Seattle Reign FC 5
Orlando Pride 2
NWSL Regular Season (Week 14)
Seattle, WA – Memorial Stadium
July 23, 2016
Seattle and Orlando entered NWSL 2016 Week 14 in need of three points to stay in the hunt for a top four finish. Anything less for either would be nothing less than another nail in the 2016 playoff push coffin. For Seattle, failing to make the playoffs given the past two seasons winning the NWSL Shield and one gal cup final losses would be a huge blow. Whereas expansion Orlando being in it at all late in their first season feels like a victory in and of itself.
The early minutes of the match had pace. Seattle pressed deep and fairly direct on Orlando, perhaps to take advantage of the setting sun being in Orlando keeper Kaitlyn Savage’s eyes. Naho had a good through ball chance in the ninth but got stuffed by hustling Orlando defense.
Seattle coach Harvey rolled the dice on Haley Kopmeyer’s recently injured ankle, putting her in just two weeks after the injury suffered in the now infamous match in Rochester. Kopmeyer faced an Orlando breakaway and subsequent corner in the 14th minute, perhaps giving the keeper and her team mates some needed confidence in her ability to be effective.
Seattle got on the board first with a 21st minute penalty conversion by BBC World Footballer of the Year Kim Little. For Little, this was also her 30th goal in NWSL league play, the first player to reach that total in the league’s fourth season.
Orlando remained under pressure for most of the first half, but the longer the match remained one nil, the longer a single counter could alter that. Jess Fishlock made it two nil in the 30th minute, pouncing on a loose ball to nab her first of the season.
With the Olympic break beckoning, Orlando did not take the two goal deficit as a reason to just coast it out and go home. A 38th minute Prost Eisen Frauen worthy clearance off the line by Kendall Fletcher kept Orlando off the board before the half.
The 2nd half saw Seattle come out of the gate and get the third goal in the 47th minute when Manon Melis pounced on a soft clearance to quickly put Orlando into a major deficit. In the 52nd, Orlando showed it still had fight in it, when Jasmyne Spencer got one back to make it 3-1 and let Seattle know it still had a game on their hands. With Kaylyn Kyle voluntarily moving back to central defense and a willingness to keep playing hard when down, Orlando really displayed character.
Kendall Fletcher continued to make her mark on the match, making it 4-1 on a near post header on a corner kick from Lauren Barnes.
Instead of a tight match between two teams desperate for points, it was a fast paced match. Seattle took it right to Orlando and was ruthless in the offensive end. Even though the score line might not indicate it, the Pride played hard and were dangerous throughout and did not look like a team that was outclassed by several goals.
The late own goal in the 87th made it 5-1 and an immediate response by Kristen Edmonds took it to 5-2 and this match was getting really sloppy late.
A happy home crowd of 5,103 witnessed three huge points for Seattle. Next up are back to back matches book ending the Olympic break against Portland and stretch home and road matches with other teams above them in the table in Chicago and Washington. The Reign have a chance to not merely help themselves, but also to adversely affect the teams above them and reel them in a bit.
The three points and other week 14 results left Seattle 2 points out of the 4th and final playoff spot while rival Portland beckons on the road next weekend.
It’s as though the playoffs have already begun going into Week 15.
Photos by Vanya Tucherov
