Seattle Reign open Summer Cup with one to enjoy

The Seattle Reign earned their first win since May 3rd and their third of the year over the Utah Royals, 2-1, in the opening game of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup on Friday evening. The Reign, playing a largely rotated and youthful lineup, had the better of the Royals, who played most of the first-choice players they had available. After the match, Reign coach Laura Harvey told the players to enjoy the win because they had been in games where they had played better but had not found a way to win, but tonight they dug in and earned three points.

Late in the first half, Olivia Athens scored a penalty kick, which had been earned by McKenzie Weinert, though the Royals equalized in first half stoppage when a deflected ball fell to the foot of Cameron Tucker all alone in the box and her shot beat Laurel Ivory. The Reign found the winner when three substitutes combined – Bethany Balcer sending in Tziarra King who delivered a pinpoint pass to Sofia Huerta crashing the back post, rising up for a powerful header that beat two Royals defenders and the keeper.

The Reign avoided many of the extremely costly errors that has turned wins into ties and ties into losses all year long, while doing enough in the attack to earn a win. They start the Summer Cup with three points at home, almost a necessity if they will be one of the four teams advancing from among the 20 participants. Next up will be Club Tijuana on July 28th, back at Lumen Field at 3:00 p.m.

The youth

Julia Lester made her Reign debut, playing 90 high-quality minutes at CB. She was joined by Weinert and Maddie Mercado in making their first starts of the season. 18-year-old Emeri Adames, another rookie, and second-year player Shae Holmes started as well. Later in the match, rookie Sam Meza made her pro debut, entering in the 57th minute, and brand-new Reign player and 16-year-old Ainsley McCammon had a late cameo to help see out the match.

Weinert's tenacity led to the first Reign goal while scrapping for a loose ball in the box after a free kick. She was pushed over at the edge of the box while trying to take control, then popped right back up when the whistle didn't blow, blocking the clearance attempt and jumping back on the ball, this time taking a foul for a PK. Athens calmly put the kick just inside the right post, faster than Royals keeper Cristina Roque could dive.

Weinert was a pest throughout, sprinting relentlessly to pressure the Royals in possession, forcing bad passes and safe possession. Mercado and Lester were solid presences in the center of the park, and Lester spent plenty of time getting wide to support Ryanne Brown when she attacked up the wing on the right.

After the match, Lester admitted to nerves at knowing she was going to start and getting chills at the opening whistle, but you wouldn't have guessed it from her play. Lester in particular had multiple key interceptions on Royals' passes, stepping intelligently and without fouling to stop chances. She did not look out of place playing the full 90 and may have earned herself more minutes going forward.

The Reign defense was nearly flawless, limiting the Royals to half-chances and shots from well outside the box, until a shot caromed off Brown directly to an open Royals player for their sole goal.

Adames again showed the offensive flair that makes her such an exciting young player, managing to dribble through tacklers and finding clever passing combinations. She showed off her vision with one hopeful cross when she dribbled herself open, nearly being three defenders to find Weinert open on the opposite side of the box, but the ball died on the hot Lumen turf.

Sam Meza nearly got a goal with her first touches, stealing a ball in the offensive third, showing off her closing speed and energy, but slipped on her shot which was easily saved.

Meza showed glimpses of the kind of player who can change games, quick to challenges and finding space in possession, though she wasn't able to put her stamp on the game and likely has plenty of development still to do.

Overall, the youth were a huge part of the Reign's win, a perfect outcome for Laura Harvey. Since this tournament is not much more than a glorified series of friendlies, Harvey is looking to use it as a way to develop younger and depth players and give them a chance to show the results of their hard work. She played her hand perfectly tonight, saving some starters for the last 30 minutes, which led to the winner and helped see out the match.

The grit

The match was one that was unnecessarily physical, with Harvey noting after the match that some of the Royals' tackles were too strong at times. Royals players were warned multiple times for persistent fouling, regardless of how hard the challenge was, while other seemingly tough challenges went uncalled. The turf seemed to be a challenge, with players slipping and some passes misjudged as they died on the hot turf. And though referee Elijio Arreguin was lenient with the tackles, he was oddly nitpicky about things like free kick placement – even when it was a deep kick by the keeper – and players touching each other on corner kicks.

Still, the Reign players fought through it. Particularly notable was Phoebe McClernon chasing down a Royals breakaway when a Reign corner kick was cleared and immediately sent up field. Though she started about five yards behind, she recovered in time to block the shot, the kind of hustle play to prevent an unnecessary goal that the Reign have given up all too often this season.

Harvey also expressed her displeasure post-match about the timing of this game coming on a Friday soon after the CBA-mandated July break. This meant the players were off for about a week with no practices through Sunday, then had just four days to get back up to speed. She attributed a Ryanne Brown injury late in the first half in part to that compacted schedule. Now the Reign have nine days off until their next match.

The Reign's grit paid off in the second half, with Balcer sending up a long ball for King to stretch her legs and run on to. King calmly dribbled towards the end line, then as her window for shooting or passing had seemingly closed, pulled the ball back to open up some space and delivered a cross to the back post. Huerta was crashing the box and rose up for a powerful header over two Royals defenders, sending the defenders crashing to the ground, even tripping up their keeper for good measure.

Though it maybe was not the most clinical or clean game in Reign history, it was a well-earned three points that sets the Reign off on the right foot in the Summer Cup. There is hardware for the taking, the kind that could also kickstart a late league run, the kind that the Reign have found in the past through similar tourney success.

Next up

The Reign will host Club Tijuana on July 28th at 3:00 p.m., back at Lumen Field. Tickets are available and the match will stream is on Paramount+ and NWSL+.