Seattle Reign concluded a two-game homestand with a scoreless draw against the Kansas City Current, a team that hasn't lost a game all season and who hadn't been shut out all season until coming to Lumen Field.
While Seattle Reign's defense stood firm and didn't let the speedy Current players get behind, it was goalkeeper Laurel Ivory who again stole the show for the Reign – making big saves to keep the match scoreless. Still, the 1.17 expected goals that Kansas City accrued was the lowest total for the club all season.
The Reign couldn't find much offensive spark until late in the match, and then there were only a few half-chances.
Andrew Tingkang
The Reign (2-5-1) will conclude their three-match week with a road trip to Portland. The match against the Portland Thorns (4-3-1) will kick off at 7 PM PT on Saturday, May 11, and will air on ION.
Highlights
Stats
SCORING SUMMARY
None
LINEUPS
Tonight's Starting XI 👑 pic.twitter.com/TbubxDCgnd
— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc) May 9, 2024
61' - Substitution: Lily Woodham (In)/Emeri Adames (Out); Nikki Stanton (In)/Angharad James-Turner (Out); Bethany Balcer (In)/Olivia Athens (Out)
78' - Substitution: Jess Fishlock (In)/Olivia Van der Jagt(Out)
90+6' - Substitution: Maddie Mercado (In)/Ji So-yun (Out)
Starters in Seattle 🤩@BlueKC | #KCBABY pic.twitter.com/muPTximG1W
— KC Current (@thekccurrent) May 9, 2024
45 ' - Substitution: Hailie Mace(In)/Regan Steigleder (Out)
65' - Substitution: Debinha (In)/Claire Lavogez (Out)
75' - Substitution: Alexa Spaanstra (In)/Vanessa DiBernardo (Out); Lo'eau LaBonta (In)/ Claire Hutton (Out)
89' - Substitution: Alex Pfeiffer (In) / Michelle Cooper (Out)
ATTENDANCE
5,083 (Lumen Field, Seattle)
POSSESSION
Reign: 40.4%
Current: 59.6%
EXPECTED GOALS
Reign: 0.24
Current: 1.17
TOTAL SHOTS
Reign: 5
Current: 19
SHOTS ON TARGET
Reign: 1
Current: 5
SHOTS OFF TARGET
Reign: 1
Current: 7
SHOTS BLOCKED
Reign: 3
Current: 7
SHOTS FROM INSIDE THE BOX
Reign: 1
Current: 8
TOUCHES INSIDE THE OPP. BOX
Reign: 8
Current: 37
PASSES
Reign: 403
Current: 582
PASSING ACCURACY
Reign: 70.5%
Current: 77.8%
PASSES IN FINAL THIRD
Reign: 81
Current: 190
PASSING ACCURACY IN FINAL THIRD
Reign: 60.5%
Current: 61.6%
CROSSES (EXCLUDING CORNERS)
Reign: 7
Current: 18
CORNERS WON
Reign: 2
Current: 7
OFFSIDES
Reign: 0
Current: 1
FOULS
Reign: 4
Current: 6
YELLOW CARDS
Reign: 0
Current: 0
Quotes
On her overall thoughts on tonight's performance:
"Gritty. We competed well. I thought defensively, obviously, really good shift from the team. Laurel was exceptional again. Lacked quality on the ball at times when we did have quality on the ball, we got ourselves up the field, but we know how good a team Kansas have been so far this season and to come away with a clean sheet is a huge positive for us in the run that we've been on. So overall, happy with the attitude, the mentality that’s happened with the group, but I just think we lacked a little bit of quality at times and it made it hard for ourselves a little bit more than it needed to be.”
On being able to stop Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga:
"I thought Phoebe was fantastic. I'm not going to sit here and shy away from it. We had a very specific game plan that involved trying to stop her, which meant we had to give other things up because we're very shape orientated. But I thought Phoebe did excellent. I think when Chawinga went centrally, I thought Lu (Lauren Barnes) and Shae did a really good job. Honestly, shout out to Shae, she was called upon in the last hours of the day to replace Alana. Alana was a late scratch. So, I thought the whole backline were excellent defensively, today. But obviously Laurel should get her flowers, for sure, but I thought Phoebe was also exceptional and like you say, it's not an easy task, what she was asked to do."
On Laurel Ivory getting her first clean sheet:
"I mean, she should get all the plaudits - some of the saves she made in the first half were exceptional and then in the second half, thankfully, we didn't ask her to make too many unbelievable ones. But what she had to do in the second half, which she did very, very well, she deserved a clean sheet. I thought she deserved one against San Diego on her performance, so I'm really glad for her that tonight she got one."
On her overall thoughts on the match:
Huerta: "I think tonight's performance was big. I mean, we're playing, right now, the best team in the league. We had a slow start to the season, but like we know, people who have been in this league for a long time, as you guys know, since you've been observing for a long time, the league is wild. You can't let the losses get you down, you just have to turn them into lessons and I think we've done a really good job at not getting down. To not win five games in a row is really challenging as a team. So, to go down a man versus San Diego and then concede a goal immediately after, come back and score two goals in that game and win was a big game for us and I think we just got confidence after that game. So, coming into this game, playing the top of the league, we didn't see it as we're playing best in the league, we saw it as, this is an opportunity for us to show what we can do, despite how we started off the season and I just want to say I'm so proud of Laurel. No, seriously, it's good when we get a clean sheet, but Laurel really deserved that; she's been keeping us in the last couple of games and today, she definitely kept us in. I told her I almost scored a goal on her and she saved it, so I was really happy about that, but just really proud of the team for facing the adversity we have so far, not letting it get us down."
On being able to come away with a tie and earn a point:
Ivory: "I think we lacked quality at times all around, especially in the first half, and I think once we get those pieces right, I think the outcome of this game will turn and I have no doubt that we're going to get it together. But the fact that we lacked the quality, but we were still able to defend and produce and what we did in this game, I think is just a testament to this team."
Huerta: "I think right now, I'm just thinking points. I don't want to lose again. We don't want to lose again. So, I feel proud of this tie, even though obviously we always want to get three points at home, always want to win for the fans. They're at the top of the table and we just needed to get points. We need points out of these next few games. We need to crawl higher up on the table. It was not fun the last couple of weeks being at the bottom there. So, that's really the goal, I think, is to always get points whenever we can. I mean, you mentioned that they dominated in the stats. I mean, to go out with a point, I think, is honestly a good thing.
