The 2024 season is behind us and it can't hurt us anymore.
This was a hell of a year to be a Reign fan. We lost generational talents like Megan Rapinoe to retirement and Rose Lavelle to free agency. We lost player after player after player to injury. We fought, sometimes valiantly, but with our hands tied and our front office deprived of resources and negotiating leverage, it was often to no avail. And, when it mattered most and it looked like we might salvage something from the back half of the season, we got hit with yet another devastating injury, lost yet another essential player to the market, and folded like a paper plate.
...and then on top of that, we were statistically pretty unlucky. Which is, of course, exactly what you want when everything else has gone as badly as it possibly could have. Exactly how Lesle Gallimore would've drawn it up.
May we have more reasons to drink (celebratory) than to drink (derogatory) next year. May we celebrate more goals, mourn fewer backbreaking last gasp losers, and above all else, endure many fewer soul-crushing injuries.
Let's take one last look back with 2024's Valkyratings Retrospective.
Goalkeepers
Claudia Dickey — 18 appearances, 18 starts — 6.00
Dickey was more often good than bad, occasionally touched greatness, and showed remarkable poise behind a revolving door of defenders and midfielders who consistently left her in bad positions. She has room to grow, but she was one of the better players for the Reign on the season.
Highlight. October 18th, in a deserved win against Houston, Claw-dia showed poise, confidence, and perhaps most importantly, growth, refusing to be beat in ways she'd prior conceded often on the season. Instead, she made a phenomenally important stop look utterly routine to keep the Reign in control – where in prior matches, all too often, we saw the game slip away in those moments. (8)
Laurel Ivory — 9 appearances, 8 starts — 6.00
Stepping in for an injured Dickey and holding down the goal line for the middle third of the year, Ivory was inconsistent, but in her high moments, showed flair and a gasp for the spectacular. While she briefly challenged for the starting spot, she struggled with some fundamentals and yielded it back to Claudia fairly quickly. Still, when she was good, she was damned near unbeatable.
Highlight. On May 8th, Laurel's brilliance stole a point against a seemingly-unstoppable Kansas City side. Ivory's unimaginable highway robbery on Claire Lagovez, simply declining to allow a goal on an absolutely unsaveable shot from less than 6 yards out, is my save of the year. It won't get much attention on a team as bad as the Reign were, but... damn, she was on one that night. (8)
Defenders
Phoebe McClernon — 26 appearances, 22 starts — 5.69
One of the only consistent figures on an inconsistent defense that couldn't stay healthy, couldn't find chemistry, and couldn't catch a break, Phoebe wasn't immune to the Reign's tendency to give up some real howlers, but she also showed a whole lot of quality along the way. A lockdown defender who made her influence felt, and should, hopefully, be a big part of a defensive renaissance next season.
Highlight. May 8th, when McClernon spent the whole evening demolishing the hopes and dreams of Kansas City attackers in helping to preserve a 0-0 draw with the seemingly-unstoppable Current. She was a one woman wrecking crew, going six for six on tackles, five for five on duels, and leaving a Current front line snatching at shadows looking for seams in a defensive effort that showed none. (7)
Lauren Barnes — 21 appearances, 17 starts — 5.33
The lows were low, but there were good moments, moments when Lu Barnes showed the poise and read of the game that have made her a defensive stalwart for years. Something of a bellwether for the Reign's struggles, when the team was bad, Barnes was often the biggest culprit, but when they needed to pull out of a tailspin, she was also there, providing the calm in the storm that she always has. And if this was her final year, she at least got to end it on a good note, putting in strong performances against Houston and Orlando.
Highlight. May 3rd, with the Reign down a player and down a goal against the San Diego Wave — with everything going wrong all over again, Barnes refused to be beaten. She took charge of the defense, and saw to it that the Wave would not get another good chance. She annihilated dribblers, sent booming clearances into the gotdamn Sound, and ethered chance after chance. Her savvy veteran leadership was essential in a come from behind, 2-1 win while playing 10-v-11, on a night when Danielle Chesky decided to set some ignoble officiating records on top of everything else. (7)
Bonus Highlight. Salmon Bay FC!
Sofia Huerta — 19 appearances, 19 starts — 5.73
After a slow start, Huerta really started to find her form after the Olympic break – only to secure a loan to Lyon with the Reign finally cooking. The Reign never really recovered from the two hits of Sofia's absence and Fishlock's injury, and Huerta's performances with the Reign were a bit of a mixed bag, but she was showing some real promise, and she still has an NWSL assist record to set.
