The Reign played two very different halves of footie against the visiting San Diego Wave, going up a player and then up a goal in a dominant first half, then struggling to contain a brilliantly-adjusted and suddenly ascendant Wave midfield.
Throughout the first half, Maddie Dahlien did whatever she wanted against a back line that seemed ill-prepared for her speed or the Reign's quick touch in delivering it to her. This paid its most immediate dividends in the 10th minute, when, splitting Mimi Van Zanten and Kennedy Wesley to beat both to a ball over the top, she drew a foul from Van Zanten. VAR recommended a review, and after a couple more minutes examining the angles, center referee Abdou Ndiaye agreed, and showed Van Zanten the Leicester.
For the remainder of the first half, it was all Reign, all the time. While the Wave midfield remained a standout for them (as it has all year), Dahlien continued to break their lines, Mia Fishel pulled their defenders all out of sorts, and Maddie Mercado once again came up with the big moment. Mercado's 29th minute goal, the only tally of the game, featured all three, with Dahlien beating her defender to the line cold, Fishel's fading run drawing the attention of both centerbacks, and Mercado scorching the ball home as she met Dahlien's service with an electric diving header.
In the second half, though, one might've been forgiven for thinking the Wave, and not the Reign, had the player advantage. Their halftime adjustments were smart, and helped San Diego overwhelm the Reign's midfield and cut off the service that Dahlien had been feasting on. The Wave controlled possession and created a few promising chances along the way, but could not break through. Claudia Dickey put her whole face on the line, Cassie Miller came in as an emergency substitute to see things out, and the Reign found a way to clean things up and kill the game off.
The Reign played two very different halves of footie, but in the sum total of the match, they got the only result that ultimately mattered: three points. Just forgive me if I wind up repeating "in the first half..." a few hundred times going forward.
Goalkeeper
Claudia Dickey – 8 (POTM) (off 85' for Cassie Miller)
Plus. In the 85-plus minutes she played, Claudia Dickey faced six shots, three of them dangerous ones that required quality saves to keep the clean sheet. On paper, San Diego didn't necessarily create much danger, even in a second half that they mostly controlled. But digging a little deeper, Ludmila and Kimmi Ascanio dialed up three shots between them that were nearly unsavable, and Dickey just went and saved them anyway. In her final play of the match, she literally put her body on the line, denying Ludmila from close range and taking a knee to the face for her trouble.
Everything else is details; with the game on the line, Claudia Dickey came up enormous, and then she did it again, and then she did it even bigger when it mattered the most.
Minus. You hate to see a player go off with a head injury, and that's literally the only thing I will say here.
Defenders
Sofia Huerta – 7
Plus. In the first half, Sofia Huerta was a ball-progressing machine, repeatedly carrying the ball forward and repeatedly finding the right touch to play Maddie Dahlien into space, starting with a perfectly weighted throughball in the 7th minute that put Maddie clean into the area. And in the second half, Sofia Huerta was a play-destroying machine, repeatedly beating the Wave to the loose ball, clearing it thunderously, winning the duel for the fifty-fifty. Trinity Byars' quiet night? You can thank Sof for a whole lot of that. Maddie Dahlien completely upending the Wave's game plan for 50 minutes? You can thank Sof for a whole lot of that, too. One of the savviest performances on the pitch, Huerta changed her approach with the game space, always becoming what the Reign needed her to be to see out the result.
Minus. Especially in the second half, with the Wave playing a swarming midfield coverage and denying service to Dahlien, I would've liked to see Huerta try to carry the ball a little more often – break the first line of confrontation, get a different passing angle, and see if she could put the Wave back on their heels again. I kept waiting for her to pick the moment, but it never came.
