Valkyratings: We'll Never Be Royals Edition

(Editor's note: we're finally caught up on delayed regular-season Valkyratings, just in time for the regular season to resume!)

Hosting the Utah Royals, the Reign "treated" their fans to a rollercoaster of emotions as they seemingly took an early second half lead, saw the goal chalked off by VAR for a soft but ultimately probably justifiable foul call, fell behind 15 minutes later, scorched back with the leveling goal 8 minutes after that, and then could not find the winning strike as Royals goalkeeper Amanda Haught left her best saves for late and frustrated the Reign's attackers.

Seattle's fourth consecutive draw (extending their winless streak to nine games, 0-5-4 over that stretch) was a frustrating one to watch despite the quality of play being much sharper than recent outings. The Reign were clearly the better attacking side, and while they gave up a few too many chances of their own, most nights, a performance like that should and will yield three points. Unfortunately, this is the 2024 Reign, so you can take 'most nights' and bin it, they could and did find a way to underperform their performance.

So, hey! Let's look back on what was good, what was bad, what was annoyingly at least plausibly correct, and what was just plain Worst Timeline stuff. How hard of a rewatch could this be anyway?

Goalkeeper

Claudia Dickey — 7

The good. Dickey had six saves, three of which were of very good quality, in the 36', 71', and 90+8'. Quick and assertive off her line, Dickey showed a good read of the game throughout, and was proactive in cutting off danger before it could develop. She faced a ton of shots, most of them trivial, a few of them very threatening, and made more than the saves she should have been expected to.

The bad. Dickey's long distribution left something to be desired. As good as she was, unfortunately, Amanda Haught was even better on the day.

Going forward. On a struggling team and with no USWNT pedigree for the commentariat to gush about, she's unlikely to get a mention or a plaudit anywhere, but Dickey continues showing herself to be a genuinely elite keeper at the NWSL level.

Defense

Ryanne Brown — 5 (off 59' for Shae Holmes)

The good. Ryanne continued growing into her role at left back, looking more and more like a plausible overlapping threat while continuing to play solid and disruptive defense. She stole the ball to start a solid sequence of pressure and had her own decent look at goal 5 minutes in, and then another decent look in the 39', but unfortunately couldn't put enough magic on either to truly challenge Haught's goal. A 16th minute service found Bethany Balcer's magic head, though the shot was, again, not good enough.

The bad. Brown was occasionally messy in possession, turning the ball over four different times on passes that should've been completed. More consistency could've allowed for much more danger up the left side. Still, when it was working, it looked really promising.

Going forward. After growing into her left back role with a number of promising performances, looking plausibly like the solution the Reign have been lacking at the position, Brown's 2024 season unfortunately came to an end with an ACL injury in the Summer Cup. Rest, recover, and come back stronger next year.

Phoebe McClernon — 5

The good. Phoebe led the Reign with six clearances, was a steady presence in possession with tidy 66-for-68 passing on everything but her clearances, and for the most part, did a good job keeping Utah's attackers in front of her and putting in the smart challenges to disrupt and slow up transitions.

The bad. In the 45+4', she lost Paige Monaghan in transition for the Royals' best chance of the first half, and while she hustled hard to get back, it was only Monaghan putting her shot off the woodwork that kept things level going into the break. While not primarily to blame for Sentnor's goal, Phoebe actually recovered quickly to a good defensive position and then... well. Then she deflected it past Dickey while attempting to defend it.

Going forward. McClernon remains the demonstrable best option the Reign have at centerback, and should be a fixture starting. If we can find her a steadier defensive partner, we should also expect fewer of the already comparatively rare mistakes she makes.

Alana Cook — 4

The good. After a long sequence of probing possession kicked off by Ryanne Brown's 5th minute steal, Alana saw a moment, stepped up to the midfield line, and dropped a beautiful long ball to the edge of the attacking penalty area that Bethany Balcer collected for a decent look and an ensuing high-pressure scramble. The Reign couldn't score on the sequence, but it was a moment of that Vintage Alana from 2022, who was always a threat to destroy an opponent's defensive shape from sixty meters out.