Highlight. June 23rd, in a 1-1 draw with Louisville where the Reign were the better side by a noticeable margin and deserved a better result. I opined after the match that Huerta seemed cursed more than ineffective – her marauding runs and excellent service deserved an assist, deserved a goal, deserved a win. None of them were to be, and it's a results-based business, but it was a game where there was little to fault but the capriciousness of the soccer gods, and a welcome glimpse of the Sofia we remember from better days. (7)
Shae Holmes — 19 appearances, 12 starts — 5.06
Starting inconsistently between centerback and outside back spots, Holmes turned in a number of inconsistent performances, including several that were – to put it gently – somewhat bad. She was often the final defender victimized on team-wide breakdowns, even though she was less often the actual impetus for the failures. Having little chance to build chemistry with other defenders and struggling more for minutes than most, it was, overall, a year to goldfish for her.
Highlight. August 25th, in a stunning 1-0 win against North Carolina. Holmes' 13+ defensive actions, none of them cheaply accounted for, gave the Courage fits. The left side of the pitch was a dead zone for NC's attacking efforts, and with Shae defanging the danger for 90+ minutes, the Reign were able to scratch, claw, and bite for a late, late xDAWG winner. (7)
Alana Cook — 11 appearances, 9 starts — 4.72
Returning from injury, Cook never really looked like her old self, never found the deft touch, the cutting vision, or the razor-sharp defense that made her arguably the best in the league just two years ago. She eventually joined Kansas City via trade during the break, with a fresh start probably the best choice for all sides involved. She'll be missed, but sometimes it's just not working.
Highlight. May 3rd, in that match against San Diego, down a player, down a goal, down for the count... it was the one match this year where Alana really got to cook, and she delivered a feast. There was vision, cutting intent to her passes, and forceful rejection in her tackles. It was the last we really got to see of Good Alana, but it was a sight for sore eyes, a gutsy performance in a moment that absolutely demanded one. (7)
Ryanne Brown — 9 appearances, 3 starts — 5.12
After a number of somewhat spotty substitute appearances in a rough start for the Reign, Brown looked to be locking down the Reign's big question mark at left back, turning in some strong outings and helping secure results and staunch the bleeding in back. And then she tore her ACL. It was that sort of year, and Brown suffered it more than most.
Highlight. June 23rd, when Brown's clever feet and tenacious defending locked down Racing Louisville's options, and a beautifully weighted cutback to Bethany Balcer deserved a goal. The Reign were forced to settle for a listless 1-1 draw despite being the far better team on the day, and Brown looked to have secured herself as the presumptive starter at left back. (6)
Lily Woodham — 8 appearances, 5 starts — 5.28
Woodham had a rough and uneven season for the Reign before going out on loan, starting matches early and showing some promising attacking intent from the left back position, then getting absolutely eviscerated through poor defensive positioning in multiple games. She showed more balanced intent in her final appearance of the season.
Highlight. March 17th, the return of the Queen: stunning a Washington Spirit side picked to (and eventually making good on it) be one of the best in the league, Woodham was a menace on the left side, giving Brittany Ratcliffe more than she could handle and setting up two of the best chances the Reign would create in the first five matches of the season. It was an intriguing start that unfortunately didn't bear consistent fruit. (6)
Hanna Glas — 7 appearances, 6 starts — 5.14
Glas was a late addition for the Reign, providing a lockdown defensive fullback to a team that had been bleeding goals and could neither find luck nor health at the position. While she struggled to make a big impact on a season that was already lost, she was a solid addition and played a respectable game. With time to train and gel with the team, she may challenge for the starting role again.
Highlight. October 18th against Houston, in the Reign's penultimate match. Glas went into seven duels, won five, and repeatedly put Emeri Adames in dangerous spaces to do dangerous things. It was the sort of performance that gives a coach selection headaches, and the first time Hanna looked all the way comfortable with her new team. (7)
Julia Lester — 5 appearances, 2 starts — 5.50
Unable to crack the field of play until late in the year, Lester was also unable to change the trajectory of the season, but when she finally saw the pitch, she showed plenty of juice. A capable defender when she had the opportunity to play, Jordyn Bugg's emergence likely blocked Lester from seeing more minutes, and she was relegated to mostly substitute appearances.
