In Jess Fishlock's final regular-season match, the math was simple: win and Seattle Reign are in the playoffs. Thanks to a Jordyn Bugg goal off a corner kick in the 68th minute, the Reign accomplished their goal and booked a spot in the NWSL playoffs this weekend. Their match against the NWSL Shield winners, Gotham FC, kicks off Sunday, November 8, at 9:30 a.m. PT and airs on ABC.
June Ash Eden
Highlights
Stats
SCORING SUMMARY
68' - Jordyn Bugg (Assisted by Mia Fishel) - SEA
LINEUPS
Captain Jess Fishlock leading out the squad for her last regular season match 🔥 Lineup Notes ➡️ rgnfc.com/4zlQRGl
— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc.com) 1:06 PM · Nov 1, 2026
[image or embed]
74' - Brittany Ratcliffe for Mia Fishel
82' - Sally Menti for Jess Fishlock
89' - Ryanne Brown for Maddie Mercado; Angharad James-Turner for Nérilia Mondésir
Our last XI of the year 📝
— Orlando Pride (@orlpride.com) 1:01 PM · Nov 1, 2026
[image or embed]
61' - Kerry Abello for Jacquie Ovalle; Zara Chavoshi for Cori Dyke; Summer Yates for Hailie Mace
73' - Kylie Nadaner for Hannah Anderson
78' - Julie Doyle for Marta
ATTENDANCE
16,095
POSSESSION
Reign: 43.9%
Pride: 56.1%
EXPECTED GOALS
Reign: 2.24
Pride: 0.63
TOTAL SHOTS
Reign: 18
Pride: 8
SHOTS ON TARGET
Reign: 5
Pride: 0
SHOTS OFF TARGET
Reign: 3
Pride: 3
SHOTS BLOCKED
Reign: 10
Pride: 5
SHOTS FROM INSIDE THE BOX
Reign: 12
Pride: 8
TOUCHES INSIDE THE OPP. BOX
Reign: 32
Pride: 19
PASSES
Reign: 360
Pride: 481
PASSING ACCURACY
Reign: 76.4%
Pride: 78.6%
PASSES IN FINAL THIRD
Reign: 143
Pride: 64
PASS ACCURACY IN FINAL THIRD
Reign: 60.8%
Pride: 62.5%
CROSSES (EXCLUDING CORNERS)
Reign: 15
Pride: 9
CORNERS TAKEN
Reign: 9
Pride: 6
OFFSIDES
Reign: 1
Pride: 0
FOULS
Reign: 8
Pride: 11
YELLOW CARDS
Reign: 0
Pride: 0
RED CARDS
Reign: 0
Pride: 0
Seattle Reign FC: 1 (2.3 xG) vs Orlando Pride: 0 (0.63 xG) #SEAvORL | #HerefortheCrown | #VamosPride | #NWSL | 🤖⚽
— NWSL Analytics (@nwslstat.bsky.social) 4:54 PM · Nov 1, 2026
[image or embed]
g+ GameFlow: NWSL Regular Season Seattle Reign v Orlando Pride on November 01, 2026. #RGNvORL ⚽️🤖
— g+ GameFlow (@gameflow.bsky.social) 6:57 PM · Nov 1, 2026
[image or embed]
Quotes
Laura Harvey
Her overall thoughts on the match:
“On the overall run of play, I felt like we deserved the win. The more the ball kept going across the goal and not going in, I was like, ‘Oh god, please not one of those days.’ Set pieces has been something we’ve spoken about a lot. We changed the way we’ve done a few things of late, so to get a goal off that was really rewarding. I wish we could have made it a bit easier on ourselves, but I’m just so proud of the group. We’ve been through a lot this year, a lot of ups and downs, but to have today be in our own hands was huge. And I had no idea that North Carolina had scored until I came off the stage having spoke for Jess. So I’m just so thankful that we could do our job and not have to hope that the other result went the way we needed it to.”
On Jess Fishlock’s performance in her final home match:
“I think it’s been a crazy week for her. Her family’s been in, she’s had a ton of media and content stuff going on, and she’s not really been able to train at the level that she normally trains at. So I spoke to her before the game and she was like, ‘I’ll give you everything I’ve got for as long as I’ve got it.’ And I was like, ‘I’ll take it.’ For her to go for — I don’t know how long it was — 80 minutes? is phenomenal. And thankfully I think she’s come off it injury-free, obviously after last week with the little niggle that she got. And the fact that the game’s now not ‘til Sunday I think will help her.
“There’s not enough words, really, to put in, but it was a similar feeling before the game when we had to do this in 2023 [for Megan Rapinoe]. The group were just so locked in. They wanted to do it for her. They wanted to do it for themselves, but they wanted to do it for her. I’ve said all year, this group treats her with the utmost respect. They value her so much on and off the field. And I thought you saw that again tonight.”
