Reign Overcome Slow Second Half to Beat Short-Handed Wave

SEATTLE, Wash. — The Seattle Reign are growing up.

With the chance to sweep a San Diego Wave side that has been at or near the top of the standings all season, the Reign found themselves up 1-0 and up a player in the second half.

The talented Wave (12-8-3, 5th in NWSL), who Reign head coach Laura Harvey called "the most enjoyable (NWSL team) to watch" postgame, controlled nearly the entire second half, as stars like Ludmila and Kenza Dali helped San Diego outshoot Seattle 9-1 in the back 45 alone. Seattle had looked like the more organized team early, and capitalized as Maddie Dahlien delivered a perfect ball to breakout leading scorer Maddie Mercado in the area for a powerful header in the 29th to snatch the lead.

But the young Reign (10-8-4, 8th in NWSL), thanks in part to some late defensive changes, kept San Diego out of goal — protecting a lead Harvey knew would’ve been even more fickle earlier in the season with meltdowns and near-meltdowns against Gotham and Bay FC in mind.

"There's been moments this year, a lot of it in the first half of the season, where maybe we'd have crumbled in those moments, but we didn't," Harvey said.

Indeed, Seattle constantly got players behind the action to thwart transition chances while keeper Claudia Dickey managed six saves in the win. At the end of the game, Dickey collided with Ludmila, leaving the USWNT keeper needing stitches postgame at a local hospital. But after a lengthy stoppage to tend to Dickey, who was replaced by Cassie Miller for the final 10 minutes, Harvey reengineered her press.

San Diego didn't manage another shot on frame to close the game.

"We just couldn't get pressure on the ball and protect what we needed to protect," Harvey said of the second half before she made changes. "We decided to get our wingers to press… we should've done that earlier."

Still, Harvey knows her team needs points however it can get them. Sunday was about survival — ask Dickey and her battle scars.

“Really happy with the results. Huge three points, you know, to take six points off that team is massive,” Harvey said.