Highlight. August 31st, when the Reign heavily outplayed Racing Louisville a second time, and on the second try, actually managed to secure a win for their efforts. In a rare start for Lester, she was the best defender on the pitch, and possibly the only defender who didn't spend the afternoon getting positively worked on set pieces. On the day she and McClernon looked like a formidable partnership, and one the Reign would do well to at least consider using again in the future. (6)
Midfielders
Olivia Athens — 20 appearances, 8 starts — 5.45
The second-most-frequently appearing midfielder for the 2024 Reign, Athens often popped up as a substitute to try to calm things down, give Ji or Fishlock a rest, or desperately attempt to create something. A good but conservative passer, a solid tackler, and a destroyer in the air, Olivia was seldom given the chance to really play her game, instead usually finding herself coming in late to matches that the team had already lost.
Highlight. Let's be real, it was only ever going to be October 18th, against the Houston Dash, when Athens – given a rare shot to start – delivered a thundering goal in the 22nd minute and set the tone for a Reign team with nothing left to play for but pride. You only need to look at the elation and relief in the celebration to understand just how big a moment that was, just how much Athens, the Reign, and the roughly 9,000 attending fans needed that moment to come. (7)
Quinn — 15 appearances, 13 starts — 6.00
Often injured, often fading in the latter portions of games, Quinn was, nonetheless, one of the year's best players for the Reign. They started strong, suffered a serious injury, then struggled towards the middle of the season, and seemed to find their form late in the year before once again finding themselves off the field through the last five matches. Quinn was good when they could play, but able to play far too little.
Highlight. That controversial September 6th win away at Angel City featured some vintage Quinnery – demoralizing tackles, tidy passing, an audacious attempt from distance that led to a dangerous chance on the rebound. Even as Quinn faded late in the match, they kept running hard time after time, putting in enormous last-gasp effort to keep a daunting trio of Messiah Bright, Sydney Leroux, and Christen Press from finding the equalizing goal. (7)
Angharad James-Turner — 15 appearances, 13 starts — 5.50
Laura Harvey's go-to for much of the first third of the season, James-Turner started strong on a team that started weak, putting in a number of above average performances before the wheels fell off. She fell out of favor and struggled for minutes as the season went on, and her scattered appearances on the back half of the year ranged from middling to disastrous. She does have the touch to be a solid NWSL midfielder, but she wasn't consistent enough to anchor a struggling one.
Highlight. A home loss to the Orlando Pride on May 19th was the high point for Haz – one where I noted she'd played better than Emily Sonnett to the same point the prior season. She scored a huge goal to get the Reign back into the match, finishing a chance Ji started, falling over as she scored, and picking herself back up to help will the Reign back to a 2-2 scoreline (they would concede a late loser to Banda later) with a heady mix of attacking intent and biting defense. (7)
Olivia van der Jagt — 15 appearances, 7 starts — 5.53
Local favorite and all around delight Olivia van der Jagt had a rough time of 2024. She started off playing reasonably well, and seeing a fair bit of the pitch, but saw fewer minutes (and struggled more in those minutes) later on, before leaving the team on an excused absence for the second half of the season.
Highlight. On March 29th, the Reign lost to San Diego for the first time ever, but Olo was one of the best players on the pitch in that losing effort. Stepping in for the injured Quinn, van der Jagt played the role of destroyer to an exceptional standard, leaving the Wave snatching for scraps through 97 minutes. The game, unfortunately, lasted slightly longer than that, but Olo showed grit, tenacity, and a real willingness to demand the ball from the opposition. (7)
Bonus Highlight. Salmon Bay FC!
Jaelin Howell — 8 appearances, 5 starts — 5.42
Joining the Reign as part of a trade that saw Bethany Balcer leave for Louisville, Howell played less than most of us would have liked, showed the grit and violence that the Reign's midfield often lacked when she did play, and then left the Reign in another trade almost immediately when the offseason started. In her brief time in Seattle, she didn't see all that much of the field, but she was nonetheless a memorable addition to a season with too few memorable moments.
Highlight. Her second Reign match, on August 31st against her former team, was a chaotic, rollicking win over Louisville where the entire Reign side forgot how to defend set pieces on literally every set piece, but outplayed Louisville so heavily in every other phase of play that they won anyway. Throughout, Howell was a virtuoso in the medium of destruction, sending Racing attacks into touch, into their own defending third, into the fucking stratosphere time after time. For a single, beautiful moment in time, the Quinn - Howell partnership looked primed to frustrate opposing coaches to the ends of their sanity. (6)
Nikki Stanton — 7 appearances, 0 starts — 4.50
It was a hard season for Stanton, who struggled to find the pitch, and then often struggled to play once on it. In fairness to her, most of her struggles are hard to blame on her – she was all too often a last-20-minutes substitute in games where she had no real hope of changing an already bleak narrative. However, even when given more of an opportunity, she showed little ability to influence matches.
