10,715 supporters turned out for the Seattle Reign's annual Pride Match, making Sunday’s attendance the third highest in a standalone Reign home match during the NWSL regular season. Up against Racing Louisville, the game ended 1-1 by Bethany Balcer penalty and a last-gasp equalizer by Louisville, who was down to 10 players for the majority of the match.
The Reign looked like they were going to hold onto the one-goal victory but could not survive the final bundle of pressure from Louisville. Reign Head Coach Laura Harvey, feeling two important home points slipped away, described her team’s performance in the match: “Not enough quality. That’s it.”
Defender Sofia Huerta also weighed in on the team’s overall performance: “We probably could have won the game, scored a couple of more goals in the first and second half. So yeah, I feel really disappointed.”
Emma Morgan / Area Sports Network
Bethany Balcer scored her fifth goal of the season via a penalty in the 11th minute. A lengthy VAR check followed after Jordyn Huitema was dragged down by Arin Wright in the penalty box, where the initial yellow card was upgraded to red since the foul was deemed a denial of a goal-scoring opportunity. The Reign, who came into the match knowing the team must start winning more games, now found themselves a player and a goal up.
13 minutes of first-half stoppage time consequently followed due to the earlier VAR check as well as a head injury involving Taylor Kornieck, 13 to a concussion substitution. Deep into stoppage time, Racing Louisville had a very close chance to level the game before the break.
A great chance was missed by Bethany Balcer in the 57th minute, where a squared ball found her feet but was ultimately skied by the goal-scorer. However, the initial pass that led to the cross appeared to be offside and would have likely invoked a VAR check to call off the goal.
Minutes later in the second half, substitute Veronica Latsko almost doubled the Reign’s important lead after hitting the post. A low cross from Fishlock had Latsko near full stretch to connect with the ball, and she was inches away from her third of the season.
Claudia Dickey narrowly avoided a costly blunder around the 94th minute. Off a deflection, the ball bounced towards Dickey but missed her hands, bounded between her legs, and almost into her own net. Reacting quickly, Dickey recovered in time to secure the ball before Louisville’s Reilyn Turner could arrive in time.
Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network
The Reign could not hold onto the one-goal lead, though, and cracked in the 98th minute of the game. A distant freekick sent into the Reign box found the head of Jaelin Howell, assisting Reilyn Turner to beat Claudia Dickey to the ball and roofing the ball to level the game near the final whistle.
“I think we just switched off–we weren’t ready,” Jess Fishlock said after the game, as she was digesting the result. “Everytime I come and do a press conference, I go, 'We're so close and we're so close and we're so close,' but every week, it stays at being so close and we can't quite get over the line. We really have to have a look at why that is.”
As the team prepares for a road trip to play Gotham, the club will view the Louisville draw as a loss but must keep their heads up when they face former Reign players Rose Lavelle and Emily Sonnett.
Cover Photo: Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network
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