This evening, as the last streamers from the World Cup quarterfinals settle to the Canadian turf, the Seattle Reign will kick off their second match of the season against defending champions FC Kansas City. The first matchup was a disappointing one for Seattle, who fell to a 1-0 loss thanks to an Amy Rodriguez goal. But it was the last loss the Reign have suffered, and since then they've taken 11 of the 15 available points and remain undefeated at home.
Now looks to be the perfect time to take on the Blues, who seem to be reeling without their World Cup players Rodriguez and Lauren Holiday. The defending champs haven't found a win in their last four matches, are lying at 6th in the standings, and have scored more than one goal only once all season, which suggests that if Seattle can score a couple of goals they'll be well on their way to another home win and a return to the top of the table (at least until Chicago kicks off tomorrow).
Last week the Jess Fishlock/Kim Little tandem looked perfectly drift compatible, as each assisted a goal for the other. Little finally got untracked and scored her first goal of the season after winning the league Golden Boot last season, hopefully getting her back into a scoring rhythm.
On defense the team will have to watch out for Sarah Hagen, who's trying to hold up the offensive end of the team while Rodriguez is away. The ex-Bayern Munich player and national team rotational forward is the most likely to find chances against Seattle's back line.