Jordyn Bugg – 6
Plus. On the ball, Jordyn Bugg was incredibly calm and composed, completing 43 of 46 passes and, particularly in the opening half, finding the long ball to break pressure with more of her characteristic swagger and accuracy than we've seen from her in a few matches. As the match wore on, she was asked to do a ton of defending. She finished with 10 defensive contributions, including 5 clearances and 3 interceptions, and was instrumental in keeping the Wave from getting clean through the lines in their 30-plus minutes of ascendancy.
Minus. With the Wave tilting the field in the second half, Bugg routinely found herself with no answer but to commit the foul, and ultimately won herself a deserved yellow card for her troubles. Her long passing disappeared under the pressure of San Diego's coverage, when the right ball at the right weight – something Bugg provides better than anyone on the team – could've punished them for their aggression in recovery.
Phoebe McClernon – 6
Plus. The match leader in defensive counting stats, McClernon came up big with the big-time clearance (8) and tackle (3) time after time. Few of these were cheap defensive contributions, either – whenever Phoebs got stuck in, the Wave hit a wall. She had some beautiful passes to cut up San Diego's shape, and an 18th minute set piece delivery found Sally Menti open and shockingly unmarked for the header, but Menti couldn't keep it on frame.
Minus. Like her partner in central defense, McClernon was sometimes up against it in the second half, and, asked to do a ton of defending, she settled for fouling in places we might prefer her not to. She, too, saw yellow for this. This was compounded by a number of sloppy passes between the 50th and 80th minutes, allowing the Wave to pile the pressure back on when the Reign could've found a moment on the break.
Ryanne Brown – 5 (off 86' for Madison Curry)
Plus. In the first half, Brown was an effective role player, helping the Reign maintain possession and progress the ball behind Maddie Mercado. Highlights included three progressive passes and some very strong running to give Mercado options on the drop pass and the overlap. She also took a shot from way downtown in the 28th minute and kept it on frame in a decent spot, forcing a reaction out of Sandra Paños. And after running into a brick wall in Sofia Huerta, Trinity Byars tried Brown's side and ran into a brick wall there, too.
Minus. Especially as the match wore on, the Wave found ways to target Brown whenever she strayed too far forward and burned her with some particularly dangerous wide runs after the 65th minute. Though she stonewalled Byars in memorable fashion, Brown also lost more than her share of challenges, and lost her runner entirely four separate times.
Midfielders
Sam Meza – 7
Plus. It's impossible to overstate how much the Reign missed Sam Meza, who played a full 90 and was, once again, fucking everywhere. To the tune of winning 5 tackles, 7 recoveries, and 7 of 11 duels. Even when San Diego started taking things over, the way they had to adjust to Meza's presence limited their angles of attack, as anything that passed within half a mile of Meza's boots was nearly guaranteed to blow up in the Wave's faces. She had some pretty sweet line-breaking passes, too, and continues to show improved facets to her game match after match.
Minus. There's only one Sam Meza and sometimes the game state wants at least two Sams Meza. And really, if we could have three Sams Meza, that would be even better, wouldn't it?
Sally Menti – 6 (off 64' for Jess Fishlock)
Plus. In the 18th minute, Menti broke free unmarked as Phoebe McClernon delivered the dead ball, made good contact on her header, but saw it flash across the goal and wide. She took another crack in the 63rd minute, collecting the ball from Fishel and dribbling herself into trouble before getting a shot off through traffic anyway that was more dangerous than Paños' routine collection made it look. It was the Sally Menti-est of games (complimentary) for 45-plus minutes, with 2 chances created, 6 recoveries, 4 interceptions, and an outsized impact from just 33 touches.
Minus. That missed shot was her final action of the night, and one of the only impactful things she did after the halftime break. Sally was heavily put off her game by the Wave's midfield control, barely able to get a touch edgewise and barely able to get a foot in to slow San Diego's progress up the pitch.