Highlight. First off the bench in a hard-fought May 8th draw against Kansas City, Stanton replaced a staunch but exhausted James-Turner and did her best impression of James-Turner's solid performance, getting stuck in and making the most of her limited touches as part of a team-wide effort to hold an unstoppable attacking corps scoreless for the first time. (5)
Maddie Mercado — 5 appearances, 0 starts — 5.50
Mercado may have played only 36 NWSL minutes, but she certainly charmed in them, showing the expected inconsistency and growing pains of a player who is, perhaps, not quite NWSL ready, but has enough about her to intrigue. Certainly one to watch for next season.
Highlight. November 2nd, a season-closing loss to Orlando, saw Maddie sub on late, spelling Tziarra King in the 77th minute, and then score her first ever professional goal just 7 minutes later. When you can turn 14 minutes and 6 touches into a goal, a tackle, a blocked shot, and a slick carry against the indisputable best team in the league, it might be worth seeing what else you can do, yeah? (6)
Ainsley McCammon — 2 appearances, 1 start — 4.00
A 17-year-old midfielder with enormous potential, Ainsley impressed during the NWSL Challenge Cup, but only saw two appearances in NWSL play, both against Angel City. While she didn't yet look up to the speed and intensity of the league, she's young, she's got a huge amount of talent to grow into, and it was good to see her dip her toes into the deep water.
Highlight. Her first career start, an October 4th home loss to Angel City, wasn't exactly a vintage showing. McCammon struggled. However, she was also a 17-year-old midfielder making her first career start in one of the best professional leagues in the world, and she showed, at least in flashes, vision and culture on the ball that should translate well in the future, if cultivated. (4)
Forwards
Veronica Latsko — 23 appearances, 11 starts — 5.59
With the most appearances and minutes of any season of her career, Latsko saw a lot of the field, both as a starter and a sub. Starting, she showed confidence and capability, if not necessarily gamebreaking quality, at multiple positions. As a substitute, however, she was a dynamic, chaotic manifestation of pure, distilled xDAWG. She brought a level of energy, chaos, and violence off the bench that jolted the Reign into contention time after time. Pound for pound, she's quite possibly the very best field-tilting bench option in the league.
Highlight. Despite my effusive praise for her qualities off the bench, it was a starting effort in the October 18th win against Houston where Roni delivered her best work. Starting at right back, she dropped a highly energetic, highly disruptive, highly obnoxious to mark, press, or play against performance that the Dash had no answer for. Her passing was incisive, her tackling devastating, her footprint (with 80! touches) absolutely all over the ball and all over the pitch. (8)
Tziarra King — 23 appearances, 18 starts — 5.34
In what turned out to be her final year with the Reign, Zee sometimes showed the brilliance she's always had the potential for, but more often fumbled for some consistency. The highs were high, but the lows were low, and were somewhat more frequent. Still, she delivered some big moments in a season that needed big moments, and she was, on her night, an absolute joy to watch.
Highlight. September 6th against Angel City. This was Zee's match, and she stamped her name all over it. From a sublime 59th minute run that ended with a beautifully taken goal to a confidently won 44th minute tackle that she immediately sprung forward to set up Jordyn Huitema for one of the best chances of the night, King made the absolute most of every one of her touches, creating danger seemingly every time the ball was in her vicinity. (8)
Emeri Adames — 23 appearances, 6 starts — 5.07
An exciting newcomer with upside for days, Adames saw the field frequently, but only occasionally for more than a short stretch of time. She was consistently inconsistent in the way young players tend to be, showing promise and audacity but also an expected lack of guile and a reach that sometimes exceeded her grasp. We will not regret the minutes we gave her, though, and it's absolutely not too soon to expect big things from Emeri.
Highlight. The iconic Rapinoe celebration, the sheer elation at the late winner (even if the cowards at Opta later correctly scored it as an own goal), what else was it ever going to be but the Reign's August 25th win over the Courage? Subbing on in the 89th minute, Emeri brought new life and new energy to the Reign, running right at an outplayed and beleaguered North Carolina team until, finally, she put a ball off Casey Murphy, and Casey Murphy fumbled it, and the Reign's winless streak ended. (N/A, but it was a 10 in our hearts.)
