WATCH: Reign ‘Suffocate' Chicago, Grind Out 1-0 Win on Pride Night
SEATTLE, Wash. — The Seattle Reign managed their most dominant showing of the season on Friday night, compiling 3.3 expected goals thanks to a 24-5 shot disparity over the last-place Chicago Stars. But by full-time, Maddie Mercado’s 53rd-minute goal ended up being the decider in a 1-0 game that should have had every making of a blowout.
The result puts the Reign at 8-7-3, back into the playoff picture with 12 games left. Beyond helping their place in the table, it also marked a different kind of win for Seattle, which had scored multiple goals in its past five matches and had to defend leads by scoring more.
The younger Reign squad instead had to burn clock and keep possession on Friday night to ensure they earned a win on a night where they underperformed on the offensive end.
Emerald City Spectrum reporter Qasim Ali breaks down how the Reign looked so dominant despite the close scoreline.
Instant Takeaways: Storm Swept By Fire in Season Series
The Seattle Storm erased a double-digit first-half deficit but couldn’t roll it into a second straight victory in an 84-82 loss to the Portland Fire on Friday, Aug. 14, at Climate Pledge Arena.
Portland (14-20) was led by a season-high 20 points from Holly Winterburn off the bench, and the Fire also got 14 points each from starters Bridget Carleton, Megan DiLeo and Carla Leite.
Seattle (7-29) couldn’t roll its momentum from Monday’s win into another victory. Dominique Malonga had a rough shooting night, scoring nine points on 3-of-15 shooting. Awa Fam scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Storm.
Camp Takeaways: Locker Room, Connections Key in Seahawks Decision to Sign Terrion Arnold
With ongoing legal issues at play stemming from a February incident in Florida, including eight felony charges for robbery and kidnapping, the Seattle Seahawks don’t know when - or if - Terrion Arnold will be allowed to return to the field.
But one day after reports surfaced that Seattle planned to sign Arnold, moments after wrapping up a quick walkthrough heading into Saturday’s preseason opener against Dallas, coach Mike Macdonald confirmed that the team and player have a deal in place, acknowledging that a myriad of factors led to franchise being comfortable on taking a chance on the former first round pick out of Alabama.
“I think it was an opportunity to bring on a player that we felt strongly about during the draft process,” Macdonald said. “We also understand that it's a serious situation with a legal matter. There’s a process behind it so we respect that. That’s how we’ll operate too, just letting that process play out and let the league decide if and when his return to play is. We understand that that's at play but there's an opportunity to bring him in and give him an opportunity to earn a position here.”
As Macdonald indicated earlier in the week, the third-year coach has the utmost confidence in the culture that has been built in Seattle, while several people inside and outside of the building also vouched for Arnold as part of the process.
Among those, general manager John Schneider has great respect for former Alabama coach Nick Saban, who wrote a letter in support of Arnold to the judge in Tampa at the beginning of the player’s legal case. Defensive backs coach Karl Scott, who coached under Saban for three seasons, helped recruit Arnold to Tuscaloosa before departing to accept a position with the Minnesota Vikings, while quarterback Jalen Milroe maintains a close relationship with his soon-to-be current teammate from their time together with the Crimson Tide.
Sounders Notebook: de la Vega Out For Season, Seattle Prepares for Tough Vancouver Side
For eight glorious minutes last Sunday at Lumen Field, Seattle Sounders fans finally got to watch their star winger Pedro de la Vega work the ball around the pitch with ease and finesse. He instinctively floated to the back post late in a 3-0 Leagues Cup win over Querétaro and, at one point, nearly tapped in a rolling pass from Jesús Ferreira before flicking his right leg up to magically keep the chance alive and show some of his much-needed quality.
But in the 85th minute, on a routine challenge, the 25-year-old Argentinian making his season debut after suffering a fractured kneecap last October went down. He didn't look to be in too much pain as the trainers checked on him, but he immediately went to the locker room with a left quadriceps injury. After the game, striker Danny Musovski said he saw the typically joyous de la Vega crying.
We now know why.
After training on Friday, head coach Brian Schmetzer revealed de la Vega's quadriceps "pull" is serious enough to end his 2026 campaign.
"Pedro has a very… significant left quad pull," Schmetzer said. "He is, you know, probably out for the remainder of the year."
Schmetzer confirmed surgery is on the table, but no final decisions have been made on that front as de la Vega comes to terms with his sixth distinct injury in three years with Seattle.
