WATCH: How Can Reign Climb Back Into NWSL Contention?

Emerald City Spectrum reporter Qasim Ali breaks down the trends that are making teams successful in the NWSL right now and how the middling Seattle Reign (4-5-2, 10th in NWSL) can apply those ideas to get back in the fight. The Reign are back in action on July 4 against North Carolina as the current World Cup/CBA-mandated break continues.

Seattle’s rival Portland Thorns and other contending squads like Gotham are providing road maps for head coach Laura Harvey to follow as the Reign look to swing some points back after the break. Namely, to continue developing Seattle’s above-average defense and to empower its struggling attackers to create an ensemble cast of scorers centered around a central playmaker/scorer.