On the torch being passed to the club’s young players:
“It’s sweet. To think that Jess could be their mom, it’s crazy. But the respect, a mutual respect between her and that group of players, has been there since day one and has really grown. I don’t really look at what the players put out publicly very often, but today I was really hit with how many of them came out publicly and said that they wanted to do today for her. I think that just says everything about the relationship that they have, the respect that they have for what she’s done. What Jess and the OGs represent is what this club has been built on, which is legacy. That’s something that we really pride ourselves on, and that’s a really tough thing to take on as young players.
“I look at a Jordyn Bugg and an Ainsley [McCammon] and Emeri [Adames], all of them really, who took that risk in 2024 to commit their career here, and there’s no doubt that they can be the torchbearers of this club moving forward. And maybe it’s a really good omen that someone like Jordyn Bugg is stepping up in these moments, because I thought she was excellent today.”
On the team’s defensive effort in closing out the match:
“I think we did a really good job of it late. Orlando are a good team. They’ve got good players. I was not unhappy to see Marta go off the field, because she’s ridiculous. I think she’s the best player that I’ve ever seen live. But they kept probing and they kept pushing, and credit to them. They could have turned up today and just been not bothered, and they weren’t. So we had to know that, and we had to respect that, and we had to stand up for that. They had some half chances here and there, but I think we really limited their opportunities.
“It’s no surprise to me that the team that’s won the Shield is the team that’s conceded the least amount of goals. That’s what wins things. I’ve said that since the day I walked through the door here, and I still believe it today. And the two teams that have scored the most goals aren’t in the playoffs. To be successful in this league, you’ve got to be hard to beat. Probably nothing rang more true than 2026 to be that way.”
On bouncing back from the North Carolina loss and preparing for the playoffs:
“We’d sort of prepared that we’d probably play Gotham or San Diego if we could get through. Is it easier to go to a team that you’ve lost to twice, where maybe you felt you could get a bit more from, or is it harder to go to someone that you’ve beaten twice, where maybe they’re a little bit pissed off about it? No game in this league is easy, ever. But we know what we need to do to be able to compete with Gotham.
“I really believe the shift happened the moment we had the summer break, and we came out of that summer break and we were so gutted when we lost in North Carolina. But then we quickly turned that around by beating Portland, and even though everything wasn’t smooth — we go to Gotham and we concede in the last minute, all those things — it’s not been smooth since the summer break. But what it’s been is the group’s really responded when things have gone well, and they’ve really reacted when things haven’t gone their way.
“I’ve said this all year: there’s not been many games this year when we’ve taken care of our business and we’ve done what we believe is the things we need to be good at that results have not gone our way. Maybe Gotham away is a good example of that, and maybe the two Washington games were examples of where we’ve played well, but the result hasn’t quite gone our way. Outside of that, the games that we’re disappointed with are when we haven’t turned up. So our biggest task next week is turn up. We’ve got to show what we have shown in all the good moments this year, and believe we can go out there and get a result.”
On Coco [Nérilia Mondésir]’s performance on the left wing:
“I thought we had some standout performances. I thought Coco was exceptional, exceptional. I thought she was the best player on the pitch without a doubt. So we needed that. We needed some players to turn up and be their best. I thought Mia [Fishel] was brilliant first half, got tired second half because of the amount of work she’d done. So many players put in a really good shift, but I thought Coco just couldn’t be stopped. They subbed because of her, and that’s a really good position to have right now, someone like Coco coming into form.”
On what needs to change to convert chances against a team like Gotham:
“I think some of it is a bit of luck, a little bit of commitment on thinking it’s going to happen instead of waiting for it to happen, and a little bit of quality. I thought in the first half we hit the first man too much with the cross, or we overhit the cross. The time we actually got the cross perfect, Jess had the header. I think maybe Mia had one, I can’t remember, but chances came from that. And it was the same in the second half — when the quality of the cross was good, it created chances. The goal, even though it’s a corner, it’s the same thing. So when we know that we can get the quality into the box, we believe we’ll create chances, and I think that’s something that we can tidy up for next week.”
On starting Madison Curry in place of Ryanne Brown:
“Ryanne felt something a little bit last week, so she didn’t want to push herself and injure herself. So we were conservative and took her off at halftime. I said to Ryanne this week, ‘That was completely the right thing to do if you weren’t able to be 100%.’ But what’s out of your control is how good Curry was when she came on in Utah. I thought it was her best 45 minutes she’d played in a long time.
“Me and Ryanne had a really honest conversation of, ‘Look, I hadn’t truly made my mind up if we needed Ryanne to start and Curry to come on again, or if it would be a game for Curry to start.’ And I went that way based off what I thought our game needed today and the fact that she played so well last week. And I thought she was great. She made one mistake on the ball maybe. So we’ll analyze and look at it and decide what we think’s needed for next week, but it’s really healthy competition. You can rely on both of them, I think, and that’s a really good place to be in.”
