Coach’s Corner
Photos by Denise McCooey
As Summer winds down in Seattle the women’s game continues to trend upward in visibility and intensity.
Seattle Reign FC fans have witnessed another unbeaten run at home at The MODA Pitch at Memorial Stadium. As of posting the run is 21 matches unbeaten in league play with two regular season games in August and a likely home playoff game. Attendance has crossed the 6K threshold in back to back matches, causing the opening of the South Grandstand for the first two times in the young franchise’s history. Two returning USWNT stars in Megan Rapinoe and Hope Solo have added to the exposure and the quality of the side.
Reign FC Coach Laura Harvey shaped a roster with the 2015 World Cup in mind, limiting the roster losses and maximizing the cohesiveness of her team’s preferred XI. The Seattle D has thrived, even as the goalkeepers have changed, playing with composure and steadiness. Bev Yanez is near the top of the scoring charts. The Reign midfield trio of Keelin Winters, Jessica Fishlock, and Kim Little controls matches.
The only negative at this point is the recent announcement by the NWSL that the final will be played neutral, meaning Seattle fans will potentially need to travel on a Thursday the first of October for a match in Portland. Neutral in PDX is near impossible, as the locals will in all likelihood overwhelmingly support whichever other side is potentially there. So, Seattle sits only 5 points needed from 4 remaining matches from a shield that is a pretty trophy but brings minimal benefit. The NWSL release on the matter discusses that neutral would always be the 2015 final, surprising many. It stings for Seattle fans who will potentially have a second consecutive shield winner not be able to play at what is being known as Fortress memorial given how the 2014 final was moved back to the 2013 venue of Starfire Stadium.
Moving further into the fall, Seattle will host a USWNT Victory Tour match at Century Link Field against Brazil on October 21. The recent friendly announcement sets up Hope Solo for playing in a national team jersey in Seattle for the first time. It also could be an opportunity for locals to woo Abby Wambach, showering her with affection about a possible run in the NWSL with the local side.
The college game will see immediate regional rivalries as Seattle University hosts their 2014 NCAA Tournament 1st Round opponent Washington State on August 21 and then Seattle travels down the road a week later to take on Washington. November 5 brings Washington State across the mountains for a second Seattle appearance against the rival Huskies with a decade long run of Cougar dominance on the line.
