Coach’s Corner
A record home crowd for Hope Solo and Megan Rapinoe’s World Cup homecoming greeted the Seattle Reign FC and Western New York Flash. A full North grandstand of 5,778 brought an early and electric feel to the match. Many in the crowd had raised their hands during the pregame ceremony when asked if it was their first Reign match. The 90 minutes that followed should bring them back.
However, the Reign FC went into the half down a goal. After controlling much of the early play former Reign player Amanda Frisbie scored a wonderful diving header at the far post and that was all the scoring in the first half. Coming out of the break the single goal lead would not hold up for long. The energy in the stands was strong throughout the first half and the stadium atmosphere had a distinctively different feel.
Beverly Yanez tied up the game four minutes in and by ten minutes in it was 3-1. Rachel Corsie took advantage of a failed Flash clearance and Amber Brooks joined Frisbee in scoring on her former team. Seattle not only took over the game, but set a new NWSL mark for quickest three goals. The crowd was very much alive and rewarded for their energy. The Flash did not roll over, scoring a second solid header to cut the lead to 3-2. But, Jess Fishlock got behind the Flash defense a few minutes later and put the lead back to 2 goals at 4-2 and that was that.
In the end the Reign find themselves on two noteworthy streaks. First, it is now 8 games unbeaten in the league since a 1-2 start. Second, it is now 19 matches on The Moda Pitch at Memorial Stadium and none of those have ended in defeat. A home field advantage in Seattle has led to the nickname of Fortress Memorial, which a 14-0-5 record will do.
This was an important match for the Reign, Flash, and NWSL. Seattle had a big and enthusiastic crowd looking for a reason to become fans. The young Flash have clearly improved in the three months since the opening loss in Seattle. For the NWSL the kind of coverage a match like this gets in the early stages after the US victory over Japan could dissipate quickly if the product doesn’t match the hype. Seattle and WNY played with good pace throughout and created many chances early. By scoring first and increasing the drama, the second half began with a real sense of urgency for Seattle. When Seattle broke through with the three goals there was a sense in the stadium that the crowd was really won over by the play. The Flash pushing forward to get a goal back added drama to a match that held the crowd and didn’t have notoriously late to arrive and early to leave Seattle sports fans departing early.
The pregame ceremony for Solo and Rapinoe provided a bookend to the send off ceremony back in May. In May, it was a hopeful crowd sending off their heroes. Now July, it was a celebration of the victory and there was a rock star quality to the response the returning players received. The victory in Canada provides a spotlight for the Reign and the league that has been bigger than possibly expected.
After the match Rapinoe reflected on the two being eager to rejoin their teammates to win a championship. Coach Harvey discussed making certain the emotional and physical well being of the two was taken into account to integrate them back into the side and a title run.
But, Rapinoe herself summed it up when asked about what she wanted to say to all those new and world cup fans. “Keep watching,” she said. Matches like Saturday night will only help that cause.
Photos by Melissa Levin
