The Reign, who came into this game second from bottom, were up against the bottom-of-the-table Utah Royals on Sunday afternoon. Head Coach Laura Harvey sent out a similar lineup to the prior game at Gotham, where the Reign salvaged a last-gasp equalizer. Another defeat meant the Reign and Royals would swap places in the standings, as the two sides went into Sunday with a difference of two points. However, a Reign win would have sent them five points clear of the bottom and a point behind the Houston Dash, as well as five points behind the playoff zone.
Another two home points were dropped, this time to the bottom team. The game was shot-filled, including a crossbar hit by Utah and a goal-line save by Claudia Dickey. Though a victory was the expectation for the Reign, either side could have taken all three points. The Reign, with fate in their control, remain two points above the Utah Royals.
Head Coach Laura Harvey was blunt about the team's situation: "We're, like, sadistic to ourselves. We like the pain. That's how I look at it and go, we enjoy the pain of giving the ball away so we can be the hero. We don't need to do that. We're better than that and that's the piece for me where we've just got to keep grinding and keep pushing."
The Reign had a goal disallowed due to a foul on Utah goalkeeper Mandy Haught, who was fouled after a collision via a cross, which Jess Fishlock would end up slotting in the net. The tables turned in the 66th minute when the Utah Royals opened the scoring after a solo goal from Ally Sentnor took a slight deflection into Claudia Dickey’s top-left corner.
Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network
An immediate push from the Reign followed, with rock-bottom status sneaking up on the team. The Utah Royals countered and almost doubled the lead; however, the goal-line save from Claudia Dickey kept the Reign in the game. A 75th-minute strike from substitute Veronica Latsko then followed, hammering the back of the Utah net and leveling the score. At this point, the Reign was in control of momentum.
"I think that there's some really good things to take away - we came back from going down a goal, that shows resiliency. I also think that we just need better quality in and around the final third," said goalscorer Veronica Latsko after the game.
Emma Morgan / Area Sports Network
Tziarra King had a massive one-on-one opportunity in the 90th minute of the game but was not able to beat Mandy Haught. The saved shot ended up being King’s final opportunity of the night, as she made way for Emeri Adames after a hard-working 90-minute shift for the squad.
The Reign's NWSL campaign will pause for the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Cup, and the Reign are set to play the Utah Royals at Lumen again for the next fixture. The Reign will resume NWSL play on August 25th against the North Caroline Courage, which will be a special day for the club since they will be retiring Megan Rapinoe's jersey.
Cover Photo: Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network
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