Raso Brace leads Thorns FC to 2-1 win over Reign FC

SEATTLE (August 26, 2017) –   A capacity crowd of 6,041 fans saw  Seattle Reign FC fall 2-1 to I-5 rival Portland Thorns FC Saturday Night at  Memorial Stadium as Portland forward Haley Raso scored two second half goals. The win  snapped the Thorns five game winless streak against the Reign.

“We got what we deserved. We weren’t good enough, they were the better team,” said Seattle Reign FC head coach and general manager Laura Harvey. “We have to regroup and decide what we want to do.

Do we want to be the team that misses out on the playoffs again, because it’s our own fault? Or do we want to be the team that pushes every inch to get there? Mathematically we can still get there, realistically we can still get there, but we won’t get there if we play like we did today.”

Reign FC came out on the front foot pushing for an early goal , which nearly came in the 10^th minute of the match. Defender Merritt Mathias found space on the right side and whipped a cross into the box that found forward Katie Johnson at the back post, but her header was just over the crossbar.

Portland had a chance to take the lead just before half time when forward Christine Sinclair’s  overhead chip put Nadia Nadim on a one-one  chance with Reign goal keeper Haley Kopmeyer who came off her line for the big save.

Portland continued to attack the Seattle defense after the halftime whistle and the Thorns determination paid off in the 50th minute when Forward Haley Raso gave the visitors the 1-0 lead after winning the ball off a Reign FC free kick .

Raise doubled the visitors  lead  in the 85^th minute of the match when she converted her rebound  shot after Kopmeyer saved her initial shot.

Midfielder Jessica Fishlock was able to pull one back for Reign FC with a penalty kick in the 90^th minute. Defender Rachel Corsie earned the penalty after she was fouled in the box by defender Meghan Klingenberg.

Corsie was named Reign FC player of the match for her performance. The defender played the full 90 minutes in the match, and led the team in clearances with 11. Corsie also had five blocks in the match.

Saturday nights  result left Reign FC fifth place in the  NWSL with 27 points, two points behind fourth place Chicago for the final playoff off spot. Portland is second  with 37 points.Reign FC’s next match is set for  Sunday, September 3 in  Houston. The Reign will take on the  Houston Dash at BBVA Compass Stadium.  It will be  the final meeting between the two teams in the 2017 NWSL regular season. Kickoff is set for 5:00pm PT. The previous meeting between the two teams saw Reign FC earn a 2-0 win on the road on May 27^th.

NWSL Match Report
Match: Seattle Reign FC (7-7-6, 27 pts) vs Portland Thorns FC (11-5-4, 37 pts)
Date: August 26, 2017
Venue: Memorial Stadium
Kickoff: 1:00pm PT
Attendance: 6,041
Weather: Sunny

Scoring Summary:

POR – Raso 49’
POR – Raso 86’
SEA – Fishlock 90’

Lineups:

Seattle Reign FC: Kopmeyer, Barnes, Corsie, McNabb, Mathias, Utsugi, Fishlock, Nairn (Bauer 62’), Dallstream (Yanez 59’), Johnson, Kawasumi (Crummer 83’)

Substitutes Not Used: Elston, Stott, Pickett, Schiffel

Portland Thorns FC: Franch, Reynolds, Sonnett, Menges, Klingenberg, Horan, Sinclair (Jordan 88’), Raso, Nadim (Brynjarsdottir 75’), Sykes, Henry (Long 58’)

Substitutes Not Used: Bourielle, Weber, Johnson, Eckerstrom

Stats Summary: SEA/POR
Shots: 4 / 25
Shots on Goal: 1 / 6
Saves: 3 / 0
Corner Kicks: 5 / 5
Fouls: 5 / 10
Offside: 5 / 3

Misconduct Summary:

SEA – McNabb (Yellow) 60’
SEA – Barnes (Yellow) 68’
POR – Brynjarsdóttir (Yellow) 77’
POR – Klingenberg (Yellow) 90’
POR – Raso (Yellow) 90’ + 2

Officials:
Referee: Farhad Dadkho
Assistant Referees: Alicia Messer, Maggie Short
Fourth Official: Kelsey Harms