> ## 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. # Ryanne Brown Overcomes Injury, Shows Up in Reign's Biggest Game of the Season - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/ryanne-brown-overcomes-injury-stars-seattle-reign-biggest-game-2026-season/ - Published: 2026-07-15T03:11:48.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:55:31.000Z - Author: Qasim Ali - Tags: Features, Analysis, Reign, Ryanne Brown \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1214"\] ![ Seattle Reign defender Ryanne Brown takes a shot during the first half of an NWSL game against the Portland Thorns on Sunday, July 12, 2026 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Jane Gershovich / Reign FC Communications) ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/credit-2bseattle-2breign-2bfc-jane-2bgershovich_2-format-original.jpg) Seattle Reign defender Ryanne Brown takes a shot during the first half of an NWSL game against the Portland Thorns on Sunday, July 12, 2026 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Jane Gershovich / Reign FC Communications) \[/caption\] TUKWILA, Wa. — When Ryanne Brown tore her ACL on July 7, 2024, she knew her season was over. The 25-year-old defender out of Wake Forest was an occasional starter for the Seattle Reign and had even been loaned out to Danish side Kvindeligaen for eight starts in 2022-23 after being drafted in the second round of the 2021 draft. With 2024 being a down year for a typically contending Reign squad, 2025 promised to be a year for young talents to break out in the Emerald City. And that they did, as young talents like Emeri Adames and Maddie Dahlien had their moments en route to finishing fifth in the league. But Brown was nowhere to be found — she ended up missing all of the 2025 season. "I was expecting to come back summer '25, I felt good actually coming back from my knee," Brown said after training on Tuesday. "Then I tweaked my hamstring, which kept me out a lot longer than expected." > WHAT ABOUT IT! > > Ryanne Brown puts one deep into the net for the Reign EARLY 🚀[#NWSLRivalries](https://x.com/hashtag/NWSLRivalries?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) | [@Ally](https://x.com/Ally?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) [pic.twitter.com/UP6sMjRxcT](https://t.co/UP6sMjRxcT?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) [July 12, 2026](https://x.com/NWSL/status/2076403171736645704?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) After all the heartache and watching from the sideline, a now 27-year-old Brown scored her first NWSL goal on Sunday against the rival Portland Thorns, a bold right-footed shot from distance just eight minutes into the game for her first NWSL goal in her first start in over 700 days. ### A Breakout Performance Brown finally found her way onto the team sheet for a single minute at the conclusion of Seattle's opening night win over Orlando in March, marking her first involvement since she went down in 2024. She logged just 21 minutes over the ensuing three matches, not getting a single start in the process. As the Reign started 3-1-1, Brown simply wasn't involved with typical full-backs Madison Curry and Sofia Huerta manning those spots well. As Seattle (5-6-2, 10th) went five games without a goal in the lead-up to the June CBA break, Brown didn't appear in the final five games of May. The Reign, losers of four of their past five following a July 4 3-1 loss in North Carolina, needed a spark. Usual left back Madison Curry picked up an ankle injury, leading head coach Laura Harvey to scour her roster for a replacement. Brown, who hadn't seen game action in two and a half months, stood out. "Right after we got back from North Carolina, Laura kind of came up to me and was like, ‘Hey, you're gonna start,'" Brown said. "I was just like, ‘Okay, well let me take this week, let me focus on what I need to do.’" Having that clarity early on in the match-week process and taking first-team reps helped emphasize the solid shifts she had been putting in at training all season. Reserve goalkeeper Cassie Miller, who also missed much of 2025 and filled in for usual starter Claudia Dickey with a nine-save masterpiece on Sunday, has noticed Brown's potential consistently. "She's been balling in practices like this whole year," Miller said. "She might be nervous, but she was prepared, she was ready." When the game started, Brown wasted no time playing beyond the typical defending role of a fullback, edging further down the field on the wing to give Seattle's midfield options to work it wide. Long runs come naturally to Brown, as she was only taught the principles of being a consistent defender in her last season at Wake Forest. Before then, she was typically a forward. "My coach at Wake Forest kind of showed me the ropes on (defense), and I'm honestly really happy he did, because now I'm able to be good defensively, but also like have an attacking style," Brown said. When young midfielder Ainsley McCammon, known around the team for her daring and accurate deep balls, fielded the ball in Seattle's half, Brown took off down the right sideline. The ball, of course, found its way perfectly into Brown's stride, starting a Reign fastbreak. With three Seattle attackers in Dahlien, Sally Menti and Mia Fishel for company to her left, Brown's inner attacker took over. "I just saw goal," Brown said. "Ainsley played a ball to where I was just pretty much ahead of everybody, so I was just like, 'Let me go for it.'" She went for it indeed, striking it with her right foot to send keeper Mackenzie Arnold diving cross-goal to no avail. The ball slammed into the left side of the net as Brown turned on her heel and let out a scream from the heart as her teammates crowded her. Maddie Mercado, who would score later in the half to double the lead, jumped on Brown as the entire team knew what that strike meant, not only for its struggling offense, but for Brown. Looking back on being away from the game for so long against her will, Brown has learned to trust herself and what she can do as a competitor, on and off the pitch. "I just learned how extremely resilient I can be," Brown said of the rehab process. "I know that I can get through pretty much anything now." Curry, who Brown was filling in for, was at Tuesday's training, but off to the side doing sprints while the team scrimmaged as she recovers from what seems to be a mild ankle ailment at worst. If Brown's number gets called again in another high-profile match this Saturday at defending champion Gotham FC in New York, she'll be ready. "I definitely just want to make the biggest impact that I can on this team," Brown said. "Just like many players we have, I think I can be valuable to this team, especially going forward in the attack." Her goal ended up being Brown's only shot on goal for the rest of the game, as she had her hands full with NWSL assist leader Pietra Tordin on the other end. Tordin ended up leading the game in touches in the opposition's box with nine (per [FotMob.com](http://fotmob.com/?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)). Like the rest of the Reign players who contributed to the clean sheet despite 1.4 expected goals for Portland, Brown was a workhorse and made five recoveries and two tackles to stop costly counterattacks from the likes of stars Sophia Wilson and Olivia Moultrie. With Brown's ability to work into the opposing third, and the clear connection she's shown with Seattle's playmakers, she could continue to be a spark off the bench or a relief starter as Seattle works back toward a playoff spot.