The Reign may need wins, but some draws are moral victories nonetheless, and on an annoyingly early kickoff on June 30th, the Reign played New Jersey / New York Gotham FC to a split decision with some real moral victory vibes.
As the adage goes, some draws feel like losses (for example, holding a lead with a player advantage for 90 minutes only to surrender the tying goal in the final seconds of the match) and some draws feel like wins (for example, trailing for 45+ minutes against a top team that poached arguably your most important free agent in the offseason but hanging on to steal a point off a 90'+9 own goal), and this – obviously – fell into the latter camp. Was it enough to right the sinking ship of a season? No. Did it feel pretty hecking great to send Gotham home sad in their own stadium like that? Yes.
And in a season like this, look, it's fine to take some snickering and insufferable joy in the petty little things. We may not challenge for the Shield, but we can absolutely spoil the party for some really annoying sides along the way.
So hey, let's look back at a messy, dysfunctional game where the Reign were probably the slightly worse side, but managed to xDAWG their way to a last-second result anyway.
Goalkeeper
Claudia Dickey – 6
The good. Four saves, including a good save on Rose Lavelle in the 8th minute and a good save on Katie Stengel in the 65th minute, kept the Reign in it for long enough. Claw-dia's confidence snapping up aerials and getting her claws to crosses remains a big asset.
The bad. She probably shouldn't have been expected to save Lavelle's 47th minute goal either way, but Dickey cheated way outside her near post, was left absolutely scrambling on the simple square pass that followed, and didn't even give herself a chance to come up with it.
Going forward. Dickey is still just 24 years old and has played just 14 professional matches, and she's on the whole been very good in those matches. She compares favorably to a ton of big name, big pedigree goalkeepers. But she does still have some little things to clean up with her positioning and some maturing to do as an organizer and leader of her back line.
Defense
Shae Holmes – 6 (off 86' for Olivia Athens)
The good. Shae went five for five on her duels and added six clearances, coming up with big defensive contributions repeatedly throughout a difficult 85 minute shift. Asked to play multiple positions through substitution and injury, she showed fairly well in all of them. In the 7th minute, she put Tziarra King into space, and with the smallest of opportunities, Zee almost made magic.
The bad. On the 47th minute goal, with Dickey cheating way too far past her post, Alana Cook whiffing the header, and Phoebe McClernon whiffing the challenge, Shae Holmes was the last defender there to protect the goal. Unfortunately, she opted to also cover the near post aggressively, realizing the danger of Rose Lavelle's trailing run far too late to make more than a token effort to cover it.
Going forward. It wasn't exactly a vintage performance by Holmes, but it was a mostly pretty solid one. With Alana Cook's departure, she should have more opportunities to see regular minutes.
Phoebe McClernon – 4 (off 60' for Lily Woodham)
The good. Before the goal, the chaos, and the eventual injury, McClernon was a steady presence in the back, serving effectively as facilitator and distributor. Five clearances and a blocked shot helped keep things level through the first half.
The bad. On the 47th minute goal, whew, she went hard into a challenge on Ella Stevens and just absolutely whiffed, leaving Stevens free to pick a pass to Rose Lavelle at her leisure, where the other compounding defensive errors on the sequence (by Cook, Holmes, Dickey, and others) left Rose with nothing but an empty net to beat. An unnecessary challenge that left her out of position goalkeeper utterly exposed.
Twelve minutes later, she left the field injured, with no chance to make up for her role in the obligatory team-wide Furt of the match.
Going forward. Fortunately, the injury wasn't long-term, and McClernon has already returned to the field as of this writing. I continue to think she's the best centerback on the roster, but this was not an especially good performance.
Alana Cook – 4
The good. Cook led all players with seven clearances, and she was also routinely... present, on the pitch, often occupying spaces that defenders should indeed occupy.
The bad. She was a mess in possession, struggling to complete even relatively simple passes and frequently looking uncomfortable when Gotham stepped up to press. She attempted no duels and did little to disrupt Gotham's attackers when they got going in possession, instead ceding space virtually every time she was challenged. And then there was the goal against, where she was caught well out of position, made a pretty disastrous attempted (and whiffed) header to try to recover, and could only watch as Stevens picked out Lavelle and Rose neatly finished past a scrambling Dickey.
Going forward. Alana's going to have a chance to start fresh in Kansas City, and I hope she can rediscover the form that made her so freaking good in past seasons.
Sofia Huerta – 6
The good. Six passes into the final third, three passes into the penalty area, and a vicious cross into the penalty area were all highs for the Reign. Huerta rattled the woodwork in the 71st minute, delivered a killer ball to Bethany Balcer in the 90'+8, and combined with Ji So-yun in the 17th minute, ending with Balcer getting the best chance the Reign managed in the first 45.
The bad. She was beaten too easily on the touch line in the 47th minute, a relatively modest mistake that snowballed into, well... see everything above.
