SEATTLE, WA. – Seattle Reign FC picked up its first road win of the season in an intense back and forth match against Racing Louisville FC. The match saw five total goals scored, all from set piece opportunities. The goal that sealed the 3-2 win was a Racing own goal, forced by Reign midfielder Ji So-Yun.
The match at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville was originally scheduled to kickoff at 4:30 p.m. PT but was delayed to 6:00 p.m. PT due to storms in the area. Once the match began, the Reign conceded an early goal just six minutes in. The home side earned a corner kick and midfielder Ary Borges freed herself in the box, sending a glancing header into the back of the net.
The Reign played down a goal for nine minutes before netting an equalizer. Midfielder and captain for the match Jess Fishlock was causing all sorts of problems for Louisville’s backline, drawing a penalty kick around the quarter hour mark. Defender Sofia Huerta stepped up to the spot to take the kick and confidently sent the ball to the goalkeeper Katie Lund’s right with enough power to find the back of the net.
The Reign found another chance on goal in the 35th minute, when forward Ana-Maria Crnogorčević crossed a ball into forward Jordyn Huitema, but the headed shot was stopped by the hands of Lund.
On the other side of the ball, Seattle worked hard to keep Louisville away from goal, but a couple of risky passes required the help of goalkeeper Claudia Dickey. As the half was nearing its end, Louisville regained the lead on another corner kick, this time finished by midfielder Taylor Flint.
As the match restarted, Dickey was once again called on to keep the ball out of the back of the net, denying Louisville sub Emma Sears in the 54th minute. The Reign continued to show their potential, stringing together an impressive passing buildup in the 59th minute, tearing through Louisville’s lineup.
Just a minute later, it seemed that former Racing player Jaelin Howell capped off a Reign attack with a goal as she rushed to the goal line to usher the ball into the back of the net, but the goal was whistled off and play saw yellow cards issued to Howell and Louisville midfielder Savannah DeMelo.
In the 74th minute of the match, Flint was whistled for a foul as she clattered through the back of Fishlock just outside the box. Ji, who subbed onto the field in the second half, stood over the kick, perfectly bending it over the wall and into the back of the net to bring the score level once again.
The 81st minute decided the match as the Reign forced a go-ahead own goal from Louisville. Huerta served a corner kick into the box, where Ji was waiting to get on the end of it. Ji directed the ball toward goal, with the last touch going off Racing’s Arin Wright before finding the back of the net to secure the Reign’s first road win of the season.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- 18 DIFFERENT XIs: The Reign have listed a different starting XI through all 18 games this season. Defender Sofia Huerta, who has played every minute this season, is the only player to start every game for the Reign.
- RETURN TO RACING: Midfielder Jaelin Howell and defender Julia Lester, both former Racing Louisville FC players, made their first regular season starts for the Reign tonight.
- UNBEATEN IN SIX: Seattle Reign FC extended its regular season unbeaten streak to six games (2W, 4D), a streak that started at home against Portland on June 16. This is Seattle’s first unbeaten streak of six or more games since the 2022 season, when Seattle went on seven-game streak to close out the regular season and win the NWSL Shield (August 14-October 1, 2022).
- The win marks Seattle’s first win against Louisville since the two sides first met on July 31, 2021.
- SOFIA HUERTA: Defender Sofia Huerta converted a penalty in the 15th minute to tie the game, 1-1.
- The goal marks Huerta’s 36th career regular-season goal, tying Marta and Allie Long for 17th all-time in the NWSL. Since entering the league in 2015, Huerta has scored at least one goal in every NWSL season.
- VERONICA LATSKO: Forward Veronica Latsko earned her 100th regular-season appearance tonight. Since entering the league in 2018, Latsko has tallied 53 appearances for the Reign and 47 appearances for the Houston Dash.
- SERIES: The win brings the all-time series to 2W-1L-6D between the Reign and Racing Louisville FC.
UP NEXT: The Reign travel to Los Angeles to take on Angel City FC on Friday, September 6 at 7:00 p.m. PT.
MATCH SUMMARY
2024 NWSL Regular Season
Seattle Reign FC 3– 2 Racing Louisville FC
Date/Time: Saturday, August 31, 4:30 p.m. PT (Delayed to 6:00 p.m. PT)
Location: Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky
Weather: 76, partly cloudy
Scoring Summary
SEA: Huerta – 15′, Ji – 75′, Own goal – 81′
LOU: Borges – 6′, Flint – 45′
Discipline
SEA: Howell – 62′, Huerta – 90+6
LOU: DeMelo – 62′
Lineups
SEA: GK Dickey, D Huerta, D Lester, D McClernon (Barnes 71′), D Holmes, M Quinn (Mondésir 71′), M Fishlock (c), M Howell, F Huitema, F King (Ji 54′), F Crnogorčević (Latsko 90′)
Unused substitutes: GK Ivory, D Woodham, M Athens, M McCammon, M James-Turner
Total Shots: 5 (Ji – 2)
Shots on Goal: 3 (Three tied with – 1)
Fouls: 15 (Howell – 4)
Offsides: 1
Corner Kicks: 3
Saves: 4 (Dickey – 4)
LOU: GK Lund, D Milliet, D Wright, D Ellie Jean, D Erceg (c), M DeMelo, M Borges, M DiGrande (Beckie 62′), M Flint, F Kanu (Sears 46′), F Balcer (Fischer 72′)
Unused substitutes: D Baron, D Pokorny, M Baggett, F Goins, F Bahr, GK Sekany
Total Shots: 17 (Flint – 4)
Shots on Goal: 6 (Flint – 2)
Fouls: 11 (Fischer – 3)
Offsides: 2
Corner Kicks: 8
Saves: 1 (Lund – 1)
Player of the Match: Sofia Huerta
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Schwartz
Assistant Referee 2: Kendall McCardell
4th Official: Alex Adkins
VAR: Alyssa Nichols
AVAR: Tom Felice