Analysis: Seattle Torrent Will Have Scary First Line Entering Second Season
Even though the Seattle Torrent finished last in the PWHL standings last season as an expansion franchise, their top line next season could be the scariest in the league.
With the second overall pick, the Torrent added a world class goal-scorer in Abbey Murphy. On Seattle’s top line, Murphy will have solid linemates with USA teammate Alex Carpenter and Canadian Olympian Julia Gosling.
Abbey Murphy
Murphy was the consensus second-overall pick behind Caroline Harvey. She tallied 40 goals and 66 points in 33 games in her University of Minnesota fifth-year. She won gold with Team USA at Milan, and has represented her country internationally since 2021.
While her on-ice antics and embellishment sees her take lots of penalties, it also frustrates opponents. Even at 5-5, she’s still a physical player. Torrent general manager Meghan Turner likes her fit on a potential top line.
Analysis: Why Did Seahawks Roll Dice on CB Terrion Arnold Amid Legal Issues?
Mere moments after completing a competitive padded practice on August 10, Mike Macdonald knew questions would be coming his way on the Seattle Seahawks reported interest in embattled cornerback Terrion Arnold.
Before the reporter who first broached the topic could even finish asking about the former Lions first round pick, mistakingly calling Arnold “Terrion Austin” instead, Macdonald politely corrected him with a smile and quickly addressed the issue at hand. Just one day after the Seahawks brought him in for a visit, the coach confirmed the tryout, dishing out an answer that opened many eyes and indicated that the franchise had more than just cursory interest in the player.
“It’s enough right now,” Macdonald said. “We had him in for a great visit, a great tryout. It’s a situation where there’s other things surrounding it as well, we’re aware of that. We’re working through the situation right now. I enjoyed meeting him and he enjoyed being here, we’ll see how it goes.”
Only two days later, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Seahawks and Arnold have a deal in place with the third-year cornerback expected to sign and join his new team in coming days. Despite being recently charged with eight felonies stemming from an incident in Florida back in February, including four counts of kidnapping and four counts of robbery, as general manager John Schneider hinted on the second episode of Hard Knocks, the expectation within the building is that the former Alabama standout will be able to play in the preseason.
Amelia Severn Scores Four Goals, Matches Gonzaga Bulldogs Women's Soccer Record in 5-1 Win
There was plenty of optimism for Amelia Severn’s junior year, but no one could have predicted how she would start her 2026 season.
Coming off a First-Team All-WCC campaign where Severn tallied 10 goals and five assists, she introduced herself to the revamped Pac-12 in grand fashion Wednesday night at Luger Field, scoring four goals in Gonzaga women’s soccer season opener. She even mixed in an assist, as she was involved in all of GU’s goals during a 5-1 victory over South Florida. In the first year of a new conference, a feeling-out process is evident for players and coaches. But even as the teams compete outside of the Pac-12, Severn certainly put the league on notice, just one game into the new season.
The compelling part of Severn’s performance is deciding which element was more impressive: her scoring all four of her goals within the match’s first 40 minutes or the fact that each was sequenced differently. Regardless of how Severn’s absurd ‘haul’ unfolded, she matched a Gonzaga record for most goals in a single game, set by the program’s all-time leading scorer, Sara Streufert (44). Severn’s magical night marked the first time a Zag had notched a four-goal game since Streufert in 1998. She has also scored the eighth-most goals in school history, now totaling 18 in her career.
“We Know Where We Are At”: Lone M’s Win in Bronx Shows Blueprint Despite Not Being Enough by Itself
Over the past seven games, the Mariners have found themselves outscored 34-11. It was 34-10 going into Thursday’s afternoon contest in the Bronx; the team rode a stellar six-inning, seven-punchout, no-run start from Logan Gilbert to break an ugly six-game losing streak. The spell, starting in Seattle against the Tigers, had seen them finally stop treading water - because they had sunk like a stone. Were it not for some unexpected production on Wednesday (ultimately in vain as the pitching gave up 10 runs that day), the team’s scoring would have been better described not in runs per game but games per run, Anthony Bennett style.
When things go this pear-shaped for a baseball team, a lot of fingers get pointed and plenty of blame gets cast. The Mariners are 57-65, having barely avoided two straight sweeps to the two top teams in the AL; there’s certainly have plenty of blame to go around. No one is hitting, the team’s hurlers aren’t putting up quality starts, and even when they have a lead, their bullpen blows up and another ugly L goes up on the calendar. Perhaps the finger can go at skipper Dan Wilson, or president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, or the hitting crew of Edgar Martinez and Kevin Seitzer, or to strength and conditioning, or a player development side that can’t seem to turn good players into great ones, or an analytics department that seems to follow more than it leads, or owner John Stanton. Or maybe everybody, or maybe nobody.
