Seattle Reign win final home game of season

We are nearing the end of the 2024 Seattle Reign FC season and obviously it's been a season to forget with the team simply not good enough. However, there are games still to play and Friday night at Lumen Field, Seattle hosted the Houston Dash in their final home game of the season.

Seattle struck first in the scoring from an Olivia Athens volley just outside the 18-yard box in the 22nd minute. That lead was short-lived however as three minutes later, Houston's Bárbara Olivieri converted a penalty kick.

In the second half, Seattle regained the lead as Nérilia Mondésir opened her goal account for the Reign in the 65th minute. This was also Mondésir's first start for Seattle, going the full 90 minutes. Mondésir's goal would go on to be the winner, beating the Houston Dash 2-1 in their regular season home finale.

Before the match, Seattle Reign FC head coach Laura Harvery was celebrated in a pre-game ceremony of her milestone of becoming the first coach in NWSL history to claim 100 regular season victories. She reached that milestone on Aug. 25, 2024 after her side beat the North Carolina Courage.

WHAT WORKED: REIGN STRIKE FIRST

Something that's been very rare for the Reign this season has been scoring first. However tonight, that wasn't the case as Olivia Athens opened up the scoring for Seattle in the 22nd minute with this rip.

WHAT WORKED: MONDÉSIR OPENS HER GOAL ACCOUNT

Nérilia Mondésir made her first NWSL start tonight and while up to this point we had only seen glimpses of what her dynamic energy on the field and with the ball can be, we finally saw it pay off in the form of her finding the back of the net. She did so in the 65th minute to give Seattle the lead.

WHAT WORKED: STAYING POSITIVE

Harvey said during her postgame press conference that after Houston converted on the penalty, the team had deflated a bit, and that had they not scored first, it could have been another one of those games in which they fell off the rails. That was not the case Friday night at Lumen Field as they were able to determined to play the game they wanted to in holding the ball, finding windows to make runs to try and get a second goal. That second goal obviously came through for Mondésir, who along with Athens put in stellar performances with both goal scorers putting in the full 90 minute shifts.

"I thought 'liv (Olivia Athens) was excellent. I'm probably emotional about it right now, but I thought that was her best performance for the Reign, and topped it off with a fantastic goal," was Harvey's initial assessment of Athens' performance tonight. And it was a complete showing as to what Athens can do with and without the ball as a holding midfielder. We have seen glimpses of that and consistent playing time has always been the roadblock for Athens when the Reign have a full squad available to them.

"You saw some of Coco's (Mondésir's nickname) qualities and she's worked really hard, been pushing to get the opportunity she got tonight. I'm really happy for her," said Harvey about Mondésir performance tonight. It has been a gradual easing Mondésir into getting her acclimated to the NWSL style of play, and understandably to the frustration of fans who want to see what she can do. With the goal, perhaps this can be the start of seeing the full potential as to what Mondésir can do and most importantly with a full offseason and training camp to come.

In a season where plenty and frankly everything has gone wrong for the Reign, at least Friday night at Lumen Field it was a good night for the players, and the fans, highlighted by the performances of Olivia Athens and Nérilia Mondésir.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK: EARLY LEAD DOESN'T LAST LONG

As neat as scoring first was, the lead didn't last long as Houston won a penalty off a Lauren Barnes foul in the box, and Bárbara Olivieri converted it 3 minutes later.

"We really wanted to get a win for the fans."

Olivia Athens summed it up in the postgame press conference about wanting the team's regular season home finale to be a win and they did just that. It started off strong with her 22nd minute blast to open from just outside the 18-yard box. She shared that when it comes to corner kicks that area of the field is her spot, crediting assistant coach, Scott Parkinson.

"[The ball] just fortunately fell right to me and I just remember thinking hit it on frame and I'm just glad it went in and I could help the team." She would go on to describe being at, "the right place, right time" with that goal.

Seattle close out the regular season on the road at Orlando Pride, but that will be on Saturday, November 2 as there is a FIFA international break after this weekend's match. Seattle Reign FC's regular season finale at Orlando Pride is scheduled for a 2 PM PT kickoff and will be broadcast on ION Television.