Jordyn Huitema — 18 appearances, 17 starts — 5.77
Still only 23 years old, Huitema's already something of an NWSL veteran – but in a season that saw her suffer a horrific injury on national team duty, she struggled to find both health and form with her club, scoring just 3 goals (though, not for nothing, she also won multiple penalties that other players took) in 1,504 minutes. Despite the lapse in scoring form, she often played well, and was probably more unlucky than ineffective, and showed some very promising play as the year closed out. Next year, with better health and more support, we shouldn't be surprised to see a resurgence for the young striker.
Highlight. The Reign got speedbagged in the second half, but Jordyn was excellent throughout in June 19th's lopsided loss to the Kansas City Current. She delivered a fabulous one-touch finish in the 24th minute, then put it all on the line in the 41st with a diving header to give the Reign a 2-1 lead. A 22nd minute pass to Tziarra King deserved an assist. A third minute header off a Huerta cross could've been the opener. "Air" Jordyn dropped a stunning performance, even if the Reign as a team failed to make it matter. (8)
Bethany Balcer — 15 appearances, 13 starts — 6.06
The Reign's best scorer of 2024 left the team during the transfer window in a trade that brought Jaelin Howell to Seattle. That she left at midseason and still finished the year as the Reign's leading scorer says, frankly, everything. Boats was a favorite for a reason, and in a brutal season, she was often the lone bright spot, putting up some very good outings before, ultimately, moving on to a new chapter in her career.
Highlight. A legendary come-from-behind, down-a-player match, the May 3rd win over the San Diego Wave owed everything to Balcer's gutsy performance. She put on a clinic in so many ways, winning NINE aerial duels, clearing lines, blocking passes, pressing alone to keep the San Diego defenders honest even with the man advantage. And when the Reign needed it the most, in the 34th minute, she simply manufactured a goal out of nothing, stealing the ball off the foot of goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and slotting it home to draw the score level. BB8 scored a goal, and we were treated, at least briefly, to better things. (8)
Ana-Maria Crnogorčević — 10 appearances, 8 starts — 5.70
A late addition to the Reign, former rival Ana-Maria Crnogorčević made an immediate impact coming out of the break, her tenacious pressing and purposeful running combining with a resurgent Sofia Huerta, Ji So-yun, and Jess Fishlock to create a suddenly effective, frightening, and above all fun attacking corps for the Reign. Unfortunately, she, like the team, faded with the loss of half of that corps, but AMC showed her quality and still looks to have plenty to offer.
Highlight. September 6th against Angel City. Ana-Maria was fucking everywhere, on both sides of the ball. King's sublime 59th minute goal started with a sublime 59th minute AMC pass. She won the ball back in the attacking third five times. She sprang Zee and Huitema for good chances. She started the buzzing flurry at the end of the first half that ended with Ji So-yun's magical touch and goal. Virtually every good thing the Reign did anchored upon Crnogorčević pushing the issue. (8)
Nérilia Mondésir — 10 appearances, 2 starts — 5.25
The most anticipated and intriguing addition of the transfer window, Haitian international Nérilia Mondésir came to fanfare but saw limited minutes as the team opted to introduce her slowly to the pace and intensity of the NWSL. Her early performances showed sick ball skills and nascent quality, but also some reticence with the demands of the league. Her later performances showed an increasing comfort and will, a ridiculous quality on the ball, and the sort of moves that should excite even the grimmest of critics. May 2025 be Coco's year.
Highlight. October 18th against the Dash was the beginning. Playing withdrawn behind Huitema, Mondésir was a creative monster, progressing the ball with vision and intention, popping up in all sorts of places to cause chaos and force the Houston defense into hard decisions, and showing a vibrant connection with Huitema and Ji. Oh, and, no big deal, but she scored her first NWSL goal, and it was a work of art, cleanly stealing the ball off an aerial defender with pure effort and timing and finishing past Jane Campbell on the next touch. It was the sort of goal that haunts you when you give it up. It was a small taste of what Coco can offer to an anemic team. May it be the first of many. (8)
McKenzie Weinert — 4 appearances, 0 starts — 5.00
National team replacement player done good McKenzie Weinert returned to the Reign and saw the field for four short runouts. A brilliant story and a fun player, she was probably never going to push for consistent minutes on the Reign, and she finished the season on loan to the Spokane Zephyr.
