Coach’s Corner
The Seattle Reign FC return home to The MODA Pitch at Memorial Stadium (aka Fortress Memorial) on Wednesday evening August 26 with an opportunity to clinch the NWSL Shield for the second consecutive season.
With three games remaining, two points will put the Reign clear of the only club left which can catch or pass them, sealing the deal and the top seed in the NWSL Playoffs. The top seed will host the 4th seed and the 2nd will host the third on September 13. The winners will play in Portland on Thursday, October 1st.
With the change to a predetermined location for the final; the top seed no longer gets the additional benefit of home field advantage, making the top two seeds benefits mostly the same, beyond the awarding of the NWSL Shield and conceivably a slightly less formidable opponent. For Seattle, clinching the NWSL Shield and top seed at home on Wednesday would take all the drama out of the final two matches, but also gives Head Coach Laura Harvey more options on what to do with her roster and line ups given the final east coast trip to the other Washington and a number of players going off on international duty in the coming weeks.
Photos by Jeff Lageson