On Jess Fishlock’s impact on the league as a whole:
“I had the unfortunate thing of coaching against her when I was at Utah, and she scored all the time, which was great. It’s a big question. I think the best example I could give about Jess is, if you didn’t really know her and you didn’t know the journey she’d been on, you’d probably think she was American, because she’s just fitted into this league like it’s her own. And she’s come back to it when there was so many times she didn’t need to.
“I think about 2015, when Frankfurt got to the Champions League final and she literally had to choose: I’m going to stay with the Reign, or I’m going to play in a Champions League final. She picked the Reign. She went on loan to Lyon and came back. She went and played for Reading and came back. That commitment to what was happening here. There’s no doubt in my mind, because I know for certain she had so many suitors who would have signed her in Europe, in Australia, anywhere that would sign her, and she always chose to come back here. I think she chose it because it tested her. It pushed her to be the best she could be.
“So I think that’s her legacy: if you want to test yourself and you want to be the best player that you possibly can be, come play in this league, because it’s hard. It’s really hard. And there’s been times where her body’s told her no, and she could have thrown the towel in and gone, ‘Oh, I’m going to go back where it’s a little bit easier, and maybe it’s not as demanding on my body, the travel and the intensity of this league.’ And she always chose to come back. So I just think that winning mentality, that competitor in her, always wanted to put herself against the best, and she believed the best was here. And how thankful are we that we got to witness it for as long as we did.”
On Sam Meza’s performance:
“I knew before the game that Ainsley and Sam needed to have a good game today for us to really compete. Angelina and Marta are good players, and Sam shut them down. She doesn’t get a lot of the credit on the offensive side sometimes, but over probably the last month or so, we’ve tried to free her up a little bit to get higher up the field. The Sam I knew when I coached the 20s [USWNT U-20’s] was a 10 and a winger, so we know she can play up there.
“Her reading of danger is exceptional. Jess has always had the brain to recognize danger. That’s where I’d say they’re the most comparable. Me and Jess joke about it that sometimes Sam thinks she has to get there quick when actually she doesn’t, because she’s really fast. That’s what Jess has been talking to her about. But that’s probably the bit where I look at the two of them and go, that’s the thing I would compare: their understanding of recognizing danger. Sam’s very, very good at it. Whether it be a fullback or a 10 or a six that’s about to get the ball, suddenly Sam’s there, and I could pick a thousand clips of Jess doing that over a career.”
Jess Fishlock and Jordyn Bugg
On their emotions after the result, clinching the playoffs and Jess’s last home game:
Fishlock: “I’m just happy. I’m really happy. One, for our performance. I thought we played well today. If any other day without Orlando’s right back having an absolute goal-line day, we would have been 3-0, 4-0, right? And it’s always nice when you have such a big game that holds so much to be able to go out there and play the way that you want to play, and it almost be like the game hasn’t got to us. That’s growth from us, too. So I’m just so happy. I’m so happy we get into playoffs. Obviously, it’s an emotional day, but the joy of getting into the playoffs with this team and these girls and to play one more game is my main emotion.”
Bugg: “Same thing: happiness. I think we’re all happy that we got to send Jess off with a big win at Lumen. I think that’s what we were all mainly focused on. Obviously, making playoffs is a huge thing, clinching. But I think just happiness, overwhelmed with joy.”
On the “passing of the torch” and Bugg’s set-piece goal:
Fishlock: “It’s always nice when you hit a full-circle moment in any kind of part of your life. It’s always so nice to see that, feel that, be a part of it. It’s also really nice, and JB will get this, to score a set-play goal. We’ve been working on that. So that’s always nice. Sometimes these games go that way. We had so many chances today, we couldn’t get it in the back of the net, so we get a set-play goal and we put it away. That’s just the way it goes, and that’s a sign of a good team, right? You take those things like set pieces and you work it in your favor.
“A bit off topic, but I’m going to talk about JB a little bit right now if you don’t mind. I feel like this girl is just phenomenal, and I’m so happy she signed another contract. I was waiting for that to drop myself. I was like, ‘Let’s get it out there, guys. She’s not going anywhere.’ I really think that JB’s future is whatever she wants it to be. Obviously stepping up big for us today, so that’s huge. She’s stepping into wanting to be in that moment, wanting to be a part of it and wanting to push us over the line. That’s just a sign of her mentality.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this group — the only sad thing about my retirement is I don’t get more time with them, because I would love to spend another couple of years just being a part of their growth and them reaching what they want to reach. Because I love them. I do. I had never thought, when we started bringing in all these kids, that I would feel so much joy being a part of such a younger generation, but they give me so much life and they give me so much joy, and it’s been such a pleasure to have my last season with this group. So, thank you, JB.”
