Nérilia Mondésir and Jordyn Huitema returned to the starting lineup, Lynn Biyendolo made her first appearance of the season as a halftime sub, and the Seattle Reign put up a good fight before falling short against the defending champion (and league's top performing team) Orlando Pride.
It started as a cagey affair, with both sides feeling for opportunities, but with big chances hard to come by. The Reign, playing (on paper) in a 5-4-1, tried something new, and found some success limiting Orlando's space to run into, mucking up progression in the midfield, and searching for Huitema and Mondésir high up the pitch.
But late in a relatively tentative and even first half where the Reign and Pride traded half-chances, Barbra Banda scored the game’s lone goal in the 41st minute. Summer Yates received the ball and took it to the end line, blowing past Madison Curry to deliver a killer cross. Banda had the tap-in with a well-timed run, and the Reign defense seemed frozen in place and watching as Orlando took the lead.
The Reign dialed up the pressure in the second half, with Biyendolo, Mondésir, and Maddie Dahlien finding numerous opportunities to run at Orlando's back line. They created several decent looks on goal, but couldn't get anything past Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse. As time ticked on, Orlando was able to take the sting out of the game with a couple long pauses in play, and nursed away the six minutes of stoppage time to secure their fourth win of the season.
What Worked: Getting the band together
This match saw the return of some big missing pieces for the Reign, with Jordyn Huitema, Nérilia Mondésir, and Lynn Biyendolo all in the lineup. While they were unable to secure a result, the improved quality of play was undeniable, with Mondésir and Huitema working together on some intriguing chances in the first half, and Mondésir, Biyendolo, and Dahien absolutely balling out together for stretches of the second.
Importantly, this was the first appearance for Biyendolo, a much-anticipated offseason signing for the Reign, who replaced Huitema as a halftime sub and immediately showed her quality on the field.
Lynn Biyendolo debuts for @reignfc.bsky.social 💙
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) April 12, 2025 at 5:34 PM
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What Almost Worked: Containing Barbra Banda
Since joining the league last year, Banda has been an unstoppable force, an inevitable scorer, a dynamic and spectacular forward, and the most dangerous player on a defending champion team that also includes literally the greatest to ever play the game. She's virtually undefendable.
And yet, for most of the first half and all of the second, the Reign very successfully defended her – frustrating her, denying her service, limiting her to speculative chances from bad angles. 89+ minutes on how to successfully guard when playing one of the most electric talents in the league.
Except for in the 41st minute, when she got the jump on Phoebe McClernon while the back line fell asleep, and neatly slotted in the winning goal. Unfortunately, almost wasn't enough.
Barbra Banda opens up the scoresheet for Orlando Pride!
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) April 12, 2025 at 5:21 PM
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What Didn't Work: Picking up points
While there are no easy matches in NWSL, the Reign drew a run of several very difficult matches to start the season, facing Gotham, North Carolina, Angel City, Orlando, and Portland for their first five. Picking up points against Gotham and North Carolina is good, but with a huge rivalry match coming up and Bay FC and Kansas City on the horizon, there's no time to sit back.
Despite the obvious quality of the opponent, there were points on the table for the Reign. They held the Pride scoreless for 41 minutes and are the only team this season to hold the Pride to one goal. They had chances to offer. It's one thing to say they played very well against an incredibly good opponent – and they did! – but points were in their reach, and points figure to be at a premium on this table.
The Reign are back in action on Friday, April 18th at 7:00 PM as they host the rival Portland Thorns. Catch the match in person at Lumen Field, or follow at home on Prime Video.