Angharad James-Turner – 6
Plus. Amongst the Reign's midfield stalwarts, Angharad isn't the flashiest, or the feistiest, or the sauciest, but she's quietly become one of the most dependable. With Ainsley McCammon away, her ability to hold serve across the middle of the park was once again of key value to the team. Haz delivered 4 tackles, 4 recoveries, and 2 "no, you move" fouls in a gritty, rangy get in their way and make them get past you performance. Most importantly, James-Turner did an excellent job ensuring the Reign had time to recover numbers in defense when faced with a matchup she was unlikely to win. It wasn't necessarily pretty, but it was effective when it needed to be.
Minus. Against Kenza Dali and Kimmi Ascanio in the midst of a San Diego midfield clinic, Haz frequently couldn't keep up with the pace of possession, and when she couldn't keep up, San Diego sometimes found a real look out of it. She lost more duels than she won, and was beaten three times on the dribble.
Forwards
Maddie Dahlien – 7 (off 86' for Nérilia Mondésir)
Plus. The San Diego back line is going to have nightmares about their efforts to contain Dahlien in the first half. The darting 7th minute run to collect a slick Huerta through ball for a shot. The defense-splitting acceleration to force Van Zanten's red card in the 10th. The elusive overlapping run to get the ball from Huerta and whip in the cross for the goal in the 29th minute. Virtually every big moment for the Reign in their excellent first half featured Dahlien in the buildup. She scarcely put a pass wrong, completing 15 of 17, finding both the safe choice to preserve possession when necessary and the audacious turn and touch to set up danger when the window was there.
Minus. In the second half, the Wave adjusted, and effectively cut off Maddie's service. She was never able to adjust in turn, and saw little of the ball and less of the Danger she's known for after the break.
Mia Fishel – 7 (off 64' for Holly Ward)
Plus. At first glance, it'd be easy to say Fishel had a quiet but fine match. On my second watch, I really came to appreciate just how unselfish and creative an outing she had. In the 10th minute, Dahlien's acceleration forced the red card from Van Zanten, but it was Fishel's recovery and instantaneous turn into an upfield pass that gave Dahlien space to run into and a ball her defenders will never beat her to. In the 29th, it was Fishel's fading run across the face of goal that pulled attention away from Mercado and let her do what she's doing better than anybody. Fishel completed 15 of 19 passes and created 2 chances while making life miserable for the Wave back line, winning duels, dribbles, and challenges against Kennedy Wesley and Kristen McNabb left, right, and center. She did absolutely everything but score a goal of her own.
Minus. As good as Mia has been doing the utterly thankless work as a holdup forward, decoy, and facilitator, I would really love to see her be more selfish when she has the look. Deferring to Menti in the 63rd minute likely ended up a worse chance than just drilling it herself would have. She's been a bit snakebit in front of goal, and one wonders if that's weighing on her in those moments.
Maddie Mercado – 7 (off 90'+6 for Brittany Ratcliffe)
Plus. Maddie Mercado scored a goal, and it was a fuckin' beauty. Yeah, the slipped pass by Huerta, the sharp run and laser cross by Dahlien, the dummy run by Fishel were all sharp and well executed, but let's just stop and think about how platonically perfect that finish was. Diving header, upper 90, net demolished, Sandra Paños' clean sheet in shambles. Mercado also did something unbelievable in this match, and got into more duels than Sam Meza. Sure, she only won just under half of them, but she made an absolute nuisance of herself on the press in a way you love to see, and a frustrated Wave is a Wave not hitting the flow state they're capable of.
Minus. That 29th minute goal was literally the only shot Mercado managed, and the strongest single skill Mercado brings to the pitch is the ridiculous verisimilitude of her shooting. The Wave did a great job cutting off the Reign's service to the wide areas in the second half, and Mercado was never able to find her way back into danger.
Substitutes
Jess Fishlock – 5 (on 64' for Sally Menti)
Jess Fishlock subbed on and, for a long stretch, the Wave continued to just do absolutely anything they wanted to in the midfield. It's hard to keep a studious philosopher of the game like Jess shut down, though, and she was instrumental in organizing the press and, ultimately, killing things off as the Reign finally asserted themselves for the final 12-or-so minutes, putting in three huge tackles and a long upfield pass that burned a whole minute off the clock.
