Photo: Vanya Tucherov (Prost Amerika)
Seattle Reign FC 3 : 1 Washington Spirit
May 2, 2015
There is a saying that winning cures what ails. Perhaps.
The Seattle Reign FC returned home after an 0-2 zero points road trip where they played well for long stretches, yet gave up two counter goals that took all points away. The return home yielded three very important points and a game similar to the opener at home a few weeks earlier. The 3-1 win over a solid Washington Spirit side was necessary, even this early in the season.
To fall to 1-3 or to have only grabbed a fourth point through four games would have called into question all of the good work preseason and the opener had wrought.
Photo: Vanya Tucherov (Prost Amerika)
Seattle played much more outside in against Washington, using the flanks and crosses to good order and generated goals from the run of play.
They moved with good energy, contested balls all over the field, and in a game in which the ref seemed to let physical play go they gave as well as they got. A solid performance from all facets of the game.
Kiersten Dallstream and Haley Kopmeyer stepped in to start for Megan Rapinoe and Hope Solo.
Kopmeyer looks like a starter, carries herself like a starter, but its a nine team league loaded with talent with only nine jobs so those starting jobs will be hard to grab. While Solo is gone for World Cup duty Seattle should be in good hands.
Dallstream brought good energy and run after run down the right side. Seattle’s mids showed no hesitation playing the ball off to either Dallstream down the right or to Merritt Mathias down the left. Both wings generated a number of scoring chances with Mathias’ low cross put in by Beverly Yanez in the first half.
The Reign depth is good. It unfortunately will face possible further challenge with the ankle or heel problems Jessica Fishlock was showing after an incident in the first half. The post match crutches were not a good sign, but perhaps were just precautionary.
Photo: Vanya Tucherov (Prost Amerika)
The 2 goal lead proved to be a struggle once again, with the Spirit pressing and scoring after a several minute push that saw a couple of balls pushed through the Reign central defense and had Kopmeyer pushing the ball over on an uncontested shot from long range.
Responding to the goal was important, and much like at home a few weeks ago Seattle fought back and took the momentum of the game back with a third goal, this time from Fishlock off of a beautiful seeing eye pass from Kim Little.
But now the Reign faced adversity again.
Jess Fishlock left the field on crutches, possibly as a precaution, but one never knows and she is a fighter. A road match with Sky Blue FC beckons. A win there and the time off between that match and the May 30th match will feel much different.
Will the Reign show that they can get points on the road? Or, will the pattern of home being points and road being pointless emerge?
