On Sunday, fresh off a FIFA international window, Seattle Reign FC had a chance to set a new tone for the season. On a sunny, hot day, they traveled to Kansas City to face the undefeated Current.
Despite coming out with some offensive punch, powered by the return of Jordyn Huitema, the Reign crashed and burned defensively and fell 5-2 to Kansas City.
Here are three stats from the match.
1.8
The Reign showed some creative attacking flair in the first half and were rewarded with two goals and a couple of other dangerous chances. The Reign had the most successful take-ons (10) in a match this season as well, with the dribble attempts spread across a wide range of starters. The team was also dispossessed eight times compared to 13 for the Current.
As a result, the Reign's 1.8 expected goals (xG) were the most Kansas City has given up all season, and the most the Reign have produced all year. In the first half, they had a post-shot expected goals total of 2.51 xG.
Unfortunately, while the Reign attack caused the Current troubles, this was far outweighed by the defensive mistakes on the other end. Following a trend this season, when one thing goes right for this team, it feels like five other things go wrong.
2.5
On the flip side, while the Reign were even with the Current in shots on target, the opportunities they allowed made it ridiculously easy for Kansas City to find the back of the next.
The Reign gave up 2.5 non-penalty expected goals – the most they've allowed all season. That comes out to .23 non-penalty expected goals per shot, which is also the highest average the Reign have conceded all year.
"We're just really conceding really sloppy goals, ultimately," Jess Fishlock said after the game. "This isn't kind of the first game that that has been happening. Their first goal and their set play goal in the first half are goals that we should be just dealing with."
89
Seeing the Reign give up two goals immediately after scoring was extremely disheartening, but they still got to halftime tied and with some offensive confidence. That's what made the start of the second half so devastating.
The Reign allowed the Current to score a goal on kickoff, failing to track a run into the box. They then allowed another goal just 89 seconds later, which came from the Reign's kickoff.
89 - @thekccurrent's two goals in the first 89 seconds of the second half is the fastest any team has scored two goals from kickoff in a half in #NWSL history. Rapid. pic.twitter.com/JUqWkN9hA2
— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) June 9, 2024
This used to be a team that was incredibly hard to break down. A team that stayed organized for 90+ minutes. There were still rare mistakes, of course, but the team was set up in a way that allowed them to deal with those limited opportunities.
This Reign side has now given up a league-high 25 goals in 12 games.
These mistakes aren't anomalies. They're unfortunately an expected part of a game and feel systemic, which makes them even harder to address. Players are doubting themselves on the defensive end and not communicating or handing off runners.
"We've worked for two weeks on the things that we've conceded goals off again today – crosses, defending inside our own box," Laura Harvey said after the match. "I think the players are really doubting themselves at times. So, we've got to try and turn that around."
"We're just really the masters of our own downfall right now," Fishlock added. "We either need to stand up and take accountability as individuals and collectively or this is just not going to change. So, it is 100% completely on us as players and we have to really look in the mirror individually and collectively to figure out why we are causing ourselves so many problems."
Up next for Seattle Reign is a rivalry home match against the Portland Thorns. That game kicks off at 1 PM PT on Sunday, June 16, and will air on CBS.
