Seattle Reign Defeats Rivals Portland Thorns with Maddie Dahlien Being The Difference
- Niko Antoun
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Another chapter of the Seattle-Portland rivalry was added to the books on Friday evening, with the Reign defeating their arch-rivals by a narrow 1-0 victory at Lumen Field. Lynn Biyendolo was given her first start in a Reign FC uniform, and for the first time everyone was able to see a start involving Huitema alongside Biyendolo.
Ji So-Yun returned to play at the 66th minute of the match, where the South Korean international missed the previous Orlando Pride game due to a leg injury sustained during the international break. Seattle Reign OG Jess Fishlock was still ruled out for the Portland game due to a leg injury of her own.
Maddie Dahlien opened the scoring against Portland, marking the first of her first professional club career. The goal came within the first five minutes of the game, showing to all the supporters that they are watching a Reign squad reborn.
Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network
Assisted by Biyendolo, Dahlien found a calm finish after cutting into the Portland penalty area and neatly finding the bottom corner. Dahlien’s teammates all ran to hug the goal-scorer, and followed the celebration, the 20-year-old forward ran to the bench for heartwarming hugs.
The Portland Thorns almost grabbed a last-gasp equalizer at the 96th minute mark, hitting the crossbar off a corner where Turner found a one-touch shot from a defensive header. The traveling supporters in disbelief, since such an equalizer in a derby game would have stung more than anything for Seattle.
Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network
The Reign managed to hold onto the 1-0 lead up until the final whistle, maintaining the one-goal margin for almost the entire match. In the NWSL standings, the Reign leapfrogged over the Portland Thorns into 6th place and marking the team’s second win of the season with five games played.
For the next match, Seattle will travel to California to play Bay FC, who came into matchday five at 8th place.
Cover Photo: Emma Morgan / Area Sports Network