The players blame people far more familiar: themselves. For a team that constantly talks about the importance of belief, the bluntness of their self-doubt is a bullhorn.
“It starts with me. I’m awful,” Cal Raleigh noted after their Tuesday 4-1 loss to open the series in New York. Over the course of the 2026 season, Raleigh has a .159/.267/.297 slash line, good for a worse batting average and OPS+ than all but one of Dave Valle’s Mariners seasons. Raleigh hadn’t been scheduled to speak to media that day, he simply held an impromptu presser where he called himself horrid in every possible way. Can you blame him for feeling like that?
Winning 1-0 on a Thursday Weston Wilson homer won’t meaningfully change things by itself; the M’s have seen too many would-be turnarounds go belly-up to believe that one win means the job is finished. That was true when they were a pair of games over .500, that was true when they were a pair of games under. 500, and it’s still true now that they’re seven games underwater.
Analysis: What Must Happen for the Huskies to Reach the College Football Playoff?
A week into Fall Camp, expectations are high among the Washington Huskies coaches and players.
People outside of Montlake are also buying into the team Jedd Fisch has assembled going into this third year as the head football coach. A year after finishing 9-4, the Huskies debuted 19th in the Coaches Poll. Phil Steele lists Washington 15th in his annual College Football Preview. Stewart Mandel of The Athletic placed Washington 15th, while On3’s Brett McMurphy tabbed UW 10th.
While most of those rankings suggest the Huskies will fall just outside the 12-team 2026 College Football Playoff field, it also puts them in range for Fisch’s first CFP as a head coach.
Rotated Sounders Fall to Chivas, Brian Schmetzer Motivated By Team Effort in Defeat
It was expected that iconic Mexican side Chivas de Guadalajara would bring in plenty of fans to rival that of the host Seattle Sounders in Wednesday's Leagues Cup Phase One finale.
You can say they did that, as the stands were chock-full of fans donning the classic red and white stripes, chanting "CHIIIIIVAS" as the Liga MX giant downed Seattle 2-1.
The result left both teams at 1-2 in the tournament, ending their respective runs in the competition, which Seattle won for the first time in 2025. But the Sounders, now losers of eight of their last nine games, had already prioritized a busy upcoming MLS stretch by rotating heavily against Chivas — head coach Brian Schmetzer started four Tacoma Defiance call-ups in the game and changed to an unusual 3-4-3 formation for this one.
Schmetzer knew his team would need a win of Biblical proportions plus outside help to advance, and instead rested key pieces like Albert Rusnak, Jackson Ragen and Nouhou for a Sunday bout with Western Conference-leading Vancouver.
Watching a team full of younger guys hang around with a quality opponent, however, made the longtime Seattle skipper emotional postgame.
"That's what it means to wear the jersey," Schmetzer said of his team's effort. "The way those guys fought was the best thing about this evening. Yeah, we didn't win, I get it."
Club legend and goalkeeper Stefan Frei, on duty for this tournament in place of MLS starter Andrew Thomas, saw Wednesday as a chance to keep crawling out of this team-wide slump.
"We're trying to find positives right now," Frei said. "Even though the tournament (was) essentially gone, we're trying to create something today that we can build upon for the weekend when we play Vancouver."
Vandals Electric Start Spoils New-Look Cougars Season Opener
102 seconds. That’s all it took for Washington State women’s head soccer coach Chris Citowicki to get his first taste of adversity as stared down a 1-0 deficit to start the season.
Outmatched from the start by the rival Idaho Vandals, senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Dvorak misplayed a cross less than two minutes into action, which led to a tap in goal from Calli Chiarelli.
The dry summer heat beamed down on a Wazzu side that had eight transfer starters following their new coach from Montana. But Citowicki’s debut continued to go south as Idaho’s Alyssa Hamilton sent in a long looping ball from outside that found her teammate Hallie Prinos-Grumbach for a top left header goal, and just like that, the rout was on.
Wazzu needed to stop the bleeding, but the Vandals struck again at the 9:41 mark. From almost midfield, Prinos-Grumbach sent in a sky ball that evaded all Cougar defenders and found her teammate Hamilton for the header goal, returning the favor after the earlier assist.