Going forward. After struggling early, Huerta's rounding back into pretty consistent form. Unfortunately, she's been finding her touch even as players around her have been regressing into the Reign's team-wide doldrums of mediocrity. Still... what's a woman gotta do to get that one, singular assist she needs for her record?!
Midfield
Quinn – 5
The good. Continuing to work their way back to full match fitness, Quinn put together a perfectly serviceable, 90-minute, two-way shift with five recoveries, two successful dribbles, two blocks, and three passes into the final third. At the death, it was Quinn's dangerous set piece delivery from way downtown that forced the mistake, the own goal, and the draw for Seattle.
The bad. Quinn got into the mixer often, but lost most of the challenges they went into, going 1 of 4 on the ground and 1 of 5 in the air. In the 47th minute, they completely lost track of Rose Lavelle's movement during the buildup and couldn't recover, leaving her wide open for an easy score of Stevens' cutback pass.
Going forward. Obviously not back to full fitness, Quinn has been seriously fading in the second half of matches. Though they add a degree of quality in both directions that the Reign struggle to replace, managing their minutes a little more might not go amiss.
Jess Fishlock – 6 (off 67' for Olivia van der Jagt)
The good. A buzzing pest defensively, Fishlock went three of four on attempted tackles and blocked a shot. Characteristically active offensively, Fishlock had two shot-creating actions (both on the same shot, it was a neat bit of skill to create her own space and feed Jordyn Huitema) and was the Reign's most active and consistent progressor of the ball in her time on the pitch.
The bad. The Reign did not create much, and Fishlock is not exempt from that. Other than her feed to Huitema, Fishlock struggled to make an offensive impact, as Gotham largely dictated proceedings throughout.
Going forward. We know what Jess Fishlock adds, and honestly, she's probably the only veteran midfielder who should be a lock to start.
Ji So-yun – 5
The good. Ji had one key pass, a quickly taken, beautifully weighted 17th minute ball that cut out several defenders and found Bethany Balcer at the corner of the six-yard box. Balcer's ensuing shot was hit with no venom and easily saved, but it was one of the best chances of the match, a reminder of what Ji So-yun can do when she releases the ball rather than holding it and dribbling into six defenders.
The bad. Ji had one key pass, in the 17th minute. As an attacking midfielder, she needs to do more. A nervy forced pass put her defense under pressure and returned the ball to Gotham in the 46th minute, which ultimately precipitated to Lavelle's goal, though she wasn't especially at fault on the scoring sequence itself.
Going forward. The Reign have shifted Ji between an attacking midfield role and a holdup false-nine role often, frequently within the same match, but neither is necessarily working. The team needs to figure out what they actually want her to do, she needs to execute on that better, and we should also be looking at what our other midfielders can offer in those positions.
Forward
Jordyn Huitema – 5 (off 86' for Emeri Adames)
The good. Huitema got into the mix in the area in the 25th minute, receiving a slick pass from Fishlock and forcing her way through two defenders to take a shot. It was low-percentage and ultimately blocked, but it was also Jordyn using her physicality to make things happen, and if she does that a lot more, she'll get better results out of it.
The bad. 17 touches in 85 minutes. While getting the one important touch is more important for a forward than getting a bunch of touches, Huitema really struggled to involve herself at all, and Gotham effectively cut her out of the game. Her largely ineffectual outing substantially limited the Reign's options in attack.
Going forward. Huitema has the potential to add dimensions that the Reign simply do not have from anyone else, but she still doesn't do it consistently. With that said, it's strangely frequently overlooked that she's one of the youngest players on the roster, and still a few years from when she should be expected to 'peak'. As with any young player with a ton of upside, we're going to be better off later for giving her the minutes now.
Bethany Balcer – 6
The good. Boats got in position to take advantage of the chance more than anybody else on the Reign side, as usual. She was there for big chances in the 17th minute and in the 71st minute, and had a decent look in the 90'+8, as well. She also won two tackles high up the pitch, helping the Reign defend from the front in an effort that kept a dangerous Gotham side from assembling many chances.
The bad. Boats got in position to take advantage of the chances and sank zero of them. She continues to get in the right positions and her history says we should expect her to score some of these over the course of the season, but it's a results-based business and unfortunately the result has often been missing for her of late.
Going forward. Balcer is in the top third for expected goals, and in the bottom fifth for actual goals. You have to expect some of that to return to the mean over the back half of the season, especially given her historical performance.
Tziarra King – 5 (off 67' for Veronica Latsko)
The good. In the 7th minute, Zee teased Gotham's high line, collected an early cross from Shae Holmes, caused havoc through three defenders, and got off a blistering shot from the top of the 18 that stung goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger's palms. A better strike might've scored, but it was a moment of skill, sauce, and trying shit that's been sadly too rare for the Reign this season, and it forced a good save to keep it level.
