If you're still sleeping on the Reign, it might be time to, at the very least, set an alarm. This is a team with fight, grit, and upside. This is a team that went to Cary, North Carolina and didn't just punch the Courage in the mouth, but absolutely ran them off their own pitch for an hour-plus – while down three of their most important attacking pieces. And while the Courage started to claw their way back into it once they were already down 2-0, and really ratcheted up the pressure for the last 10 minutes or so, the Reign held their ground and came away with all three points.
Rather than finding a way to drop points, the Reign found a way to seize them, and utterly outplayed a team most are picking for a top four finish, in their house. The Reign might not be a contender this year – it's too early to make big proclamations about a long season in a highly competitive league – but they announced their intentions with a vintage win. And they're only going to be better when Lynn Biyendolo and Nérilia Mondésir get healthy and integrated back into the lineup.
And furthermore: holy shit, did you SEE that Bugg bomb?!
Goalkeeper
Claudia Dickey — 8 (POTM)
Claw-dia made a series of quality saves as time ticked away, in the 85th, 88th, and 90+2 minute to preserve the win for a Reign as the Courage threw everything they had and also a crate of butter beans at the goal. The 88th minute save was of particularly high quality, a game-winning, defining moment for Dickey. She was composed under pressure, snuffed out the chances she should've been expected to snuff out and also one that she had no business saving, and commanded her area well. The one that did get past her was a real weird one, where she was wrong-footed by a backheel deflection that trickled out of reach and just inside the far post. Not much anyone was going to do about it at that point.
Going forward. As a fun fact, Dickey is presently on pace to absolutely shatter Ann-Katrin Berger's spectacular shot-stopping numbers from 2024. Obviously, we're two games deep in a 26 game season, so any predictions should be measured, but I don't think it's an exaggeration to call Claudia Dickey for Goalkeeper of the Year, Most Valuable Player, NWSL Best XI, Yashin Trophy, and Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men.
Defenders
Emily Mason — 6
Debuting at right back for the Reign, Emily Mason put in a very solid shift, getting on the ball frequently, progressing it with vision, and throwing down hard-nosed, I'll just come and take it energy against a dangerous left-sided attack from North Carolina. Maycee Bell did burn her a few times, and a less wasteful and disinterested Courage attack might've been able to punish that, but Mason for the most part did well to recover and showed intent going the other way, starting things off positively by creating an intriguing attacking sequence in the 5th minute.
Going forward. Remember last year when outside back seemed to be a carousel of not having a good answer? Damn, this year we seem spoiled for options and spoiled for upside. Mason looked really good against hard competition. She has a few wrinkles to iron out – finding the open pass quicker, more awareness of the overlapping run defending in transition – but it was a very impressive debut overall.
Jordyn Bugg — 7
Holy shit, did you see that Bugg bomb? That GOAL OF THE WEEK WINNING Bugg bomb? What a fuckin' hit that was.
She also did other good stuff, and I don't want to minimize how good she was in a ton of different phases of play. She was smooth as heck on the ball and barely put a foot wrong, going 38-for-40 on passes under 30 yards, and repeatedly found Ji in good spots to facilitate attacking pressure. Interestingly, she was one of only two Reign starters to not attempt a tackle, though with Bugg often the last defender back and McClernon and James-Turner both throwing the heat in the middle like they were, she also wasn't often in a position where she had any need to. She did whiff on her attempted block one pass before North Carolina scored, and will probably want that one back, but all told, it was another strong performance from a defender who has quickly gone from intriguing rookie to indispensable starter.
Going forward. This was a solid performance, up to Bugg's usual (high) standard of play, elevated by a stunning, game-altering goal. It's a lot to expect a centerback to add those regularly, but it showed a level of aggression on the ball she hadn't yet exhibited much, and it's a good thing to see. Bugg is going to be a special, special player if she keeps this all going.
Phoebe McClernon — 7
Unsurprisingly, Phoebe led all Reign players with 71 touches, and she delivered the crunching heat several times on Jaedyn Shaw and Ashley Sanchez, ending attacking movements before they could really begin. Four tackles won, four for four in duels, two interceptions, three recoveries, and a booming nine clearances. She wasn't as tidy on the ball as she usually is, a credit to North Carolina's eternal ability to quickly apply pressure and take away lanes, but she put in about as clinical a defensive showing as you'll ever see. She was a bit lost on North Carolina's scoring sequence, but... look, that was a weird, weird goal where a number of weird bounces went North Carolina's way at several junctures. It's a hard one to hold too firmly against any of the involved defenders – sometimes soccer's just like that.
Going forward. McClernon was one of the bright spots in a rough 2024 campaign, coming into her own as a leader in central defense, and she's continued her strong form into 2025. The Reign have seen a lot of turnover on the back line over the last two years, but Phoebe's been holding things down, and we have every reason to expect she'll continue.