The bad. In the 67', Cook lackadaisically got her pocket picked by Ally Sentnor, who ran right by her, took a couple touches in the area, and neatly scored past a desperately recovering McClernon and a hung-out-to-dry Dickey. Most goals have plenty of blame to share. This one was almost entirely on Alana. And in a game where the Reign had to that point been the better side, it put them, once again, in the trailing position.

Going forward. A fresh start in a new town. We wish Alana Cook a return to form and the very best of luck except when she plays against us. <3

Sofia Huerta — 6

The good. Six (credited) shot-creating actions between the 21' and the 90+7', including dangerous dead ball service in the 21st and 55th minute. It was another solid to good offensive performance in a string of them. She was the best player on the back line, and Utah successfully created basically nothing attacking her side. At some point, surely, surely these good performances will be rewarded with even a single fucking counting stat, right?

The bad. Some ill-chosen passes fizzled out danger, especially in the first 20 minutes. Also, Huerta is cursed.

The cursed. That Huerta cannot get her record assist is some real Worst Timeline Curse of the Soccer Gods shit. She's putting in the wicked crosses and dropping dangerous balls on set pieces. At this point, it's fair to say that some cosmic force just hates her.

Going forward. Curse aside, if Huerta can continue these promising performances, she should have her record soon, and once she does, I optimistically choose to believe the floodgates will open, and other such sporting truisms.

Midfield

Jess Fishlock — 6 (off 59' for Angharad James-Turner)

The good. Along with Ji So-yun and Quinn, Fishlock was tidy to the point of being suffocating in possession as the Reign midfield controlled the tempo of the match for the majority of the afternoon. In the 50', she won the ball, sprung Balcer into the penalty area, then tucked away the rebound. After VAR review, the goal was called back for a (fairly soft) foul by Balcer, but Fish's play was incisive and excellent. In the 54' she found Tziarra King, who snapped a quick shot that forced Haught to save it over the bar, and then on the ensuing corner, she got her foot to the ball again. Nothing fell, but the relentless mix of quality and effort created chances again and again.

The bad. Her goal was called back. The strategy of constantly finding a balling-out King in dangerous places was a good one, but it unfortunately failed to yield a goal. With a Reign side begging for a bit of magic to finally secure a win, she played well, but couldn't muster the exquisite.

Going forward. We know what Fishlock continues to offer, but the faces around her have changed substantially over the course of the transfer window. Her tempo and tenacity should translate well to an ostensibly more pressing and direct forward line.

Ji So-yun — 5

The good. In the 90th minute, Ji So-yun went in hard to win a contested ball, spun away from her defender, and quickly released a jaw-dropping through ball that put Tziarra King in all alone against Amanda Haught... who, unfortunately, made her best save of the afternoon and kept the game 1-1. With more players - especially King and Huitema - showing their creativity around her, Ji played a more facilitating game than her prior performances, with genuinely good results, as she worked with Fishlock and Quinn to command possession and largely erase the Royals' midfield presence.

The bad. While the 90th minute pass was spectacular and deserved an assist, it was also Ji's only shot-creating action of the day. Similarly, she took only a single shot herself, in the 6th minute. In between, she was not a significant factor in creating danger. She was once again basically fine, but the Reign have been begging for more than fine, needing magic from a player with a history of it. She was achingly close on one sequence, but close doesn't get you much in this game.

Going forward. A new-look Reign featuring Nérilia Mondésir and Ana-Maria Crnogorčević up front likely plays to Ji's strengths more than the Reign's lineups of the first two thirds of the season.

Quinn — 5 (off 90+1' for Olivia Athens)

The good. Combining with Fishlock and Ji to control the midfield, Quinn was part of a Reign effort that dominated possession, commanded the tempo, and created far more and more dangerous chances than it conceded. They also put in a full, strong 90 minutes, something they have struggled to do since returning from injury.

