Seattle Reign visited Los Angeles on a cloudy Sunday night in California, and came away with multiple frustrations and zero points after conceding a goal in each half.
After Alyssa Thompson's brilliantly taken opening goal in the 8th minute, the Reign fought back quickly to tie the game up. Ana-Maria Crnogorčević invited contact in the area in the 10th minute, and when she went down, referee Gerald Flores pointed to the spot. After a lengthy break for VAR confirmation, the penalty stood, and Ji So-yun struck it well to the top corner.
The Reign were perhaps lucky to make it through the rest of the half unscathed, as Angel City found numerous chances to break out and attack at pace, but a scrambling defense held strong, and the sides were even after 45 minutes.
The second half started off far more promising, with the Reign finding moments to probe and search for the go-ahead goal, but the defensive struggles were still there with Angel City finding space to run into far too frequently. The game ultimately turned in the 63rd minute, as Claire Emslie found herself with all the time in the world to put in a cross, and Riley Tiernan was left unmarked to deliver the killer header to put the hosts up 2-1.
The Reign did have their some moments after, including a beautiful long pass by Jordyn Bugg finding Emeri Adames in space, who just missed connecting with a streaking Maddie Dahlien on the far post. However, they mostly looked more likely to concede a third than to score a second, and ultimately time ticked away to a 2-1 defeat – some confusion about when, exactly, time had expired, and whether or not Christen Press was half the field off her side after that, notwithstanding.
What worked
AMC mixing it up
While the Reign didn’t get up into the attacking third all that often in the opening frame, they did respond quickly to going down a goal, and Crnogorčević’s willingness to just get into the box and make Angel City deal with her presence there was rewarded with a penalty. While the foul itself was on the softer side, there was definitely contact such that it would be very hard for VAR to overturn, and AMC was able to win the spot kick by forcing the issue in a way the Reign otherwise struggled to.
Ji So-yun stepped up to the spot in the 12th minute, delivered a confident, absolutely ice-cold penalty, and the Reign were back on level terms, at least for the moment.
Ji So-Yun so cold from the spot 🧊
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) March 30, 2025 at 5:56 PM
[image or embed]
What didn't work
Defending Alyssa Thompson
Alyssa Thompson came to play, and the Reign defense struggled for answers. She was dangerous time after time as Angel City ran rampant in the first half, continued to menace and cause fits for the defense in the second, and forced decisions and forced mistakes throughout the match to keep the home side on the front foot.
And, of course, her opening goal in the 8th minute was absolutely laced into the top corner after two Reign defenders gave her just a little too much time and space.
Alyssa Thompson goes 🔝 A sensational goal to ignite the home crowd!
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) March 30, 2025 at 5:55 PM
[image or embed]
Containing Claire Emslie
While Alyssa Thompson and Riley Tiernan came away with the goals, it was Claire Emslie pulling the strings on the left flank, and she burned the Reign repeatedly, finding space and creating chances, with four key passes on the night – more than any other two players on the pitch combined. The Reign’s young fullback core struggled on both sides of the pitch, and Angel City was particularly ruthless in attacking the side of their former player, Madison Curry.
Emslie’s perfectly placed 63rd minute cross found Tiernan’s head to give the home side a lead that they would not relinquish.
A first professional goal to remember! 🙌 Riley Tiernan scores in front of the @angelcity.com faithful!
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) March 30, 2025 at 6:46 PM
[image or embed]
“We need to look at it as an opportunity to fix some things”
Phoebe McClernon was sanguine after the match, acknowledging that it was a hard loss but optimistic about the team's ability to grow from it: “No, I don’t think we can look at a loss in our first three games as a setback. I think we need to look at it as an opportunity to fix some things. I think it’s far too early to hang our heads.”
Noting that NWSL is “an incredibly competitive league,” she added that the Reign will need to adjust and improve. “With that being said, there’s going to be some hard conversations, and we’re going to have to be really honest about some things. But no, I think it’s an opportunity.”
“We had a game plan, it didn't work”
Laura Harvey was up front that things didn't go how she would have drawn them up: “I think they had 48 touches in our box, [...] that’s because our defending wasn’t good enough higher up the field, and we need to solve that. And that’s on me, we had a game plan, it didn't work.” She noted that it was a game to be learned from, adding “we can’t let this be the thing that defines you, so I think we need to understand why we were the way we were tonight, and obviously try and solve it for the next game.”
Harvey also observed that it was a performance with positives to take away as well, saying “today wasn't a ‘throw it in the box, it was atrocious the whole game’, there were moments,” reiterating that “we have to learn from tonight, the way we’ve learned from the first two games.”
The Reign have a two week break to reset, reflect, and get everybody healthy and ready to go, and will next see the field Saturday, April 12th, when they’ll host the reigning champion Orlando Pride. See the match in person at Lumen Field, or watch on ION.