Madison Curry — 6
Two Reign starts for newcomer Madison Curry, two very respectable showings. It's no easy feat to shut down the likes of Ashley Sanchez and Manaka Matsukubo, both of whom positively showed out at times, and Madison did about as much as you could ask an outside back to do in limiting their options, turning them back, and snuffing danger. Like many of her teammates, Curry showed a real edge, winning three tackles and five interceptions, and winning position and taking the foul twice to end North Carolina attacks. While not overly aggressive going forward, she frequently found the right pass at the right moment, like putting Maddie Dahlien in on goal on the 57th minute, or getting to Maddie Mercado in space in the 12th. She did have a few jittery touches, and one of them ended with the ball in the back of the Reign's net, but she won more ground for the Reign than she lost.
Going forward. The Reign (suddenly) have a lot of competition for fullback spots, and with Ryanne Brown's future return even more, but it's going to be really hard to displace Curry from the starting lineup if she keeps playing like this.
Midfielders
Ji So-yun — 7 (off 79' for Olivia van der Jagt)
Playing as the more withdrawn attacking midfielder behind Jess Fishlock, Ji So-yun found her rhythm and stamped her name on the center of the pitch, facilitating just about everything good that happened for the Reign going forward. She was credited with two shots – in the 18th and 76th minutes, both of them solid chances off clever supporting runs – and three shot-creating actions, but she was frequently the pass before the pass before the pass, seeing the danger three steps before it manifested, and manifesting it. She misplaced only three passes all match and put her teammates in position to succeed time and again in her 79+ minutes on the field.
Going forward. This match, right here, is what I see as Ji's ideal role with this Reign side. As a deeper-lying playmaker, she offers so much vision and ability to cut away defenders. She can play a number of positions at a positive level, but this role really suited her current abilities, and it's one where I think she's most apt to be a real difference-maker.
Angharad James-Turner — 8
Haz was a strong contender for Player of the Match, delivering a devastatingly good performance at holding midfield. She tracked back hard to blow up dangerous plays without allowing a shot, she won the ball high to force North Carolina to defend quick transitions, she saw where attacking play was developing for the Courage and said fuck you give me that ball. In the 22nd minute, in the 32nd minute, and perhaps most importantly, with the Reign under increasing pressure, in the 74th minute she shifted momentum with exquisitely placed defensive plays. She was probably also fouled in the area in the ~55th minute, but since Bugg went and did that so quickly after, we can chalk that up to the ball in fact not lying.
Going forward. James-Turner could be a bit hit and miss last year, but it's a hard league to adapt to, and she's started this year with a vengeance. I, for one, hope she can continue to play at this level, and I'm sure Ashley Sanchez hopes to never face that sort of performance from her again.
Jess Fishlock — 7 (off 70' for Sam Meza)
Playing as the furthest-forward midfielder (and interchanging position frequently with ostensible center forward Maddie Mercado), this was a markedly more dangerous and effective performance than against Gotham, and Fish's quick, incisive passing and nose for goal were duly rewarded, as Mercado found her with a perfectly placed low pass, which she collected and delivered to the back of the net on the volley with absolute authority in the 35th minute. She didn't touch the ball all that often, but she created good chaos and struck it well when she got the chance.
Going forward. On some level, I feel as though I could just copy/paste this line every week and have it be just as relevant:
Jess Fishlock is going to be 57 years old and still an 80th-percentile attacking midfielder in NWSL.
Jess Fishlock is the original NWSL international star, and she's still a multi-tool player who does just about everything and does it well. There's no indication that she's planning to slow down any time soon. And with any luck at all, commentary on future games will be spared that "what does she have in her Fishlocker" pun.
Forwards
Ana-Maria Crnogorčević — 6 (off 71' for Emeri Adames)
After a fairly ineffectual outing against Gotham, AMC delivered a real bounceback game, reminding what a menace she can be as a tenacious, pressing forward – including from wide positions. In the 35th minute, she had the hockey assist on the beautiful passing sequence that ended in Fishlock's tally. In the 50th minute, she got her head to a Ji So-yun delivery for a very dangerous chance that she'd surely love another hit at. Despite touching the ball just 21 times, she was relentless, and her constant pressure provided a textured contrast to Dahlien's head-turning speed and Mercado's savvy interchanging movement.
Going forward. This was much more of the AMC who showed out as one of the unexpected best players for the Reign last year, and she's obviously still got plenty to offer to the side. While she's likely more rotational as Lynn and Coco work back to health, her game is useful, disruptive, and she's already shown the ability to be effective with a bunch of different attacking combinations.
