The Seattle Reign (9-7-6, 33 points, fourth in NWSL) overcame a disallowed goal and a one-goal deficit to take down the North Carolina Courage in a crucial game for playoff seeding on Sunday night.

The North Carolina Courage are just two points behind the Seattle Reign in the NWSL table with five games to play as each team fights for postseason seeding, making Sunday’s matchup a critical one for both squads.

The Seattle Reign played to a scoreless draw through 45 minutes before Racing Louisville midfielder Savannah DeMelo was taken off the field in an ambulance with a medical emergency on Sunday night. Still, there were some takeaways in the now-suspended match.

Seattle Reign FC has drawn in three straight matches heading into a Sunday road date with the No. 2-seeded Washington Spirit.

While they didn’t come away with a win on opening night, the Reign FC demonstrated significant improvement compared to last year’s squad in a tightly-contested draw at Lumen Field.

After a tumultuous 2024 season both on and off the field, Seattle is looking for stability to find the way back to the top of the NWSL food chain.