> ## 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 Collapse Late, Drop First Game Back vs. Courage - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-reign-collapse-late-first-game-back-north-carolina-courage/ - Published: 2026-07-05T06:18:31.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:11:07.000Z - Author: Qasim Ali - Tags: News, Analysis, Game Day, Reign, Laura Harvey, Mia Fishel, Sally Menti, Sam Meza, Madison Curry, Maddie Mercado, Cassie Miller \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="7605"\] ![ Seattle Reign forward Mia Fishel dribbles the ball down the right sideline during a game against the North Carolina Courage on Saturday, July 4, 2026 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. (Meg Lee / Seattle Reign FC Communications) ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/credit-seattle-reign-fc-meg-lee_3-format-original.jpg) Seattle Reign forward Mia Fishel dribbles the ball down the right sideline during a game against the North Carolina Courage on Saturday, July 4, 2026 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. (Meg Lee / Seattle Reign FC Communications) \[/caption\] If the Seattle Reign drew up their picture-perfect return to play after over a month away from playing, it certainly wouldn't have played out like Saturday night's 3-1 loss to the North Carolina Courage. While the Reign (4-6-2, 11th in NWSL) got off to a solid start thanks to an impressive run from striker Mia Fishel leading to a Sally Menti goal, three questionable concessions left Seattle deflated by the end of the night. North Carolina winger Ashley Sanchez continued her nine-goal campaign with a brace, scoring in the 22nd and 71st to bookend a feel-good home outing for the Courage (6-3-3, 7th). Riley Jackson buried a penalty kick in the 64th to give the Courage the lead in an opportunity conceded by a mishandled Madison Curry tackle. On a blistering and humid 95-degree night in Cary, head coach Laura Harvey simply saw her team run out of the juice that had propelled it to scoring first — something her struggling offense has done rarely in 2026. "We got a little bit tired and we got a little bit stretched and ended up chasing the game," Harvey said. “It wasn’t like they had loads and loads of chances… it was just those slight little moments.” To her point, early long balls and promising chances gave Seattle a dominant early look, while the second half was controlled by a Courage squad that looked like it had simply settled into the game. With star keeper Claudia Dickey out due to an ankle injury, veteran backup Cassie Miller made her first start in 806 days. Unfortunately for her, there wasn't much to be done on Carolina's three scoring moments. Seattle is now 1-4-0 in its last five, with a home date against its rival Portland Thorns looming in a week. ### Reign Find Picture-Perfect Goal Early, Give it Right Back The Reign were the aggressors from the moment this game started. In the second minute, Reign star midfielder Sam Meza delivered a perfect long ball to Menti in the middle of the area, as Menti left it for winger Maddie Dahlien 1-on-1 with standout Courage keeper Kailen Sheridan. Dahlien, working her typical left wing position, missed wide right. But the Reign sent an early message about how they were going to attack in transition. "Early in the game, they were giving us the opportunity to get down the side of them and go longer," Harvey said. "They sort of changed to stop that because it was hurting them, and then we got a little bit more space centrally." In the fourth, Dahlien worked another transition chance to Huerta for a shot that was blocked to notch a corner. Four minutes later, center back Phoebe McClernon played one of her many accurate long balls of the night to Fishel. Fishel's rolling service to a sliding Menti just missed the target, but Seattle was putting real pressure on North Carolina in these quick-burst moments. The Reign broke through in the 19th, as another quick-developing build-out from Seattle crescendoed when Maddie Mercado played a ball down the right touchline to Fishel. Fishel, who's yet to score as Seattle's starting striker, found the pace the Reign know she has with a brilliant turn to work NC center back Maycee Bell. With the pitch opening up thanks to a free Fishel, the 25-year-old played a ball into the area for Huerta. Huerta, the NWSL all-time assist leader, deferred to an arriving Menti, who blasted a scorcher from just inside the 18 past Sheridan. > Sally Menti opens scoring in Cary 💥 > > Her first goal of the season for [@reignfc](https://x.com/reignfc?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)! > > 📽️ [@NWSL](https://x.com/NWSL?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) [pic.twitter.com/Wdsj5aGOxV](https://t.co/Wdsj5aGOxV?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)— W Golazo (@WGolazo) [July 5, 2026](https://x.com/WGolazo/status/2073558491898269927?