Maddie Mercado — 7 (off 86' for Lauren Barnes)
Maddie Mercado lined up for the match as a forward, at least on paper, exactly where everybody predicted she'd spend significant time this season. She also spent a lot of the match dropping back into a more facilitating space in the midfield, as should probably be expected. More importantly: it was effective. With AMC and Dahlien crashing forward early and often and Mercado and Fishlock frequently switching off as the highest central player, the Reign created the sort of beautiful controlled chaos that leads to chances and is very hard to defend. Mercado's 35th minute assist to Fishlock was a beautiful, low, driven cut that found the Dragon in her stride, her clever touch to Ji So-yun in the 12th led directly to a dangerous Dahlien chance, and she fired off a warning shot of her own in the 2nd minute.
Going forward. In ideal circumstances, Mercado probably isn't the center forward of choice, but she got a huge assist, turned her particular skills to the role with remarkable nuance, and showing this sort of positional versatility to go with her obvious quality is only a positive.
Maddie Dahlien — 6
In her second Reign appearance, Maddie Dahlien once again ran circles around her defenders, bringing direction and energy to the front line. And, importantly, she added more purpose and danger to the end of that, and her teammates did a better job finding her. While she didn't score, she was dangerous. She led the side in shots, getting five looks and forcing three saves out of Casey Murphy, with her 13th minute effort a particularly dangerous attempt. She created her own shot with her aggression, and she created shots for others, combining with Jess Fishlock and Ji So-yun, AMC and Maddie Mercado. She did have several heavy touches and misplayed passes that ended otherwise promising sequences – more than any other player on the field – but she got so much right along the way, and her relentless pressure on the back line opened up opportunities repeatedly.
Going forward. Dahlien is really exciting – in some ways still an unfinished product, but showing real growth even just week to week. She offers a refreshing directness and willingness to just make shit happen, and I for one can't wait to watch her run right by half of the NWSL before they realize she's there.
Substitutes
Sam Meza — 6 (on 70' for Jess Fishlock)
Sam Meza played 20+ minutes, replacing Fishlock as the Reign transitioned to a more defensive outlook, but with North Carolina ratcheting up the pressure as they searched desperately for an equalizer, those were some of the hardest 20 minutes you could've asked Meza to play, and she came through in flying colors. Twenty minutes, 16 touches, four tackles won, three dribblers dispossessed, a block, an interception, a clearance, three recoveries... she was asked to hold the line, and she held it, and then some.
Going forward. Meza looks up to the pressure, calm on the ball, and ready to be a real contributor in the NWSL. Hell. Yes.
Emeri Adames — 4 (on 71' for Ana-Maria Crnogorčević)
Emeri Adames, replacing AMC, didn't find all that much of the ball in her 20+ minutes, with the Courage ratcheting pressure and the Reign finding few opportunities to make forays into the attacking third. She also didn't make much of the few chances she did get to touch the ball, giving it right back to the Courage three times on eight touches.
Going forward. The quality is there for Emeri, but she could still work on her decision-making when seeing out a close game. As ever, Emeri needs these minutes, and struggling in hard minutes is important, too.
Olivia van der Jagt — 4 (on 79' for Ji So-yun)
Olivia van der Jagt returned to the pitch for the first time since last June, and we're so, so happy to have her back. It wasn't a particularly impactful appearance, finding two touches in 12+ minutes, but she did get her foot through an important clearance and helped to keep the midfield sticky and difficult for North Carolina to work through, and, ultimately, that was enough.
Going forward. Welcome back Olo. <3
Lauren Barnes — N/A (on 86' for Maddie Mercado)
Her first appearance in her 13th season with the Reign, Lauren Barnes came on for the last few minutes to help see the game out and touched the ball once, a timely interception to disrupt one of many late North Carolina attacks.
Going forward. Our commander, our captain, our Lu!
Referee
Elvis Osmanovic — 6
Elvis Osmanovic was fine. He had opportunities to call very harsh game-changing penalties in both directions, and declined to both times, which is probably what we'd rather see. As North Carolina escalated their pressure searching for an equalizer, he showed a somewhat annoying tendency to ref to the score line, calling multiple phantom fouls on the Reign in the last 15 minutes, but in general, he kept things calm and he kept things under control, and nobody flying kicked anybody in the face this time, so we take the wins where we can get them.
Going forward. This is a perfectly acceptable standard of officiating, and ideally, PRO's illustrious crew will give me reason to continue seeing it as average this season.
And Another Thing..!
At the time the Reign scored their second goal, they had created 1.01 xG in chances to North Carolina's 0.2. It's important to remember both that xG is not a predictive measure for an individual match, and that the Reign absolutely ran the Courage off the pitch for the first 60 minutes: virtually everything the Courage did offensively came when they were already trailing and desperately searching for answers in rapidly expiring time.
There's a narrative thread amongst some NWSL punditry that the Reign got lucky here. That simply is not an opinion in any way reflective of reality. Game state matters, the Reign creating the bulk of the chances for the first hour and taking a well-deserved lead matters, and everything that happened after they took that well-deserved lead has to be understood in that context.
