August 31, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Seattle Reign FC News Release
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…