The bad. Ally Sentnor got the best of them several times as the match carried on and opened up more and more in transition. They were caught way out in the 87', trailing helplessly and exhausted behind the play as Utah poured into a dangerous counterattack that the Reign were somewhat fortunate to snuff out.

Going forward. Quinn has been looking better with time, but still isn't 90 minutes fit, and the Reign's propensity for giving up maddeningly easy high-leverage counters often exposes that, especially late in matches.

Forward

Jordyn Huitema — 7

The good. It took a while for NWSL to credit her with it, but she absolutely assisted Veronica Latsko's game-tying goal in the 75' with a deft and possibly accidental touch over the back line. Her creativity was on full display, as she was a lynchpin in building big chances in the 5', 39', 88', and 89'. With King balling the fuck out, Jordyn made smart runs to pull defenders and high-risk / high-reward passes to put the rest of her line in good positions. A very good attempt on goal in the 90+2' was unfortunately met with an even better save by Amanda Haught.

The bad. One day, perhaps, Huitema will learn that she is tall and strong and can bully her defenders. She has not quite gotten there.

Going forward. Huitema's going to be looking at some new attacking partners in Mondésir and Crnogorčević. Along with King, it gives the Reign four very different-looking threats on the front line. The ability to mix shit up more will hopefully pay dividends for everybody.

Bethany Balcer — 6 (off 64' for Veronica Latsko)

The good. The least active Reign forward, Balcer nonetheless played well. Beating her defender to collect a sweet Cook long ball in the 5' led to a scramble of decent chances for the Reign. Largely playing off of King and Huitema, she got on the end of a somewhat speculative Brown cross in the 16', and then had two big chances in the 30' and 36' that she unfortunately failed to even challenge Haught's goal with. In the 49', her hard challenging run led to a rebound that Fishlock finished. Unfortunately, she was VAR'd for a rather soft foul, erasing the goal.

The bad. It might've been a soft foul, but it's hard to argue that it could at least reasonably be construed as a foul, and she probably could've kept her hand to herself in that moment with exactly the same outcome and not gotten VAR'd.

Going forward. Maybe Balcer will start getting the benefit of that foul call herself (and not be expected to eat shit on approximately thirty-four cheap shots per 90) now that she's playing for Racing. We wish her all the best and a league-shattering goalscoring tear on every night that she's not playing against us. <3

Tziarra King — 7 (POTM) (off 90+1' for Emeri Adames)

The good. Tziarra King came to play and she balled the fuck out for 90+ minutes. Just about everything good the Reign did had Zee's footprints on it. Her creativity opened up big chances in the 5', 30', 36', and 55', and her run and connection with Jess Fishlock was a major part of the 50' goal that wasn't. She took her own shot, too, forcing three saves out of Amanda Haught, her 90th minute attempt one that should've - would've, on another night - sealed three points for the Reign.

The bad. It was an everything but the finish sort of night for Zee, who put in about the best performance a wide forward possibly can without managing to score or assist. Haught's save on her 90th minute chance was extremely good, and while Zee took the shot well and put it in a pretty good spot and Haught just fucking read it, it's always hard to look at a forward served in 1-v-1 with the keeper, three points on the line, as they fail to score.

Going forward. This was by far Zee's best and most complete performance of the year, and it deserved a goal and an assist. Hopefully, it can be a building block and she can start dealing like this regularly.

Substitutes

Shae Holmes — 4 (on 59' for Ryanne Brown)

The good. Holmes had four recoveries, and probably had other qualities.

The bad. Both the defensive bite and the danger on the left evaporated when Brown left the match.

Going forward. Holmes has had some solid outings. This was not one of them.

Angharad James-Turner — 5 (on 59' for Jess Fishlock)

The good. James-Turner won two tackles and dispossessed a dribbler, adding some bite back into a midfield that was starting to fade.

The bad. Haz was not up to the task of commanding possession in the way Fishlock was, and while she had bite, Utah was far more comfortable pressing her than the wily Dragon.

