Seattle Reign vs. Utah Royals: Summer Cup Gamethread

Seattle Reign FC begin their NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup on Friday, July 19. They'll host the Utah Royals at Lumen Field, with the match kicking off at 6 PM PT. The game will air on CBS Sports Network and stream on Paramount+ (English) and NWSL+ (Spanish).

The Summer Cup is comprised of 20 teams: all 14 NWSL clubs plus the six top-ranking Liga MX Feminil teams from 2023 (Pachuca, Tigres UANL, Club América, Tijuana, Chivas, and Monterrey). The four group winners with the most points will advance to the semifinals, which will be played on August 6 in Kansas City.

Reign FC Summer Cup preview

The brand new interleague tournament begins July 19th.

Sounder at HeartAlli Haynie

The Reign are in Group A, along with the Portland Thorns, Utah Royals, and Club Tijuana.

What to Watch

Lineup rotation

Head coach Laura Harvey has promised plenty of rotation during this tournament, and she re-emphasized that in a pre-match press conference.

"[I'm] excited to give some of the younger players a chance to play a little bit more. Just a chance to see where we're at. I think some of these players have been desperately wanting to get on the field, so this is their chance to come and shine."

Harvey noted that there will be even more rotation in their first match of the tournament since several players on both teams are still returning from international duty. That includes Ally Sentnor, who joined Emeri Adames for two U-20 youth national team matches last week and scored on the Reign in the team's last regular season match before this break.

"It's frustrating that we play on Friday because it means we don't get access to all of our international players," Harvey said, "But the opportunity side of it is that it gives opportunity to a lot of our squad who don't tend to get a lot of minutes. So we are really excited to see what they can do."

Seattle Reign sign two U-18 players to long-term contracts

Defender Jordyn Bugg and midfielder Ainsley McCammon will be eligible to play for the Reign immediately.

Sounder at HeartSusie Rantz

Another matchup against Utah

The Reign played to a disappointing 1-1 draw with the Royals in their last match, which was also at home. The Reign dominated in nearly every category, but still could only find the back of the net once. While Utah will also have players out on international duty, their fundamentals will likely remain. They are playing under a new head coach and have demonstrated in recent weeks that they can be a dangerous team in transition.

"Utah's a great team," defender Ryanne Brown said. "I feel like they're really good in transition, so that's something that we're focusing on. But really just playing our game, finishing our chances, first and second balls, is I feel like are really important to us and just doing our best to control things."

Try to build some momentum

The Summer Cup might not be a major tournament, but it does give the Reign an opportunity to set a strong tone heading back into the regular season in late August.

"In [2022], we went to Louisville and played in the Women's Cup, which was really, I thought, a really big part of our Shield-winning form and success in that. We are going out to try and do the best we possibly can win the group. We want to try and get into the semifinal and go to Kansas. We want to try and set those targets for ourselves. And if we can do those things, I think it can really help us propel our season forward in the back end of the season."

Lineups

Highlights

13' - Laurel Ivory with an early stop.

43' - Kenzie Weinert earns the penalty, and Olivia Athens finishes into the right corner to put the Reign up 1-0.

45 + 4' - Cameron Tucker brings it level thanks to a very fortunate-for-Utah deflection that fell right to her.

60' - Sam Meza with a great defensive play, and she gets a shot off from her work. But it's not hit hard enough and is saved.

77' - Tziarra King crosses to Sofia Huerta, who rises up to put the Reign up 2-1!

Availability Report

Seattle Reign FC

OUT: Lauren Barnes (leg)

INTERNATIONAL DUTY: Jess Fishlock (WAL), Jordyn Huitema (CAN), Angharad James-Turner (WAL), Quinn (CAN), Lily Woodham (WAL)

Utah Royals FC

OUT: Imani Dorsey (SEI - achilles), Carly Nelson (excused absence), Mikayla Cluff (foot), Frankie Tagliaferri (excused absence), Lauren Flynn (lower leg)

INTERNATIONAL DUTY: Amandine Henry (FRA), Macey Fraser (NZL), Ify Onumonu (NGA), Mina Tanaka (JPN), Ally Sentnor (USA)

How to Watch

Date / Time: Friday, July 19, 6:00 p.m. PT

Location: Lumen Field, Seattle

TV: CBS Sports Network

Streaming: Paramount+ (English), NWSL+ (Spanish)