Seattle Reign FC 1
Orlando Pride 1
May 21, 2017 – Seattle, WA – Memorial Stadium
NWSL Regular Season
Orlando stepped onto the Memorial Stadium Pitch in Seattle on Sunday night to take on the home Reign FC. Seattle was coming off a 6 goal performance a week earlier against Washington Spirit and had scored 11 goals in the two previous home matches. Three points for Seattle would mean 2nd place in the table and a point off the NWSL Shield pace. Orlando entered near the bottom of the standings, needing some good results to get the season on track and making the red line for the post-season in sight, even if early.
Good pace in the first half as both sides played forward, with the ball spending little time in the middle of the pitch. Seattle seemed to have moved back to a back four for the match, likely to deal with the attack prowess that Marta brings. Each team got the ball in front of the others’ net on a number of occasions in the first half, but to little avail as most attempts were not too much of a challenge for the keepers.
Ashlyn Harris went down after a goal kick in the 24th minute, being replaced by former Reign FC keeper and Orlando emergency signing Caroline Stanley. Fears of something serious for the national team keeper lingered over the match as she slowly hobbled to the locker room.
Seattle got on the scoreboard in the 40th minute when Bev Yanez deflected a Rachel Corsie shot after a series of corners and crosses and the ball being loose in the middle of the box. The one nil scoreline was probably not unfair, but the match could have had a different scoreline at the half.
Orlando came out with pressure to begin the second half, perhaps attempting to take advantage of the last of the sun in Seattle keeper Haley Kopmeyer’s face. Seattle also picked up a few early yellow cards defending against the Orlando pressure. Marta grabbed the equalizer in the 52nd, slotting the ball low to Kopmeyer’s left. Poor communication in the Seattle D had led to a turnover and Marta made Seattle pay for it with a quick shot.
Marta’s presence in the Orlando line up has been a quick rise from being a late arrival to the season to the focal point of the offense. With Alex Morgan due to return, the Orlando offense could become extraordinary the second half of the season. Head Coach Tom Sermanni commented post-match, “The first thing with Marta is she has fit in unbelievably well both on and off the field, she’s been an absolute pleasure and treasure. Great professional, great with the players, and really has fit in the team very easily. I think it’s probably since we’ve had two Brazilians in the team and our club has got Brazilian ownership. In a sense coming into the team might’ve been a little easier with the environment. She’s just fit in exceptionally well and it’s ironic in a sense that, not so much tonight but in previous games, the amount of opportunities that Marta has created. I’m really waiting for Alex to come back and I’m sure she’ll finish off a lot of chances. It was tough enough last year because we didn’t create a lot being a first year team, and Alex was working exceptionally hard for the occasional chance that she got during the games. But I think with Marta and being enough of a team now and Alex coming back in, I think we got two of the most potent strikers in the league. I’m very much looking forward to it.”
The second half continued to be more and more physical. Seattle had a number of set piece opportunities, with sub Kristen McNabb nearly scoring low near post on a Rapinoe chip. Seattle sub Katie Johnson entered the match and immediately caused things to happen. Coach Laura Harvey continues to bring on Johnson as a sub, and in each instance she makes things happen. It is only a matter of time for more minutes to come.
Orlando had much of the play for much of the second half, but after the substitutions Seattle pressed and Orlando seemed content to defend for the single point as the match wore on. Orlando Coach Tom Sermanni seemed pleased post match with his team fighting back to grab a road point in Memorial Stadium. Seattle Coach Laura Harvey was adamant that her team needs to get back to winning matches one nil and not giving up chances to teams at home based upon their own mistakes, “I think they defended well at times but I think some of it was us. I don’t think we were as sharp or took the opportunities that we obviously took in weeks before. The big thing for us is that it takes us to the second goal, for us to really relax and play. The longer we went 1-nil and we didn’t get that second goal we start to force things and we get frustrated. It takes until the last 10-15 minutes to stamp our authority again, and we’ve got to work out that middle phase where you’re 1-nil up and you’re seeing a game out.”
In the end, the points were split and Seattle missed a chance to move up the ladder and onto the heels of the league leading North Carolina Courage.
photos by Vanya Tucherov