Going forward. Haz has been one of the better midfield options for the Reign in a generally dire year, and a willingness to drop four tackles when the game is threatening to get away from us is a quality we just don't have much of on the side.

Veronica Latsko — 7 (on 64' for Bethany Balcer)

The good. As a 30 minute substitute, Latsko once again brought the energy, chaos, and violence. She scored the game-tying goal in the 75th minute, hitting the fuck out of Huitema's accidentally-on-purpose ball over the top and giving Amanda Haught no chance to Amanda Haught it. In the 88th, she got her head on the end of a pass from four yards out and... could not even put it on target. Furt. Still, the ECV bought the Reign a point from a game they inexplicably trailed in, and it was yet another high-energy, high-efficacy, throw down the elbow and make 'em deal with me sort of performance.

The bad. Not even putting that 88' chance on target hurts. She bought us a point, but it could've been three.

Going forward. Latsko gives up a lot in technical quality, and struggles as a starter. Latsko brings dynamic movement and relentless violence as a substitute, and makes shit happen as a last-third offensive sub.

Emeri Adames — N/A (on 90+1' for Tziarra King)

The good. Emeri Adames touched the ball, completed a pass, and had a late shot.

The bad. Emeri Adames did not sub on until garbage time.

Going forward. Give Emeri Adames more minutes.

Olivia Athens — N/A (on 90+1' for Quinn)

The good. Olivia Athens won a tackle in the attacking third, and also spelled Quinn, who was absolutely gassed and needed to get off the pitch.

The bad. Olivia Athens managed to turn the ball over twice on seven touches, which is not ideal for a garbage time holding midfield substitution.

Going forward. It would be ideal to sub somebody for Quinn earlier when they're obviously starting to struggle. Both of the Olivias are solid options for this.

Referee

Matthew Thompson — 6

The good. For the most part, referee Matthew Thompson let the game flow, and wasn't too interested in inserting himself into it, and for the most part, the Reign and the Royals weren't too interested in hurting each other, so that was basically the ideal situation.

The bad. On an afternoon when Thompson whistled only 12 fouls total, and four on the Reign, one of those four was via VAR, erasing a goal for contact that was, to put it delicately, much softer than a great deal of uncalled contact we saw throughout the rest of the match. I'm not willing to die on the hill that it was an objectively wrong call, but it was very much not in keeping with how the rest of the match was called, it had an outsized effect on the outcome, and I struggle to conceptualize it as falling under the definition of "clear and obvious."

The neutral. While I don't necessarily love the call he made on VAR, there's a certain undeniable amusement in his explanation that can be heard on Inside Video Review: "That's an ugly goal - yeah, we're not gonna have that."

Going forward. He's not the reason the Reign dropped points, and I'd take him a hundred times over another Dark Chesky match.

Stray thoughts

It's hard to take a lot of moral victory from playing - on the whole - fairly well and coming away with another frustrating draw. The Reign were dominant in the opening 40 minutes and furiously punching in the last 25, but in between, they gave up too much, played too tight, made decisions too slowly. On Discord, MongolianBBQ noted: "It looks to me like some players are afraid of making the wrong decision so instead they make no decision." It was an observation I couldn't get out of my head as I rewatched Ji, Fish, Quinn, Cook, Balcer, and others holding onto the ball far too long, letting chances fizzle, and allowing explosive counters during the second-half stretch when Utah looked briefly poised to run a fragile Reign side off the pitch.

Still, it was more good than bad, and probably deserving of a better outcome than they got. Amanda Haught was, unfortunately, the best player on the pitch. To borrow a parlance from many an MLS side that visited Utah over the years... the Reign got Rimando'd.

New Look Reign incoming. Maybe the shakeup will be good for everyone. And you know? Despite everything, we're really just one good month from a playoff berth, and we get several bites at teams ahead of us in the last 10 games of our season.

No time like the present to upend the narrative we've been stuck in.

This concludes the months of playing catchup from COVID. Regularly scheduled Valkyratings will resume starting with the match against the North Carolina Courage. Rewriting the narrative starts with Emeri Adames stoppage time winners!