The Seattle Reign played their annual Pride match against Racing Louisville on June 23rd at Lumen Field. Racing head coach Bev Yanez returned to face her old team. This was the Reign’s first game since the new ownership group has been made official. After a difficult run of matches Seattle needs to pick up points where they can.
First Half
The first half kicked off and the energy in the stands was buzzing. The players were feeling this energy as well and Phoebe McClernon sent in a long ball and it met Jordyn Huitema’s run. Huitema, being hunted down by defenders, tried to hold up against their pressure when Racing’s number 3 held on to her shoulder and pulled her down as she tried to make a shot inside the box.
Huitema Earns a Penalty Kick
The ref called the foul and pointed to the spot, he also gave Racing’s number 3 a yellow. After VAR it was determined the yellow was instead red and Racing would play the rest of the match with 10 players. Bethany Balcer stood at the spot and when the whistle was blown she converted the point. The keeper dove left as Balcer sent the ball right, Seattle was up 1-0 in the first 10 minutes.
Over the next 30 minutes the Reign continued their pressure, hunting down their next goal as they looked to exploit Racing’s weak spots. Although no goal was scored Louisville was feeling the heat as chance after chance was created in their half.
Second Half
The second half went similarly to the first with pressure from both sides, with more possession by the Reign. After substitutions from both sides the pace kicked up again. Although the game seemed to be in the hands of the Reign, Louisville was determined to not give up.
In the 97th minute of the game, well into stoppage time, Louisville had been awarded a free kick from just inside the Reign’s half. Their keeper sent the ball into the line of players. The ball landed on the head of Louisville’s Howell. Howell then headed the ball towards goal where it found the feet of her teammate Turner. Turner was able to flick the ball into the top of the goal and the game was tied 1-1.
What Should Have Been
Although the Reign was able to hold their lead up until the 97th minute it proved to be not enough. The Reign saw many chances unfinished due to a lack of quality. Turning off in the late minutes of the game is dangerous for any team, and Louisville exploited the Reign’s incoordination to tie the game that should have been a classic Reign home win.
KEY TAKEWAYS:
- NEW STARTING XI: Through all 14 games this season, Seattle Reign FC continues to utilize the depth of the squad, having not listed a replicated starting XI in 2024. Defender Sofia Huerta is the only player to start in all 14 games and to play every minute this season for a total of 1,260 minutes.
- BETHANY BALCER: Forward Bethany Balcer scored her fifth goal of the season and now has 33 regular-season goals in her career, the third-most goals in Reign FC history. The 27-year-old finished the match with one goal and two shots.
- Balcer is the only player in the NWSL to score at least five goals in every season since 2019.
- SERIES: The draw brings the all-time series to 1W-1L-6D between the Reign and Racing Louisville FC.
UP NEXT: The Reign travel to New Jersey to take NJ/NY Gotham FC on Sunday, June 30. Fans can tune in on ESPN 2, ESPN+ and EESPN Deportes.
MATCH SUMMARY
2024 NWSL Regular Season
Seattle Reign FC 1 – 1 Racing Louisville FC
Date/Time: Sunday, June 23, 3:00 p.m. PT
Location: Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington
Weather: 67, mostly cloudy
Scoring Summary
SEA: Balcer – 10’
LOU: Turner – 90+7’
Discipline
SEA: Huitema – (Caution – 45+12′)
LOU: Wright – (Red Card – 9′), Flint – (Caution – 31′)
Lineups
SEA: GK Dickey D Huerta, D Barnes (c) (Cook 74’), D McClernon, D Brown (Holmes 62’), M Fishlock, M Quinn (Stanton 86’), M Ji (Athens 90+4’), F King (Latsko 62’), F Balcer (62’ Van der Jagt), F Huitema
Unused substitutes: GK Ivory, F Adames, M James-Turner
Total Shots: 13 (Latsko – 3)
Shots on Goal: 3 (Three tied with – 1)
Fouls: 15 (Ji – 4)
Offsides: 1
Corner Kicks: 9
Saves: 3 (Dickey – 3)
LOU: GK Lund, D Milliet, D Pickett, D Wright, D Erceg, M DiGrande, M Flint (Jean 45’), M Howell (C), M DeMelo (Fischer 58’), F Sears (Goins 80’), F Bahr (Turner 58’)
Unused substitutes: F Motlhalo, D Pokorny, M Baggett, GK White
Total Shots: 7 (Sears, Turner – 2)
Shots on Goal: 4 (Four tied with – 1)
Fouls: 7 (Flint, Fischer– 2)
Offsides: 3
Corner Kicks: 2
Saves: 2 (Lund – 2)
Player of the Match: Jess Fishlock
Referee: Matthew Corrigan
Assistant Referee 1: Ricardo Ocampo
Assistant Referee 2: Cameron Siler
4th Official: Kaitlyn Trowbridge
VAR: Alyssa Nichols
AVAR: Benjamin Wooten
