Photo Credit: Seattle Reign FC-Emma Ottosen
SPOKANE, Wash. — The Seattle Reign scored five goals and conceded once over their first two ‘home’ games in Spokane. Fans joked that the team should make a permanent move east to continue scoring goals, a primary struggle of the team dating back to last season, but that Spokane scoring sauce ran out Saturday night against the Denver Summit in a scoreless draw. With the offense stifled, defense secured the point.
The Reign came out on the front foot with seven early shots, but then were held without an attempt from the 27th minute until stoppage time in the first half. Denver didn’t register a shot until the 17th minute, but had more opportunities the rest of the game.
The Summit particularly took hold of the match in the second half. It felt like the Reign couldn’t get out of their own defensive half or transition into any sustained offense, and could end up sitting in a low block for 30 minutes to end the game. Despite the near-constant pressure, the defense held strong.
“I think they had a lot of momentum in the second half, and when that happens, the old saying is bend but don’t break, and we did that,” head coach Laura Harvey said postgame. “I think they had a lot of the ball, they got in areas that were dangerous, but we didn’t break. … Our mentality to not be beaten is a big part of who we want to be, so I was really proud of the players for that.”
Though Denver’s 18 shots on the night were a season high for the expansion team, double their previous high, goalkeeper Claudia Dickey wasn’t forced into any particularly difficult saves for the three on target. That’s largely credit to the Reign defense getting bodies behind the ball, keeping the Summit in front of them, blocking shots and putting in tackles.
“I think that [Denver] is probably one of the more exceptional teams in terms of their ability to score from crossing situations. And I think we did an incredible job of shutting them down when we were inside our own 18,” defender Phoebe McClernon said. “I think that’s something we can take pride in. And I also just think that we’re like a gritty defensive team. I think we have players all over the field who want to get stuck in, and maybe the next evolution of that is just the decision after we create that turnover.”
With the help of their ‘home’ fans, the Reign were finally able to wrestle back some offensive momentum in the last 10 or so minutes. The engaged crowd, though just under 4,000, recognized the shift and tried to will the Reign to victory with the thunderous rumbling of thousands of feet stomping on metal bleachers. After the home team desperately struggled for chances in the second half, they created several late opportunities, most in transition, but lacked the finish.
“That’s an area that we will definitely focus on is how, when a team has momentum, how you can get it back,” Harvey acknowledged. “I think tonight, maybe it wasn’t our best performance, but we still created chances in periods where, if you take one of them, I think we could see the game out. … Maybe we didn’t convert the ones that we should’ve, but creation, I believe, is getting much better than it’s been before.”
While you always want to win, the draw means Seattle earned a solid seven of nine available points across their three-match ‘home’ span in Spokane. Reign will head into the international break sitting third in the league standings with 10 points from five games.
