernon – 8
Plus. The general and the last line of defense, Phoebe McClernon led the field with 81 touches and was second on the field with 15 recoveries, absolutely locking it down on the rare occasions Houston actually managed to play something through Meza, McCammon, and Bugg, and on the more frequent occasions where Houston tried to just bypass the midfield entirely. Just shy of nothing got past her, and she added 7 of 10 duels won and 3 defensive free kicks won on top of that. In the 37th minute, she got her foot to the delivery off a Huerta corner, which was, sadly, blocked rather than thundered into the net.
Minus. That 37th minute shot off the corner was, sadly, blocked rather than thundered into the net.
Ryanne Brown – 6 (off 65' for Madison Curry)
Plus. Bringing a ton of sauce on the dribble, Brown was a ball-progressive machine overlapping Maddie Mercado, putting in 7 progressive passes and 6 progressive carries and forcing Allysha Chapman to put in the defensive shift of her life just to keep up. While Brown's only shot was a very wide miss from way downtown on a recycled corner, her impact on the buildup was constant, finishing with 4 shot-creating actions and 1 chance created alongside a relentless evening of beating her defenders to the endline and getting the open cross away.
Minus. Like Huerta on the other side, Brown regularly got into great positions to cross only to put the actual cross too high, too far, too to-whom-it-may-concern rather than addressed to a forehead to actually take advantage of the consistently excellent movement of the front line.
Midfielders
Sam Meza – 7 (off 83' for Angharad James-Turner)
Plus. The return of Sam Meza from a brief injury absence had immediate impact on the Reign's shape both in and out of possession. By her own standards, this might even qualify as a fairly quiet game – 53 touches, 5 tackles won, 7 of 9 duels won, 4 recoveries. This wasn't a product of Meza not playing well so much as a product of the Reign's midfield absolutely demolishing Houston as a unit, freeing Meza up to get further forward up the pitch and provide offensive support in the pockets of space beneath Sally Menti, which paid off in the Reign repeatedly retaining possession and recycling from missed connections right back to searching for a breakthrough in the Dash's defensive third.
Minus. Given a couple clear opportunities to deliver the ball straight back forward to a streaking Fishel or Mercado, Meza opted for a safer pass. While I can't necessarily fault choosing to preserve possession, she has the sauce to make the risky play sometimes, and when you've got a team on the ropes and need that breakthrough moment is an ideal time to try it.
Ainsley McCammon – 8
Plus. Goddamn, Ainsley McCammon was freakin' everywhere. The Reign set up shop 30 yards up the pitch in defense, and Ainsley was the biggest enabling factor, standing up Houston attackers time and again. Her 16 recoveries were the top of the chart, and her 5 interceptions and 4 duels won rounded out an absolute song of destruction that the Dash could not solve for. Though her passing was pretty wasteful overall, she nonetheless completed 12 passes into the final third, including 5 progressive passes, and put in a frankly unbelievable cross in the 47th minute.
Minus. Completing just 33 of 62 passes, Ainsley could've benefited from taking an extra beat, an extra touch, and taking what the Dash were giving her. It's little things that keep this from being a season-defining 10 rating rather than "merely" an extremely good 8.
Sally Menti – 7 (off 84' for Brittany Ratcliffe)
Plus. With Meza back in support, Menti looked confident and dialed in again, and she turned in another excellent false-ten type game. Extremely economical with her 41 touches, Menti completed 20 of 23 passes, completed 2 dribbles, created 3 chances, and had 5 shot-creating actions. She also only narrowly missed high on a 6th minute free kick from about 22 yards out, and had a solid look on goal in the 51st minute shortly before the Reign broke through. With Meza and McCammon in defensive support, Menti showed more bite again, winning 4 of 8 duels and putting in her body to disrupt transition when the ball turned over.
Minus. While she's growing in the role and showing more both as a free runner on the attack and in transitional defense, Menti still relies quite heavily on Meza's coverage. If she can take one more big step in defensive confidence, she may well stamp her number on this role in ink, but she's not quite there yet.
Forwards
Maddie Dahlien – 8 (POTM)
Plus. With Huerta in support and Fishel and Mercado pulling the Dash back line out of sorts, Danger Maddie turned in one of her best matches of the season, running rampant up the left side of the field. She had 10 touches in the attacking penalty area, took 5 shots, put 4 of those shots on target, and after opening the scoring with an exquisite goal in the 52nd minute, demanded big responses from Jane Campbell again in the 55th and 80th just to keep the game in reach. While she took the final touch more often than any other Reign player, she dished up some tasty passes to Fishel and Mercado as well, and on a night when everything fell her way, might've just as easily finished with 2 goals and 2 assists.
Minus. Part of the reason she didn't finish with two goals and two assists was Avery Patterson's heroics, as she dispossessed Dahlien twice and won all three duels she managed to force. Maddie was untouchable when she could get into space and run – and between Huerta and the rest of the front four, she had that opportunity often – but still struggles a bit when she has a defender to beat and can't just fire up the jets.
Let Go and Let PRO. She also could've won two penalties, but what're you gonna do about it? VAR intervenes in haphazard and unpredictable fashion, and having your opponents' cleat marks stamped into your heel will get a long and detailed review for some players and an instantaneous "get up and stop whining" for others.
