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# Recapping Reign's Offseason So Far: Productive Coachella Trip Wraps Up
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/reign-preseason-2026-feb-26-update/
- Published: 2026-02-27T00:02:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:56:14.000Z
- Author: Qasim Ali
- Tags: News, Analysis, Reign, Laura Harvey, Sofia Huerta, Nerilia Mondesir, Jordyn Huitema, Mia Fishel

\[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="4562"\]

![  The Seattle Reign celebrate around goal-scorer Nérilia “Coco” Mondésir during a preseason friendly against Angel City FC on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026 in Coachella, Calif. (Reign FC Communications / Eira Castillo)  ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/credit-seattle-reign-fc---eira-castillo_4-format-original.jpg)

The Seattle Reign celebrate around goal-scorer Nérilia “Coco” Mondésir during a preseason friendly against Angel City FC on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026 in Coachella, Calif. (Reign FC Communications / Eira Castillo) \[/caption\]

TUKWILA, Wash. — The Seattle Reign are about as short-handed as a team can be right now. With players like forward Maddie Dahlien, keeper Claudia Dickey, defender Jordyn Bugg, forward Jordyn Huitema and others away on international duty, the Reign had assistant coaches playing keeper at times in Thursday's practice at Starfire Sports in Tukwila.

With the current international break looming, Seattle used the last two weeks to travel to California for the Coachella Valley Invitational for the second straight season. The team played two closed-door scrimmages against San Diego and Utah and one televised friendly against Angel City, a 1-0 win. While the results of the two scrimmages aren't for publication, star defender Sofia Huerta confirmed the Reign scored six goals against Utah. Huerta opened the scoring in that match, scoring off a free kick in a stunning moment. Huerta is more known for her passing off set pieces.

The veteran, whom head coach Laura Harvey is naming a co-captain after the retirement of club legend Lauren Barnes, still surprises herself heading into her 11th NWSL campaign.

“I was shocked,” Huerta said of the free kick, with a chuckle. “I knew where I was meaning to hit it, but sometimes those don't always come off. But I've been watching a lot of Liverpool and (Dominik) Szoboszlai is like a free-kick specialist, so I'm like, ‘all right, I'm just gonna try’ … I hope it happens in-season as well.”

Of course, there were multiple options for the captain's armband, including club legend Jess Fishlock, but Harvey included her own free-kick specialist for a reason.

“It wasn't a question I asked Sofia; I sort of told her that was what was going to happen,” Harvey said. “But she's fully embracing it and I think between her and Jess, they know what this club's about.”

Though her role is more official now, Huerta said she's always been invested in the development of her squad and in leading.

“The cool thing about the Reign is, regardless of if you have the captain band … everyone's in a position to lead,” Huerta said. “Although (Harvey) told me I was going to be a co-captain this year, I don't feel like it's going to be different than the past.”

Striker Nérilia "Coco" Mondésir also scored in that scrimmage alongside Huerta, and had the lone goal in Seattle's win over Angel City. Her strong preseason adds another layer to Seattle's striker battle. Though Mondésir either relieved Huitema or played in the attacking midfield for much of the late season, Seattle's offense could use a boost after generating the fewest quality opportunities in the league by expected-goal metrics last season.

The other option at the nine for the team returning 22 of its 26 players is Mia Fishel, a transfer from Chelsea who joined the team just last August. Fishel started off with a low amount of pressure from Harvey's staff as she recovered from not playing nearly two years’ worth of games due to injuries. Though the 24-year-old logged just 340 minutes over 11 games in 2025, Harvey has taken the training wheels off.

“This year is the year we can really judge where Mia's at, and she's coming to preseason really well,” Harvey said. “Her hold-up play's been great, she's physically and tactically and technically in a better spot than she was when she came.”

Huitema will bring the height factor at 5-foot-11, while Fishel's back-to-goal play has opened Harvey's eyes. The question will be which one of the 24-year-olds can contribute more to chance generation as the season draws closer. Perhaps the better question will be which one’s style fits in Harvey’s offense better as young forces like Emeri Adames and Dahlien continue to refine their game and rapport on the wings.

For now, the Reign will have two more closed-door scrimmages over the next two weekends before they head back out to Orlando for a March 15 opener. Of course, Seattle played back-to-back games at the Pride to close 2025 — the latter of which was a 2-0 first-round playoff loss courtesy of Brazilian legend Marta. Seattle finished fifth in the league after placing 13th in 2024.

Harvey isn't putting too much stock into matchday one as she continues to learn about her team.

“Just means I get more air miles,” Harvey said with a smile. “Getting that trip out of the way early doesn't feel great, but I think once we do it, we'll probably feel great at the fact that we got one big east-coast trip out of us.”

Harvey breaks the season, which will run for a record 30 games in 2026 on account of expansion to Denver and Boston, into "chunks." 

The Reign will play two road games in Orlando and Portland to open the season, then head to Spokane for three straight matches as Lumen Field undergoes renovation during a three-week league break. The NWSL will then return in late April for the next chunk as the Reign start playing in Seattle until late May, when the World Cup/international break will suspend play until early July.

“We live in a different world now, the FIFA breaks are longer than they used to be,” Harvey said. “We're trying to make sure that what we're trying to do has purpose and we're not wasting time.”

As such, even with so many players missing for international duty this week, Seattle had around seven trialists present on Thursday to keep some sense of normalcy. The upcoming SheBelieves Cup, set to feature the U.S., Canada, Argentina and Colombia, will likely pry away some of Seattle's top talent from March 1-7 as the season draws closer.