Harrison,N.J– Sky Blue FC had their second match of the week, recording a 1-1 draw against Reign FC. The home team saw an increase in attendance with 9,415 fans at the Red Bull Arena.
Reign FC made the first move on goal as Kenie Wright sent a ball up to Elizabeth Eddy on the right side of the field. As a rookie, Wright recorded her first NWSL assist in her pass to Eddy. Reign goalkeeper Casey Murphy came out from her box and Eddy sent the ball above Murphy where it bounced into the back of the net.
Sky Blue’s 1-0 lead didn’t last for long as it took the Reign two minutes to get a goal. Midfielder Allie Long crossed the ball to the center of the box where England international Jodie Taylor used her first touch to score the equalizer.
Minutes later, Taylor was once again at the net and almost gave the Reign the go-ahead goal until Sky Blue goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan made the save for New Jersey. In total, Sheridan made five saves against the Reign.
Disaster struck in the 14th minute for an already injury riddled Reign, when Shea Groom went down with what would turn out to be a broken rib. The Reign have seven players with season ending injuries and several other on the temporary injury list.
For Sky Blue, this match was monumental to their captain Sarah Killion, who recorded her 100th NWSL appearance.
“100th in front of this crowd is just a dream come true,” Killion said. “I feel very honored to be on the field with the players and with Sky Blue, I know the staff was working as hard as they could to make this happen and so it just brings a smile to my face. We almost got the win. We are scraping and we are fighting and I think we are getting better and better every week.”
This draw now puts Sky Blue with a 3-11-4 game record as they are ranked eighth in league standings. For their next match, Sky Blue will travel to texas as they face the Houston Dash for Week 19.
SCORING SUMMARY:
NJ-Elizabeth Eddy (Assisted by: Kenie Wright), 36’
SEA-Jodie Taylor (Assisted by: Allie Long), 38’
BOOKING SUMMARY:
SEA-Allie Long, 84’ yellow card
SKY BLUE FC: #1-Kailen Sheridan, #3-Caprice Dydasco, #8-Erica Skroski, #24-Estelle Laura Johnson, #14-Kenie Wright (#12-Gina Lewandowski, 75’), #16-Sarah Killion, #19-Elizabeth Eddy, #10-Carli Lloyd, #11-Raquel Rodriguez, #4-Paige Monaghan (#29-Amandine Pierre-Louis, 72’), #7-Jennifer Hoy (#9-Nahomi Kawasumi, 46’)
Subs not used: #5-Julie James, #13-Didi Haracic, #17-Dominique Richardson, #28-Imani Dorsey
REIGN FC: #26-Casey Murphy, #8-Theresa Nielsen, #4-Megan Oyster, #3-Lauren Barnes, #7-Steph Catley, #17-Bev Yanez (#5-Rebecca Quinn, 73’), #31-Rosie White, #6-Allie Long, #2-Shea Groom (#25-Ifeoma Onumonu, 19’), #9-Jodie Taylor, #24-Bethany Balcer (#11-Darian Jenkins, 69’)
Subs not used: #28-Sammy Jo Prudhomme, #13-Celia Jimenez Delgado, #12-Morgan Andrews, #35-Schuyler DeBree
TOTAL SHOTS: NJ 9-18 SEA
SHOTS ON GOAL: NJ 3-6 SEA
FOULS: NJ 8-8 SEA
OFFSIDES: NJ 0-4 SEA
Sky Blue FC
Seattle Reign FC