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) Harvey emphasized the importance of Fishel's run in that moment, pointing out the space for Menti simply wouldn't have been there without Fishel's individual quality. By the looks of things, Menti was just as appreciative as Harvey. "When Mia does cool stuff like that, it gives me confidence, it gives the team confidence. Like knowing that we have people on the field that can have individual brilliance like Maddie (Mercado) on the wing too," Menti said. Despite the blazing conditions, Menti rubbed her shoulders in a "chilly" celebration as the Reign scored arguably their best goal of the season in the run of play. "It just came to my mind," Menti said of the out-of-place celebration. "I was dying of heat, and I just thought it'd be funny." The Reign, one of the least productive offenses in the league with nine goals in 11 matches coming into Saturday, finally had a goal they could hang their hat on. Unfortunately for them, the home team had something to say a mere three minutes and 37 seconds later. The Courage continued their press deep in Seattle territory, forcing Meza into some indecision in the Reign's third. Sanchez poked the ball away from her, putting Seattle in crisis defending immediately. With the defense out of shape, Sanchez fired a shot that deflected off Jordyn Bugg to make a save impossible for Miller, who dove the other way based on the ball's initial trajectory. Seattle's best chance to go back ahead came at the 44th minute mark, when Menti received the ball in the area and poked the ball toward Fishel from the ground. Fishel chipped a ball over a few players on the ground, but Sheridan was wise to it and hit the ball out of danger on a diving try. As the half came to a close, Seattle had held the hosts to 0.4 xG and just one shot on target while generating 1.1 on 12 shots. ### An Unexpected Collapse The Reign, allowing 1.2 goals per game, seemed to be in a decent spot to go for three points as the second half started up. Dahlien tried to take the game into her hands in the 52nd, working to the endline for a cross that was caught by Sheridan. Four minutes later, she lasered a shot at the keeper as the Reign weren't as dangerous to start the half. Four minutes later, North Carolina’s Shinomi Koyama delivered a through ball to Allyson Schlegel in the area. Schlegel had a step on Seattle defender Madison Curry, who slid to poke the ball away. Unfortunately for Seattle, Curry missed the ball entirely and tripped up Schlegel. After a short review, the Courage were awarded a penalty, which midfielder Riley Jackson buried for a 2-1 lead. The Reign, averaging less than a goal per game heading into Saturday, were in a tough spot playing from behind with 30 minutes remaining. Seattle midfielder Ainsley McCammon looked for a rocket in the 66th, but skied one of Seattle's few decent looks of the second half. By full time, the Reign would generate just 0.2 xG in the second half compared to a towering 2.4 from North Carolina. That number shot up in the 71st as Shinomi delivered another quick visionary ball to Sanchez on the left side. Aided by a dummy from striker Evelyn Ikeh, who assisted on the first goal, Sanchez had just enough space to launch a shot past Miller to make it 3-1, ending Seattle’s hopes of a result. ### A Brutal Way to Restart "We weren't ruthless enough and clinical enough, and the chance they had, they were. And that's the game in a nutshell, really," Harvey said. It's true, Maddie Dahlien had shots in solid spots as early as the second minute that just didn't have enough English on them to bypass a keeper like Sheridan. But as far as offense goes, that was still one of the better showings from a typically anemic Reign unit not too far removed from a five-game scoreless streak that made Seattle scores appear as rare as sasquatch sightings. 1.3 xG, however poor the offense was in the second half, is still a decent way to get back to play. And with a goal like Menti's in the run of play, there's something to build on. But the defensive breakdown was more concerning than anything for a team that has routinely called that side of the ball its priority. While Curry's allowed penalty was truly a matter of inches, it was a symptom of a tired Reign squad that opened up running lanes late to let an otherwise harmless Courage attack muster nearly three expected goals by the night's end. It could just be a mixture of post-break conditioning and genuinely unbearable heat, but Seattle has real questions to ask about how it opened up in the second half. In terms of tactics, Harvey put some of her best offensive personnel out there with Menti, Ainsley McCammon and Meza patrolling the midfield when only two typically occupy the midfield at a time. For Fishel, getting a genuinely solid look that forced a save and a quality dribble leading to a goal was as good as a performance as we've seen from the Chelsea transfer in the year since her arrival. With a powerhouse like fourth-place Portland coming to town next week, however, Seattle is just in for more hard lessons as the final 18 games are upon us.