Derick Hall Rising Star for Seahawks Thanks to Screen Time on Hard Knocks
If Derick Hall wasn’t on the map for football fans before February, he certainly is now. He arrived in Seattle as a second round pick in 2023 to fairly little fanfare. That was the same draft where the Seahawks had two first round picks and used them to create what is now a Super Bowl-winning core of Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Hall was their next pick, early in the second round.
Once he got to the team, he was not on the same level as players like Boye Mafe, Darrell Taylor, Uchenna Nwosu, and Dre’Mont Jones. He was well down the depth chart to start his NFL career. After a quiet rookie season in 2023, the final season for former coach Pete Carroll, he seemed to click more in Mike Macdonald’s system the next year. He ranked second on the team with eight sacks and 20 quarterback hits. It looked like he was an ascending player.
During the 2025 regular season, however, Hall once again was rather quiet, with just two sacks to his name. Then, the playoffs started. In Seattle’s dominant 29-13 win in Super Bowl LX over the Patriots, few players had a better case to be named the game’s MVP than Hall. His pair of sacks and two tackles for loss were just the tip of the iceberg of just how dominant he was in that game. He included four quarterback pressures and a forced fumble on his resume that night.
‘It’s Me Versus Me': Versatile Weapon Velus Jones Jr. Aims to Force Way Onto Seahawks Roster
On his way to the first All-Pro selection of his NFL career, few found success matched up against Ernest Jones manning the middle in coverage for the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Tying for the league lead among linebackers with five regular season interceptions and adding a sixth one in the playoffs, Jones excelled taking away many of the best pass catching running backs and linebackers in the NFL in 2025. But during the dog days of training camp, one player has occasionally proven to be his Kryptonite, and he bears the same namesake, albeit with no relation.
Drawing the assignment of manning up on versatile playmaker Velus Jones Jr. in Tuesday’s 15th camp practice, Jones initially had him covered, sticking to his hip pocket as backup quarterback Drew Lock progressed through his initial read to the right side. But in this case, the do-it-all linebacker wasn’t able to “Keep up with the Joneses,” as the speedy back made a hesitation move faking an inside break before darting back outside, quickly gaining a couple steps of separation on a wheel route.
Even with pressure bearing down on him, Lock showcased his elite arm talent with the flick of a wrist, launching a perfect back-shoulder throw off his back foot to connect on a 20-yard touchdown with Jones, who entered camp listed as a receiver on Seattle’s roster before being slid back to running back after the release of Kenny McIntosh. On that grab, he certainly looked every bit like the converted receiver he is reeling in the pass with soft hands and outstanding body control, proving once again he’s up for the challenge making plays from anywhere.
“It's me versus me. My goal is to be better than yesterday, and so that's the mentality I attack everything with,” Jones said of juggling multiple positions prior to Monday’s practice. “And so anywhere they need me, I'll be pretty versatile. Just enjoying each and every day, trying to push myself to get better and better.”
It’s Time for Unraveling Mariners to Call Up Kade Anderson
Let’s face it. The Seattle Mariners’ season is circling the drain. While they are not technically eliminated, it certainly doesn’t feel like they will even come close to the goals they had at the start of the season. Winning the AL pennant and getting to the franchise’s first World Series now feel like little more than a pipe dream.
Sure, mathematically, things can turn around. But Mariners fans have been hearing about it all year. How it’s a “long season” and this team is “too talented” to fail so hard. Yet they have. When you look inside the dugout during games, there is more enthusiasm at a mortician’s convention. This team, and fanbase, need a jolt of excitement, even if it’s temporary and won’t necessarily help them make the playoffs.
Whenever a team calls up one of their prized prospects, there is instant excitement. The Mariners certainly have no shortage of highly touted prospects. None might be more hyped than left-handed starting pitcher Kade Anderson.
NCAA Approves Skylar Wicks' Waiver, 6-6 Combo Guard Eligible For Gonzaga
Even when Skylar Wicks committed to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in late June, there was reasonable doubt about whether he would actually don a Zags uniform.
The Saint Francis transfer was seeking a seventh season of eligibility, with GU slated as the sixth school of Wicks’ career. But the 6-6 guard recently received great news concerning his status for another year of collegiate basketball.
First reported by Dushawn London of 247Sports.com, the NCAA approved the 26-year-old’s waiver last Tuesday, officially adding an experienced, shot-creating guard with rebounding prowess to the Bulldogs’ backcourt.
Camp Takeaways: Devon Witherspoon Focused on Football, Seahawks’ Defense Steals Show in Practice 15
Still without a new contract three weeks into training camp, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon isn’t sweating his long-term status with the franchise as he continues to take care of business between the lines.
