Seattle Reign FC 3
Houston Dash 1
NWSL Regular Season
Memorial Stadium – Seattle, WA
July 7, 2018
Seattle Reign FC hosted a revamped and post blockbuster trade Houston Dash Saturday night in Seattle. Much was on the line on the Memorial Stadium pitch, a hot night in Seattle that had to feel like a respite to the visitors from Houston. For both sides there were playoff implications, both for position and for staying in the hunt, at the forefront of what points at the end of the night would mean.
An early corner in the 12th gave a near post running Amber Brooks a chance to head home a solid opening goal for the visiting side. Sofia Huerta dropped the corner outside the six and Brooks’ run timed well to strike the header with a bit of power and into the net.
Jodie Taylor added to England’s really good football day with the leveling goal in the 38th minute. Megan Rapinoe grabbed a quick throw in leading Taylor into the Houston penalty area, where Taylor chose a teardrop flick over Houston keeper Jane Campbell that just dropped under the bar to bring the match level before the break
With it level at the interval and the late Houston winner in May reasonably fresh in everyone’s memory, even a single point could not feel safe for the home side.
Megan Rapinoe gave Seattle the lead and took over the franchise record in the 56th minute following a foul on Elizabeth Addo in the Houston box. The goal was Rapinoe’s 33rd NWSL league goal for the Reign FC, moving her past Kim Little in the Seattle record book.
Allie Long continued her stellar season, controlling the ebb and flow in transition, and making it 3-1 in the 85th on a clean left footed finish to a through pass from Rapinoe to mostly bring the match to its conclusion.
Points for Seattle don’t simply mean keeping pace in race for second and the home field match in the playoffs, but they mean one less opportunity for the teams looking up the standings at them. A win keeps Seattle up a point in second with a game in hand, but there is a cluster of clubs right on their heels. Houston is not a huge chunk of points behind, but the time and chances to make up that ground are no longer in abundance this season.
Houston has emerged a changed team at mid-season, getting Kealia Ohai back from injury, and getting trade value finally delivered after the Christen Press trade with Utah brought Sofia Huerta and she has brought immediate impact.
Seattle face Utah and the return of Laura Harvey to Seattle on Wednesday evening at Memorial Stadium.
photos by Vanya Tucherov
Match: Seattle Reign FC 3 Houston Dash 1
Date: July 7, 2018
Venue: UW Medicine Pitch at Memorial Stadium, Seattle, WA
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. PT
Attendance: 3,172
Weather: 72 degrees, sunny
Scoring Summary
HOU – Brooks, 12’
SEA – Taylor, 37’
SEA – Rapinoe, 56’
SEA – Long, 85’
Misconduct Summary
HOU – Chapman, 59’
SEA – Rapinoe, 90 + 4’
Seattle Reign FC
Total shots: 14
Shots on goal: 7
Crosses: 18
Total Passes: 520
Passing Accuracy: 74.6%
Possession: 59.2%
Saves: 3
Yellow cards: 1
Fouls: 6
Corner kicks: 7
Offsides: 7
Houston Dash
Total shots: 11
Shots on goal: 4
Crosses: 22
Total Passes: 345
Passing Accuracy: 62.0%
Possession: 40.8%
Saves: 4
Yellow cards: 1
Fouls: 10
Corner kicks: 2
Offsides: 4
Seattle Reign FC
Lydia Williams, Steph Catley, Megan Oyster, Lauren Barnes, Theresa Nielsen, Rumi Utsugi, Beverly Yanez (Kristen McNabb, 90’), Allie Long, Megan Rapinoe, Jodie Taylor (Jasmyne Spencer, 84’), Elizabeth Addo (Nahomi Kawasumi, 62’)
Substitutes Not Used: Morgan Andrews, Michelle Betos, Alyssa Kleiner, Adriana Leon
Houston Dash
Jane Campbell, Taylor Comeau, Amber Brooks, Janine Van Wyk, Allysha Chapman, Clare Polkinghorne, Linda Motlhalo, Sofia Huerta, Kyah Simon (Nichelle Prince, 73’), Rachel Daly, Kealia Ohai
Substitutes Not Used: Lindsay Agnew, Haley Hanson, Bianca Henninger, Savannah Jordan, Thembi Kgatlana, Veronica Latsko
Referee: Reyna Fonseca
Assistant Referees: Alicia Messer, Benjamin Wooten
4th Official: Jeff Arthurholtz
Seattle Reign FC