Holly Ward – 5 (on 64' for Mia Fishel)
Taking time on both wings while Mercado moved central, Holly Ward wound up doing a lot of defending. The Wave kept coming in (ha) waves and Holly kept throwing herself into the challenge to try to slow them up. She won 2 tackles and went into 7 duels in 30-plus minutes, and completed 6 of 7 passes, providing at least a little much-needed steadiness, but she wasn't able to convert that into any significant attacking presence, something the Reign desperately needed.
Cassie Miller – N/A (on 85' for Claudia Dickey)
Any time a backup keeper comes on cold for an injury and keeps the clean sheet going, that's a 10 out of 10 performance, and that's that on that.
...it obviously didn't hurt that the Reign rallied in a big way in front of her and she faced 0 shots, but she made her own luck, too, picking a cross out of the air and winning a key foot race in her short shift.
Nérilia Mondésir – N/A (on 86' for Maddie Dahlien)
Coco played short minutes, touched the ball 6 times, lost 4 duels, committed 2 fouls, and burned a good minute and a half just by being a pest. She kept losing her matchups but losing them in a way that kept the clock ticking away without the Wave getting something useful out of it. Can't complain.
Madison Curry – N/A (on 86' for Ryanne Brown)
Madison played short minutes, touched the ball 10 times, had one really slick dribble and one duel absolutely demolished. While completing just 2 of 6 passes, she made them count, and when they came at her, the Wave got a lot of the ball going harmlessly back to their own defensive third for their trouble.
Britanny Ratcliffe – N/A (on 90'+6 for Maddie Mercado)
Britanny played a couple minutes of stoppage time, touched the ball once, and played some successful keepaway as the Reign burned away the final seconds of opportunity for San Diego and preserved the win.
Wave POTM
Ludmila
Wave fans can tell you that Ludmila's finishing has been pretty cold this season, even for a notably streaky striker, but after previous meetings, the Reign needed no reminder how dangerous she can be. She had six touches in the Reign's penalty area, got off three shots (including two of the more dangerous looks the Reign faced), and won two free kicks in the Wave's attacking third. If the Wave were to find a way through despite the red card, Ludmila looked most likely to provide it.
Fortunately for the cause of justice, despite getting the Wave's best looks of the match, she did not replicate past multi-goal productions against the Reign.
Referee
Abdou Ndiaye – 6
Over the course of his officiating history, Abdou Ndiaye tends to blow the whistle a lot but go to his pocket rather infrequently. This held true, as he whistled 24 fouls (17 against the Reign) but showed just 3 cards, one of them a red card that required VAR intervention. I actually think he could have whistled more fouls than he did – especially in the second half, he made a number of decisions that felt like whistling to the scoreline, and straight-up ignored a couple clear fouls that changed possession, but on the whole, he whistled a fairly predictable game, didn't like hard contact, and showed cards only when given absolutely no other recourse.
It's not my favorite way to call a game, but it's one that I can't really argue is incorrect. The laws of the game are, by nature, fairly fluid. I don't hate it, and I'll take consistently not my favorite over inconsistently incomprehensible.
And Another Thing!
The transfer window came and went with one major acquisition for the Reign – forward Ami Diallo, an intriguing signing but perhaps not the blockbuster deal for an attacking midfielder that fans (and certain writers, who will go unnamed at this time) were hoping for. Coming from her offseason, Diallo may take some weeks to get up to starting fitness, but I'm very curious to see what new dimensions she can bring to the Reign attack.
While Dahlien - Fishel - Mercado has quietly become a nightmare front three for opponents to handle, having more options to change things up when we need to is never a bad thing, and Diallo was lights-out good in the Côte d'Ivoire Women's Championship. If she can translate any of that to the NWSL...
