> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Reign Draw with Pride in Decision Day Thriller, Set Up First Round Rematch - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/reign-orlando-decision-day-2025-recap/ - Published: 2025-11-03T18:23:44.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:57:24.000Z - Author: Qasim Ali - Tags: News, Analysis, Reign, Jordyn Bugg, Jordyn Huitema, Nerilia Mondesir, Jess Fishlock, Maddie Dahlien, Sam Meza, Madison Curry, Claudia Dickey, Mia Fishel, Maddie Mercado \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2188"\] ![ Seattle Reign defender Jordyn Bugg dribbles the ball during an NWSL match against the Orlando Pride on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Fla. (Alex Corrie / Reign FC Communications) ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/credit-2bseattle-2breign-2bfc-alex-2bcorrie_4-format-original.jpg) Seattle Reign defender Jordyn Bugg dribbles the ball during an NWSL match against the Orlando Pride on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Fla. (Alex Corrie / Reign FC Communications) \[/caption\] The Seattle Reign (10-7-9) came into Sunday's NWSL Decision Day action with the Orlando Pride (11-8-7) with heavy legs and lots of catching up to do. Jordyn Bugg, Claudia Dickey, Jordyn Huitema, Coco Mondesir, Jess Fishlock, Ainsley McCammon, Maddie Dahlien and Emeri Adames all had international duty to travel for and play in during the two weeks since the Reign last suited up together. That busy break saw some players opting to fly straight to Orlando for the final match of the season, as playoff implications ran high. Seattle came out of the gates disjointed, lacking any real touch in Orlando's third before conceding a late goal that had Seattle staring at a loss. But thanks to a full squad effort that included timely subs, Seattle was able to regain its footing and got a heroic score from Bugg to leave Orlando with a draw. The Reign will linger around the home of Disney for another week, as results around the league landed Orlando at the No. 4 seed and Seattle at No. 5 to set up a rematch in the NWSL Playoffs first round next week. ### Surviving the First Half The wear on Seattle was clear in the first half, as Sam Meza, who had to miss USWNT friendlies with a hamstring issue, was just one of many typical Seattle stalwarts to struggle in duels. With Orlando striker Ally Watt out, the legendary Marta, now 39, took on plenty of the goal-generation duties early. She snuck past the five-player backline that Seattle came out with in the sixth minute to put a goal past Dickey, only for it to be called offside. In the 10th, she worked past Meza with her world-class dribbling to put a shot on goal as a strong Seattle defense found itself on the back foot. Orlando midfielder Angelina was able to make Meza touch earth on a dribble 25 minutes later as Seattle found itself losing duels 22-9 by the time the first-half whistle blew. Fishlock and Bugg were both able to generate sparse offensive chances, but neither could convert as Seattle finished the first 45 minutes without a shot on target. Maddie Mercado, recently recalled from a loan, has proven to be an impact starter and generated some solid looks with opportunistic passing throughout the first 45\. Mercado was also a bright spot in the duels department, finishing with a game-high nine. Still, it was clear that Seattle was missing some of its usual explosiveness across the board. "Coming straight here, not having a ton of time to train as a collective, you could see some tired bodies out there," Harvey said. "As the game kept pushing, I felt like we were the ones that were really going to open them up." ### Subs Reignite Offense Knowing it would take a team effort, Harvey inserted Huitema and Mondesir for McCammon (who Harvey noted was gassed by the end of the first half) and Fishlock to start the second half. Mondesir, one of the more physical forwards at Harvey's disposal, helped Seattle get back into the dueling game and worked her way past Orlando's line in the 60th, but lost the ball. Huitema, who spent the international break with the Canadian national team, put ample pressure on in Orlando's third and stretched the defense with solid runs. 20 minutes into the half, Seattle was outshooting Orlando 4-2 and showed some real life on another shot from Bugg. But as the final stretch began, Orlando winger Lizbeth Ovalle delivered a ball into the box over defender Phoebe McClernon to a waiting Carson Pickett. Pickett sized the ball up and put it past Dickey to deliver a crushing blow to Seattle and make it 1-0 Orlando in the 76th. "I just misjudged it, whiffed it," McClernon said of the cross that led to the score. ### Bugg Brings It Home Seattle refused to let Orlando's timely score negate the positive momentum it had been building on offense. Three minutes after going down, Madison Curry delivered a ball from well outside the box to Bugg, who had time to set up and take a shot to the near post and equalize for the Reign. Bugg, who grew up playing forward, had found her first goal since June at the perfect moment, as the sense of relief was clear on Harvey’s face on the sideline. After some half-chances, the final whistle blew, setting the stage for a playoff rematch between the sides. ### Takeaways: Decision Day Drama Seattle came into Sunday's Decision Day action having not won a road fixture in four months. A draw or loss in Orlando opened the Reign to the possibility of finishing anywhere from No. 4 through No. 7 in the playoff race, while a win would have earned Seattle a No. 3 finish and a first-round game at home. As the day wore on, Seattle fans watched as results from Portland, San Diego and Gotham changed the Reign's outlook, as Seattle could have ended up going on the road to play a loaded No. 2 Washington Spirit team on the road in round one. When San Diego lost early on, that possibility was nixed, but Pickett's goal put Seattle at risk of playing a dreaded rival on the road in Portland in the first round — as the Thorns dominated the Dash to move into No. 3. Bugg's goal kicked that proverbial can down the road, landing Seattle at No. 5 against a team it had just gathered 94 minutes of film against. In that film, Seattle's second-half unit that included the swaps for Mondesir and Huitema will pop off the page, while Bugg flashed at moments that culminated in her final score. If Seattle can carry this momentum into next week's game, fans should expect a better offensive performance — but that’s proven to be a big if this season. In terms of personnel, Dahlien and Adames subbed on late to go for the win with their 10 combined goals. Adames had a dynamic run late, but Dahlien was playing with one upper leg wrapped up as Harvey confirmed she sustained an injury with the U.S. U-23 team during the break. Neither was able to make a huge impact in their limited minutes. Indeed, between small knocks for the likes of Dahlien and Meza and just the amount of travel for the entire roster contributed to what Harvey described as the team's struggle to put together a real 90-minute performance. Seattle will have the benefit of staying in Orlando until it's time to run it back, so the Reign shouldn't have the same issues of not being in sync or being expended from relentless travel. Maybe a trip to some of the local amusement parks is in order as this young squad readies to play for its life next week. For now, it’s back to the drawing board for Harvey, trying to solve an Orlando team that could have Ally Watt back at striker next week. Harvey reflected on how easy it is to want to play a team after losing to them or how hard it is to play a team after you beat them, but that it’s a “middle ground” when you find yourself in a stalemate like Sunday night. “For us, the big takeaway is we can stay in games,” Harvey said. “There was never a moment of not believing. We kept pushing and pushing and pushing.” One thing is for certain as this young Seattle team forays into the postseason for the first time as a unit: There will be a whole lot of valuable learning experiences from this point on. ### Up Next The NWSL Playoffs schedule is yet to be released, but the first round will take place from Nov. 7-9 as the Reign try to make this turnaround story one for the ages in the postseason.