Mia Fishel – 6 (off 88' for Jess Fishlock)
Plus. I will die on the hill that Big Fish is top-class at holding up the ball. She's also saucy in holdup, frequently taking a casual first touch that flicks the ball wide for her attacking support in a way that's jawdropping every time. This capacity of hers created two good chances for the Reign, once clipping left for a streaking Danger Maddie, the other central to an overlapping Sally Menti. A 69th minute cross-goal flick would've been an easy tap-in had anybody crashed the back post. (And somebody should always crash the back post.) Her two shots were both good chances, though she couldn't quite keep either on target. Mia was in the right place at the right time repeatedly, and when she wasn't getting on the ball, she was scrapping relentlessly with Natalie Bain and Leah Klenke, yet again creating the space that Mercado and Dahlien exploited.
Minus. Fishel is significantly underperforming her xG so far this season, and while that happens and sample sizes are small and players getting into the good spots should be expected to convert over time, it's hard to see her get these good looks and keep coming away empty. She also got stripped of the ball a couple times in the attacking penalty area, losing the ball when a quicker distribution might've given the Reign a clean look.
Maddie Mercado – 7 (off 88' for Holly Ward)
Plus. I loved the Reign's 52nd minute scoring sequence: Fishel couldn't get to the ball on the initial delivery, but her aggressive positioning took the centerbacks completely out of the play. Mercado couldn't get a shooting angle after collecting it, but she quickly drove the ball back across the area, and Danger Maddie was there to hammer it home for the game's only goal. One of three chances she created, it was a high-pressure assist just moments after Houston's only opportunity of the game, emphatically punishing the Dash for missing and put the Reign in a controlling position they would not relinquish. Mercado was astute and cultured on the wing, pulling and teasing at the Dash defense until the gaps opened, forcing Houston to respect the right side even as Dahlien demolished them on the left, and made the Dash pay when they tried to double up her fellow Maddie or Mia.
Minus. Mercado's overall impact was limited by Allysha Chapman, who made it a mission to deny her clean looks on goal, and succeeded far more often than not. Chapman got into 9 duels with Mercado, specifically, and won 7 of them. Mercado was dispossessed 4 times, 3 of them in the attacking penalty area, and a strong game could've been outright brilliant if she'd found the pass on just a few more occasions.
Substitutes
Madison Curry – 6 (on 65' for Ryanne Brown)
The Reign have been getting some really good work out of the Brown / Curry hot-swap, starting one and finishing with the other to change up the look late in matches and let both run harder and get forward more aggressively, as they both very much like to do. In a short but effective shift, Curry spelled Brown and won 2 tackles, 3 of 3 duels, completed 6 of 8 passes and 2 progressive passes, and kept the left side of the pitch a dead zone for Houston until the final whistle.
Angharad James-Turner – 6 (on 83' for Sam Meza)
Playing just 10-or-so minutes, Haz held serve efficiently, touching the ball 5 times, completing 4 or 4 passes, kicking the absolute hell out of a clearance, and bodying up the midfield to keep Houston off the scoreboard.
Brittany Ratcliffe – 5 (on 84' for Sally Menti)
Playing just 10-or-so minutes, Ratcliffe had one or two key moments. She completed both of her passes, and used her limited touches to drive to the corner and try to pen Houston in. She was dispossessed a little lackadaisically late, but the Dash couldn't even turn that into a touch in their attacking half, so no harm no foul.
Jess Fishlock – N/A (on 88' for Mia Fishel)
Sometimes, Jess Fishlock subs on for like three minutes, touches the ball four times, and somehow gets off two touches in the attacking penalty area, including a shot worth 0.16 xG and a shot-creating action with her recycling pass. A disaster for Houston, trying to find a moment to launch everything forward and steal a goal, and instead having to contain a Tiny Dragon on a mission.
Holly Ward – N/A (on 88' for Maddie Dahlien)
And sometimes, Holly Ward subs on for like three minutes, touches the ball four times, and somehow gets off one of the most exquisitely weighted passes into the attacking penalty are you've ever seen in your life. Maybe she should've just tried to kill the game in the corner, but when those opportunities open up, I'm okay with a player trying for the dagger. Ward may not be quite ready for primetime, but every time she sees the pitch, she's shown some of what could make her really special.
Dash POTM
Allysha Chapman
As I mentioned above, Chapman made it a mission to deny Maddie Mercado clean looks at the penalty area, and succeeded far more often than not. She got into 9 duels with Mercado, specifically, and won 7 of them. She also led the field in defensive contributions, and blew up Reign attacks a dozen times. Houston struggled to contain the Reign for basically 90 out of 90 minutes, but Chapman more than did her share to keep the game in reach.
Referee
Laura Rodriguez – 5
I was not, necessarily, deeply impressed with Laura Rodriguez' performance in the center, but neither was it especially bad. She was judicious with her whistle, showed the yellows she absolutely needed to show, and when in doubt, defaulted to keeping the game moving. I like all of that. I think McClernon probably could've seen a yellow after the third or fourth time she went in hard on Kate Faasse, and I think Faasse probably could've seen a yellow after the third or fourth time she went in hard on McClernon, but on balance I'm actually pretty okay with letting them slug it out.
The Reign – specifically Maddie Dahlien – had two good shouts for penalties, and Rodriguez declined to whistle either. With the benefit of replay, I think both probably should have been called – one was a shoulder through the back, the other cleats through the heel. However, without the benefit of replay, Rodriguez wasn't in a position to see the extent of either foul. This is a case of VAR failing the CR, not the CR getting it egregiously wrong.
And Another Thing!
The road ahead isn't necessarily easy, but picking up points in these matches has the Reign in a good position to fight for their playoff seed, and their destiny is basically entirely in their own hands. Win the games in hand, pick up the points the schedule offers you, and you're in, with a viable path to the top four. Lose the winnable matches and the window may well slam closed.
Also, the Reign have now scored at least one goal for 12 straight games – one shy of the club record. Etsy Witch undefeated.
