Seattle Reign vs. Washington Spirit

It didn’t take  long before the Reign had their first chance. The Reign were handed a corner kick which was deflected wide. A couple minutes later Lindsey Taylor took a powerful shot outside the box which landed in the back of the net. The Reign made their intentions known very early on with a early goal within the first ten minutes of play.

The Reign had another chance in the 10^th minute as they continued to press. A long ball was played through the middle towards the left flank. Taylor took it into stride, cut it inside and took a shot which was parried by the goalkeeper. Washington Spirit slowly got into rhythm and crawled back into the game. Their first real chance came off a throw in which was passed to the top of the box and shot, unfortunately going side off the post. In the 27^th minute the Reign had another promising chance with some good passing in midfield. Kristina Larson passed the ball to Lindsey Taylor who then cuts it inside, beating her defender and taking a shot which was saved by the goalkeeper. Seattle should have definitely added another in the 29^th minute when an excellently taken free kick by Christine Narin was magnificently saved  by the goalkeeper who did an excellent job getting there as it the ball looked certain to squeeze into the left corner post. The crowd was left gasping on that one.

The Spirit had a very similar free kick awarded to them which was delivered into the box and headed over the bar. Washington managed to score in the 33th minute off a corner that was delivered into the box and Ingrid Wells made no mistaking by shooting it into the back of the net. They added another eight minutes later from free kick taken by Ingrid. The ball was played into the box which was latched on by a teammate and saved twice by the goalkeeper, but she was not able to save the third off the rebound. Washington Spirit went into halftime with the lead.

The next goal came right after halftime. Seattle Reign’s striker directed a beautifully carved crossed into the far back beyond the outstretched arm of the goalkeeper. Seattle continued to press as they looked to take the lead.  Jessica Fishlock won the ball well in midfield and distributed it to the flank which found Lindsey Taylor who dribbled and shot it wide. In the 59^thminute, Washington Spirit added another with some excellent dribbling by Tiffany McCarty as she took a few touches, beating three defenders and calmly slotting it into the corner for a goal. Spirit made it 4-2 late in the second half from free kick which was whipped into the box. Seattle Reign’s goalkeeper failed to get to it before it met the head of a Spirit striker as the ball ended up at the back of the net. Despite the score line, The Reign managed to gather the courage and kept attacking. They had a good chance in the 90^th minute. Teresa Noyola got the ball at the flank, dribbled it in and took a shot which sailed over the bar. The game ended 4-2 in Washington’s favor.

Despite the disappointing result, the Seattle Reign played well and with great determination. They will continue their quest for victory as they take on Sky Blue FC on Sunday.