Seattle Reign vs. Club Tijuana: Summer Cup gamethread

Seattle Reign FC continues its NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup on Sunday with a match against Club Tijuana. The game kicks off at 3 PM PT and will stream on Paramount+ (English) and NWSL+ (Spanish).

With another Summer Cup match coming on Wednesday against Portland, expect Sunday’s lineup to look somewhat different than last week’s match against Utah – and more rotation again in the midweek game.

The Reign will be facing an unfamiliar opponent this weekend, which excites rookie midfielder Maddie Mercado.

“For me, personally, and I think our team too, it’s exciting to play a different and a new opponent. It gives us an opportunity to adjust to them and learn something new and expand what we're doing as a team. So, to have this tournament have a look at a completely different league and a completely different team is good for us, I think, and it should be a good game."

Summer Cup format and standings

The Summer Cup features 20 teams, divided into five groups of four. Each team plays three matches in the group stage. The four teams with the most points in the group stage will advance to the semifinals at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City on Aug. 6. A win in regulation counts for 3 points. If teams are tied at the end of regulation, they go straight into penalties. The team that wins in penalties gets 2 points, while the team that loses the shootout gets 1 point.

After one match, the Reign are tied with Portland in their group, with both teams earning a win. The Thorns currently hold the lead based on goal differential.

There is no VAR in the Summer Cup. If Nikki Stanton and Sam Meza earn a yellow card this match, they’ll have to sit out the final group-stage game against Portland. Both picked up a yellow in the opening Summer Cup match.

What to Watch

Three-match week for Xolos Femenil

Club Tijuana has had a much tougher week of preparation than the Reign. They had to play in Portland last Sunday before returning to Tijuana to host Necaxa in Liga MX Femenil play on Wednesday. Tijuana fell 5-0 to the Thorns but won 3-0 in their midweek match. Now, they are getting back on a plane to get to Seattle for Sunday’s match. Amazingly, they rotated their entire Starting XI between the two matches. For a team so early in their season, though, all this travel has to be tough. Can the Reign control the match and wear down their opponent?

Tijuana’s playing style

As Alli Haynie shared in her Summer Cup preview, Club Tijuana enters the Summer Cup as the lowest-ranked of the six Liga MX teams. They went 6-8-3 in the recently concluded 2023/24 Clausura, finishing 11th. Each Liga MX Femenil season is divided into two tournaments: an Apertura tournament, which takes place from July to December, and a Clausura tournament, which takes place from January to May. Tijuana is 1-1-0 in the 2024/25 Apertura, which just kicked off.

Tijuana typically plays in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 formation. Like many teams in the league, Club Tijuana has fast frontline players who like to get in behind. They also create many chances from crosses into the box.

“We think that they’ll play really man-to-man press,” Mercado said. “There’s been things that we’ve been working on throughout the week kind of based off our opponent and what we think they’re going to do.”

While they lost 5-0 to Portland last week, they did manage to get nine shots off and some of their pressure made it difficult for the Thorns.

“They actually caused Portland some problems last week, even though the score line doesn’t really reflect that,” head coach Laura Harvey said. “I think what we try to do always is, give our players the best possible chance to succeed whilst knowing what we want to do as a team and what we think the opponent will do, so we try our best to provide them with that.”

Players to watch

Winger Mayra Pelayo is a player to watch. She scored this banger to seal Mexico's win against the U.S. at the 2024 W Gold Cup.

As Theo Lloyd-Hughes noted in his Summer Cup preview, “The right-footed left winger absolutely loves a shot from distance, with five of her 11 league goals from the 2023-24 season coming from outside of the box – including two direct free kicks.” According to the Liga MX Femenil website, the 27-year-old has 11 goals in 37 appearances for Tijuana.

Panama captain Marta Cox is another player who can score a golazo, as she proved in the 2023 World Cup when she scored arguably the best goal in the tournament – Panama’s first-ever World Cup goal.

The midfielder played for Club León and Pachuca in Liga MX Femenil before signing with Tijuana this year. She's strong on the ball and sends in dangerous set pieces and corner kicks.

“We know that they’ve got some threats,” Harvey said. “Marta Cox, who plays for them as sort of like an 8 or 10, is very technically gifted — can shoot from anywhere, has great delivery on set pieces.”

Mexico national team forward and Xolos captain Daniela Espinoza led the team with 9 goals in their recent Clausura. She is in the top 10 for all-time Liga MX Femenil goals. And guess what? She can also strike from distance.

Lineups

Highlights

2' Tijuana goes up 1-0

40' - Tijuana doubles their lead.

47' Golazo from Emeri Adames!!

62' - Maddie Mercado equalizes!

84' - Tijuana goes up again and wins 3-2

Availability Report

Seattle Reign FC

OUT: Lauren Barnes (leg), Ryanne Brown (SEI – knee)
INTERNATIONAL DUTY: Jordyn Huitema (CAN), Quinn (CAN)

Club Tijuana

Clean Availability Report

How to Watch

Date / Time: Sunday, July 28, 3 p.m. PT

Location: Lumen Field, Seattle

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