By Marisa Sexsmith Posted on

Seattle Reign struggles continue fall 2-1 to Washington Spirit

The Seattle Reign faced the Washington Spirit on Friday, ranked number seven and six on the table. Although the two teams were close in the table, the Spirit came in with 16 goals and the Reign with only 8.

This week’s match-up brought the Reign’s 4-2-3 record against the Spirit’s 5-1-3 record. Reign coach, Laura Harvey, made one notable change to the starting lineup with Emery Adames coming in at the beginning of the game.

In the early minutes, Koualssi was giving the Reign trouble, outpacing Lauren Barnes. Her shot from just outside the box in the 3rd minute was deflected by Reign keeper, Claudia Dickey.

In the 8th minute, after a scramble in the box, Rebeca Bernal shot from the top right corner of the box. Dickey deflected right toward Gift Monday who put it in the back of the net from an offside position. The goal was reviewed and called off by the referee.

The Reign couldn’t keep them back for long. In the 11th minute, Casey Kruger sent a ball into the box to star player Croix Bethune, who tapped the ball in past Shae Holmes, defending, and Dickey in goal.

In the 17th minute, Madison Curry sent the ball into the box where it deflected off of the Spirit defense to Holmes, who sent the ball over the keeper into the top of the goal. This marked Holmes’ first goal in the pro league after scoring two during her college career at the University of Washington.

After a messy first 15 minutes, Holmes brought relief to the fans in the stadium. What looked like it could be a blowout was looking more like the close matchup fans were expecting.

The relief didn’t last long. In the 35th minute, Monday received a long ball in the box, sent it straight to Ashley Hatch, who tapped the ball past Dickey, making the score 2-1 for the Spirit.

The second half brought no more goals from either team. The Reign made tactical changes in their second half, found their rhythm, but couldn’t find the chances. At the end of the match, the Reign were winded and outshot, 17-7. Outplayed for most of the first half, it was a tall order for the Reign to pull off a win or tie, but they couldn’t manage it this time.

Approaching the playoffs, the Reign have room to improve as a threat against their competitors. Though this game ended in a loss, they regained their composure and showed potential for the future.

POST GAME NOTES

MATCH NOTES

  • SHAE HOLMES: Shae Holmes made her second consecutive start and third appearance of the season. She scored her first NWSL goal in the 17th minute with a composed strike inside the area.
  • SALLY MENTI: Rookie midfielder Sally Menti, who signed a short-term contract on March 25, made her NWSL debut by entering the match in the 89th minute.
  • SERIES: With the result, Reign FC holds a 14-11-8 all-time record against the Washington Spirit across all NWSL competitions.
  • UP NEXT: Reign FC (4-4-2, 14 points) begins a three-game road swing at San Diego Wave FC (5-2-2, 17 points) on Friday, June 6 (7:00 p.m. PT / Prime).

MATCH SUMMARY

Seattle Reign FC 1 – Washington Spirit 2

Friday, May 23, 2025

Venue: Lumen Field

Referees: Brad Jensen

Assistants: Fernando Fierro, Eric Krueger

Fourth Official: Miles Crumley

VAR: Anya Voigt

Attendance: 7,080

Weather: 61 degrees and sunny

SCORING SUMMARY

WAS – Croix Bethune (Casey Krueger) 11’

SEA – Shae Holmes 17’

WAS – Ashley Hatch (Gift Monday) 35’

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

WAS – Narumi Miura (caution) 50’

SEA – Shae Holmes (caution) 55’

LINEUPS & STATS

Seattle Reign FC – Claudia Dickey; Lauren Barnes ©, Phoebe McClernon, Jordyn Bugg, Madison Curry, Shae Holmes (Nérilia Mondesir 74’); Angharad James-Turner (Ji So-Yun 74’), Sam Meza; Maddie Dahlien (Sally Menti 89’), Jordyn Huitema (Lynn Biyendolo 62’), Emeri Adames (Jess Fishlock 61’)

Substitutes not used: Maddie Prohaska, Emily Mason, Ainsley McCammon, Hanna Glas

Total shots: 7

Shots on goal: 2

Fouls: 6

Offside: 2

Corner-Kicks: 3

Saves: 2

Washington Spirit – Aubrey Kingsbury ©; Casey Krueger (Kiley Dulaney 81’), Rebeca Bernal, Tara McKeown, Gabby Carle, Esme Morgan (Kysha Sylla 66’); Narumi Miura, Croix Bethune (Hal Hershfelt 66’); Rosemonde Kouassi (Brittany Ratcliffe 89’), Gift Monday (Makenna Morris 81’), Ashley Hatch

Substitutes not used: Sandy MacIver, Courtney Brown, Heather Stainbrook, Meg Boade

Total shots: 17

Shots on goal: 4

Fouls: 9

Offside: 1

Corner-kicks: 3

Saves: 1

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