Since camp opened, Witherspoon has been a full participant for Seattle, active in every practice while only having a couple of veteran rest days where he didn’t see much action during team drills. Unlike some players who would have chosen to hold out or “hold in” while still being in attendance, the All-Pro corner told reporters after Tuesday’s 15th practice that even without a new contract in tow just yet, he doesn’t believe in skipping out on practice time.
“I’m not worried about that right now,” Witherspoon said of his contract situation. “I’m focused on making plays and trying to get better day by day. We’ve got other stuff to focus on, with the goal of trying to win games, so that’s my focus right now.”
Entering his fourth NFL season, Witherspoon currently has two years left on his rookie deal after Seattle exercised his fifth-year option back in March. Under the terms of the remaining years on the contract, he carries a $10.3 million cap hit for the upcoming 2026 season and that hit balloons to $21 million next season with the option.
Nick Emmanwori Passes Physical, Seahawks Place Robbie Ouzts on Injured Reserve
Checking off the criteria for a mixed bag of news dropping at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center on Tuesday, the Seattle Seahawks received positive injury news for one of their biggest stars while also losing an offensive starter for the season.
As officially announced by the team via their website, second-year safety Nick Emmanwori passed his physical on Tuesday morning, clearing a major hurdle three weeks after undergoing arthroscopic ankle surgery. Unfortunately, while the Defensive Rookie of the Year runner up from a year ago looks poised to be ready for Week 1, the team won’t have fullback Robbie Ouzts available at all in 2026 after placing him on season-ending injured reserve.
In a corresponding move to fill Ouzts’ spot on the 53-man roster, Seattle signed linebacker Aaron Smith, who spent last season with the New York Jets on the practice squad after going undrafted out of South Carolina.
Mere days before training camp started, Emmanwori landed on the Physically Unable to Perform list, which came as a surprise to many considering the defender participated in OTAs and mandatory minicamp in full. However, he still had some discomfort stemming from an ankle injury suffered during the week of the Super Bowl, leading to the decision made mutually by the team and player to do a clean up procedure before the season started.
The Montlake Report: Huskies’ Defense Brings Back Big Weapon Thanks to ‘5-in-5’ Ruling
The Washington Huskies football team brought back Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei after he was granted an additional year under the recently passed ‘5-in-5’ rule, while safety Alex McLaughlin and Ramzak Fruean dominated at Day 4 of UW fall camp.
Emerald City Spectrum reporter Aaron Coe breaks down everything he saw and heard at the second padded practice from Huskies' camp, including how Uiagalelei’s return will bolster Washington’s front line and further improve a group that is expected to take a big leap in 2026.
Instant Takeaways: Storm Flush Sky, Snap Monstrous Skid
The Seattle Storm played with a lead most of the game, defeated the Chicago Sky 97-88 and avoided what would have been a season-worst 12-game losing streak on Monday, Aug. 10, at Climate Pledge Arena.
Seattle (7-28), despite being short-handed without Flau’jae Johnson, snapped a long losing streak that began on July 9. Dominique Malonga led the Storm with 26 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks — another dominant night for the team’s young star.
Natisha Hiedeman (18 points, nine assists) and Zia Cooke (16 points) also were major contributors in the Storm victory.
Chicago (12-21) took another hit in its pursuit to get back in the playoff hunt. The Sky have lost three of its last four games and are seven games out from eighth place with 11 games remaining. DiJonai Carrington led the Sky with 26 points and five steals.
Camp Takeaways: Seahawks Keeping Options Open at Cornerback, Including Interest in Terrion Arnold
Now entering the third week of training camp, as competitions continue to heat up in the secondary, Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald isn’t interested in naming a third cornerback just yet.
And with the preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys approaching just five days away, there may or may not be a newcomer jumping into that mix in the near future.
Speaking with reporters after Monday’s 14th padded camp practice, Macdonald didn’t shoot down Seattle’s reported interest in ex-Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold, confirming the Seahawks had him in the facility for a tryout on Sunday. The former first round pick faces eight felony charges in Florida stemming from a kidnapping and robbery incident in February, but that hasn’t stopped the organization from doing their due diligence checking up on a talented player.
“We had him in for a great visit, a great tryout,” Macdonald said. “It’s a situation where there’s some other things surrounding it as well, but we’re working through the situation right now. It was a really great visit and I really enjoyed meeting him and I think he enjoyed being here, so we’ll see where it goes.”
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