The bad. After the 40th minute, King just didn't actually do much of anything, disappearing from the match for the better part of half an hour before substituting off for Veronica Latsko. At a position where the Reign needed creativity and dynamism, King offered about 15 minutes of it before fading into obscurity.
Going forward. Tziarra King remains a mercurial quality. She can very clearly add sauce and substance in possession, but too often, she doesn't. At her best, she can win the Reign points with her play. At her season-average, she mostly occupies space.
Substitutes
Lily Woodham – 6 (on 60' for Phoebe McClernon)
The good. In previous ratings, I've been pretty hard on Woodham's defense, and her (lack of) attention to defensive shape has been directly responsible for multiple goals against. She's clearly made a point of improving on those past struggles, as she was demolishing attackers for her entire 30 minute runout, winning five of five tackles and four of five duels, and generally making like Gandalf whenever Gotham attempted to get past her.
The bad. With the Reign trailing by a goal and one of Woodham's better attributes being her dangerous crosses, it was disappointing to see her not even attempt one of the high-reward passes she showcased in her first few matches.
Going forward. This was, on the whole, a much more disciplined – and freaking razor edged – performance from Woodham than in the past, and it should give Laura Harvey more to think about when lining up her fullbacks.
Veronica Latsko – 6 (POTM) (on 67' for Tziarra King)
The good. Look, it was a perfectly iconic and absolutely exquisite Veronica Latsko substitute appearance. Show up for half an hour, run like mad at a tiring back line, cause chaos, be a disaster, and score a goal force an own-goal at the death. Was she defensively effective? Who cares! Was she positionally disciplined? Quiet, nerd! Latsko came on and changed the game again! She's just built different!
The bad. I literally don't care!
Going forward. This is exactly how we should use Latsko, and her addition as a mid-second half sub when the Reign needed to smash and grab for a point paid dividends yet again. She's one of the best 30-minute disaster and danger options in the league and that's just that on that.
Olivia Van der Jagt – 5 (on 67' for Jess Fishlock)
The good. Olo gave Jess Fishlock a bit of much-needed rest, and also won a header and a tackle in the middle of the pitch.
The bad. Olo was kind of a mess in possession, completing 8 of 12 passes, and misplaying a couple relatively simple passes quite badly.
Going forward. For unclear reasons, Olivia van der Jagt hasn't made the matchday roster – in league matches or the Fun Cup – since this outing.
Olivia Athens – N/A (on 86' for Shae Holmes)
The good. Olivia Athens played 5 minutes, and then 10 additional minutes. She completed five of her five passes in that time, as the Reign steadily ratcheted up the pressure and eventually scored.
The bad. Nah. Olivia was perfectly fine in a short runout.
Going forward. There's only so much you can say about 5+ minute outings. Olivia Athens remains a solid midfield depth piece.
Emeri Adames – N/A (on 86' for Jordyn Huitema)
The good. Adames played 5 minutes, and then 10 additional minutes. She tried saucy things a handful of times in that period.
The bad. Adames tried saucy things a handful of times and basically failed on all of them. She completed just two passes, failed a dribble, and while she made an effort, she wasn't sharp.
Going forward. There's only so much you can say about 5+ minute outings. Emeri tries shit that nobody else on the roster tries, and young players are consistently inconsistent. We should give her every opportunity to grow, and that means giving her a lot more than these occasional 5+ minutes more frequently than just that one time, four months ago.
Referee
Elvis Osmanovic – 5
The good. He didn't make any weird, egregious, game-changing wrong calls. That's a luxury trait in this league, apparently!
The bad. Nobody knew what a foul was or wasn't. On either team. The color commentators didn't, either. We surely didn't in the game threads. Generally, that points to a ref who may not be getting the big things wrong, but is nonetheless lacking for a certain sophistication on their moment-to-moment game handling.
Going forward. Forget it, readers. It's PRO town.
Stray Thoughts
Despite the glorious xDAWG energy of the last-second own goal to steal points, this was on balance a less-inspiring performance than many of the season's losses. That is both reflected in the individual player ratings and should be noted despite my joyful schadenfreude at stealing points from New Jersey / New York / New Hampshire / New Brunswick / New Amsterdam Gotham FC / SC / ASC / EWR.
It's just not working. The Reign aren't very good, and are also statistically pretty unlucky, and also continue to roll out in a style of play that is unequivocally not maximizing the roster they have. On top of that, the brighter individual performances from the dire beginning have been distinctly less bright of late. Something's gotta give.
The upcoming transfer window (as of today, Nérilia Mondésir is officially bound for Seattle!) represents an opportunity to shake things up. The already-in-progress Summer Fun Cup is another. We've got intriguing youth in desperate need of minutes, veterans who need to prove they can still show out, and a coaching staff that should be looking to demonstrate it can adapt to the current league landscape.
Can we get back to just smashing everybody?
Stay tuned for one more catch-up Valkyratings, a frustrating home draw against the Utah Royals, coming soon to a Sounder at Heart near you.