Highlight. In the Reign's hard-fought April 27th loss to the Courage, Weinert came on for the last 15 minutes and was a solid, exciting contributor on a number of decent looks for the Reign, bringing speed, energy, and dedication to a frustrating match in bad conditions. A 96th minute connection with Adames was particularly promising, even if it ultimately came to nothing. (5)
The Standouts
Jess Fishlock — 18 appearances, 17 starts — 6.29
Twelve years on, and Jess Fishlock remains the Reign's best player. Arguably the first true NWSL international superstar, Fishlock remains a phenomenal player at 37, and when the Reign played well, it nearly always came back to the Tiny Dragon. While not quite ageless – there are sprints she can no longer make, physical challenges she no longer wins so readily – she remains brilliant, and has adapted her game phenomenally to her changing physical circumstances. Fishlock was a joy to watch, and was at the heart of the Reign's late-season resurgence, right up until an injury ended her season, and, though it took a few more matches to become official, the Reign's as well.
Highlight. I'm simply going to quote what I wrote about Jess after the come-from-behind May 3rd win over the San Diego Wave:
This is my favorite stat of the night: against a team playing up a player and largely trying to avoid controlling the midfield for more than 90 minutes of game time, Jess Fishlock won seven fouls (and was fouled another four or so times without a whistle, but more on that later.) Where past Reign performances have begged for even a spritz of eau de give me that ball, Fishlock came with a whole decant of eau de come and fucking take it from me. The Wave could not.
Fishlock did Fishlock things, and frankly, the Wave could've been playing 11v9 and still not had an answer for her. She added four blocks, four interceptions, two dribblers demolished, seven recoveries, and two really good incisive passes that led directly to Reign attacks. She might be 37, but she's still running the kids off the pitch. (8)
Jordyn Bugg — 6 appearances, 5 starts — 6.16
The woman, the myth, the legend, the... 18-year-old defender? Jordyn Bugg didn't play much for the Reign, joining the team after an electric outing in the NWSL Challenge Cup and a bronze-medal performance for the US Women's U20 National Team, but, damn. In just six appearances, she didn't just look ready for an extremely tough and demanding league, she routinely looked like the best player on the pitch. It's a small sample size, but if Bugg can keep it up, she'll be a star of the present and future.
No matter how hype you are about her, it's honestly probably not enough.
Highlight. Her first league start was in the Reign's beautiful, gritty August 25th win over the North Carolina Courage. Bugg was a key contributor to the defensive throttling that kept an always-dangerous Courage side scoreless and limited. It's a big ask for a teenager with zero NWSL minutes to step onto that pitch in that moment, but Jordyn did it, and showed both immense defensive poise and the sort of line-breaking nuance and deft touch on her passing (including springing Ji So-yun for an excellent chance) that gives opposing midfields headaches. (6)
Ji So-yun — 26 appearances, 22 starts — 6.11
The most-heralded newcomer of the 2023-24 offseason, Ji So-yun played well more often than she didn't, touched on some of the greatness she's so often showed throughout her career, and was, ultimately, not enough to replace the losses of Rapinoe, Lavelle, Angelina, and Sonnett. The expectations on her were probably unreasonable, but she also struggled to adapt to the physicality of the league, often holding the ball too long, playing her way into unnecessary trouble, or waiting for a foul call that would never come. And yet, she was still frequently the best player on the side, the one most likely to create something magical when the Reign needed it, and as the season closed, she showed more and more connection with what the NWSL demanded of her. I think she's going to surprise some of her detractors next year. Ji still has sauce, and more importantly, as the season closed, she was showing some real connection with Coco and Adames.
Highlight. While Ji scored three goals on the season and all three were unexpected bangers, it was always going to be about the goal-of-the-week winning moment of magic against Louisville on August 31st. Subbing on for Tziarra King early in the second half, Ji immediately turned the match on its head, bringing a buzzing gimme the ball and watch this energy that Louisville had no answer for. Her exquisite 75th minute free kick drew the score level. Her magnificently timed header six minutes later forced an own goal and won the match. Goals change games, and two goals happened in six minutes because Ji willed them to come. (8)
And Another Thing..!
The Reign gave NWSL minutes to 30 different players over the course of the 2024 season, saw only two players appear in every match, and used 25 different starting lineups in 26 regular season matches. Only nine players turned in an above-average season average rating. There was never much opportunity for players to build chemistry and familiarity with each other. There was always a new injury, a new absence, a new disaster cropping up.
The 2024 edition of the Reign was never going to be a take-all-comers scorcher of a team – even fairly optimistic season previews had to ask where do the goals come from – but at the same time... this was a very unlucky team going through a lot of hardship and getting worse results than the level of their play.
Let's just... not do any of that again.
2025 awaits. We ride!