On her game-winning goal:
Bugg: “Honestly, I was just watching Coco take the corner and then saw the ball come through, and I was like, ‘I have to get to this.’ We’ve been working on set pieces all week, and I think that Lloyd [Yaxley] had given me a few tips right before this happened. I executed, and I’m really thankful for him giving me that tip because it really helped. But I think we’ve been working on it. I think that once we put our mind to something, we can do it. And I think that really proves how close we are as a team. I’m just happy to have helped the team out like this.”
On the turnout of family, teammates, former players and the community for Jess’s send-off:
Fishlock: “It was special. It was great. Having my family fly over for it was incredible, and everyone showing up for me, really. I’m sure it’ll take me a little second to process it all, but it’s huge, all the players coming in, all the ex-players coming in. Like you said, Ezi [Magbegor] and that, it just is a very special moment, and one that I will remember for a long time.”
On keeping the occasion “just a match”:
Fishlock: “I think the greatest thing about football is ultimately, whatever occasion happens, it is kind of just a game. I said to Laura [Harvey] actually, obviously there’s a lot going on and a lot happening, even in the house that I’m in, with all my sisters there. It’s just a lot, and then I walk into the locker room and I’m immediately calm, because that’s what football does for me. It really centers me and it allows my whole focus, and everything else just goes out the window. So I was never worried, because I know that about myself.
“And obviously I know that the group, all week they were just so eager to get this game, to put on a performance, to win and get into the playoffs, and I know that they wanted to win for me as well. That is always so nice, and I think you could tell by our performance. I think we were very calm today. I think it was a testament to the group really to enjoy and embrace all the noise, but also be able to, when the game happens, it’s just our principles, what we’re doing, what we’re focused on, and a belief in ourselves to get the win. Which we did. So I think honestly it’s just football at the end of the day. It’s the game that we play all the time. It’s the game we train for all the time. And it’s really easy, I think, for me anyway, to just really focus on what that is, and now I’ll be able to enjoy it.”
On bouncing back from the North Carolina loss and heading into the playoffs:
Fishlock: “I think obviously we know throughout the season that there’s been games we’ve been disappointed with, and games that we really felt we either let ourselves down or we should have won and we didn’t win. And that’s a little annoying. But I don’t think there’s ever been a doubt of belief in our group in terms of getting into the playoffs. And obviously it comes down to the last game, but that’s what this league is. This isn’t the first time we’ve been in this position.
“In terms of going into the playoffs now, I’ve been in this league long enough to understand that when you get into playoffs, it don’t matter where you rank. It don’t matter where you go. It just doesn’t matter. The game is different. And so we’re ready to face whoever we’re going to face. Gotham, obviously. Congratulations for them. I think they’ve won the Shield; that’s not an easy thing to do. So congratulations to Gotham. But playoffs are different, and we believe that we can beat anybody in this league. And so we’re going to be ready.”
On moving farther forward up the pitch:
Bugg: “I would say Laura definitely gives me the freedom to do what I want. But I used to be a forward when I was playing club, and I think it’s still instilled in me. In practice, I like to go forward. We play small-sided, and it’s one of my favorite games we play. So in the game, if I see that space, I like to dribble in the space and create what I can for the team. I think just knowing that I can do it in practice, and my team encourages me to do that, I feel comfortable doing it in the game as well.”
On how the team has grown since the end of last season:
Fishlock:: “I think today’s performance shows growth in us. We’ve had plenty of big games over the last couple of years where perhaps it’s gotten a little bit too much for us at times, and we kind of lose ourselves a little bit. But today, you don’t get much bigger than having to win to get in, and I think our performance, like I said, I felt that we were very calm. We were in control. That’s huge growth, massive for us, and will really help us moving forward to know that this is a game that we can look to where we didn’t let the game or the occasion or the pressure of it change who we are, who we want to be, and how we want to play. And I think that is going to be absolutely massive for this group moving forward.”
On Sam Meza’s performance and growth this season:
Fishlock: “I think Sam and Ainsley have a great relationship. They bring such balance to our team and to each other, right? You know what you’re going to get from both of them, and both of them really bring out the best of each other. That helps both of them then be able to go forward a little bit more, which we’ve been working on a lot actually in training. Their growth and their development is when they add that forward bit to what they’re doing, which you can see now in our games, which helps us get higher up the pitch and we get to create all these chances that we will put away next week. It just adds a different dimension to our game, right? It allows us to keep piling pressure on higher up the field, breaking lines.
“I think Sam is another one that can go wherever she wants to go, and Ains is the same. It’s actually really fun for me to watch them both be younger in those roles, obviously having played that for so long. It’s a joy to play with them. It’s a joy to watch them do what they do. And I think that both of them have had such real growth this season in different aspects of their game. I think you can see that, too. So I think we’re in a good spot.”
