Reign Face Biggest Test Yet in Juggernaut KC Squad
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Seattle Reign midfielder Sam Meza makes a pass during a game against the Kansas City Current on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Jane Gershovich / Reign FC Communications) [/caption]
The Seattle Reign (8-6-6 W-L-D, sixth in NWSL) have proven they can compete with the league's best. Outside of some incredible goals from Trinity Rodman, Seattle's defense was staunch against an elite Washington attack two weeks ago and is coming off shutting out a dynamic Louisville side 1-0 in a peculiar matchup that was played on Sunday and Tuesday due to a medical emergency.
But nothing will compare to what the Reign have on deck Saturday afternoon in Kansas City, as they take on a No. 1 Current team that leads the standings by 14 points. The last time Kansas City lost an NWSL game was against the Reign way back on May 2 in a 1-0 game.
Despite how long ago that matchup was, Seattle should have a measure of confidence knowing how well their defense can match up with the most productive offense in the league. But opposing injury status could completely change how the Reign prepare for this test in the end.
Matchup History
Lynn Biyendolo scored her first goal for the Reign in the first half of what turned out to be a grueling 1-0 win for Seattle in May. It was the only matchup of the season between the two squads as Kansas City dropped its second consecutive game.
Biyendolo's goal came off a late first-half set piece as Jordyn Huitema headed a perfectly placed corner kick from Lauren Barnes back to Biyendolo. Biyendolo was blocked initially, but struck quickly off her own rebound to put it past a solid keeper in Lorena.
2024 NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner Temwa Chaŵinga, who is leading Kansas City in scoring this season, has started 18 of the 19 games she's played in 2025. The loss to Seattle was the one outlier, as she came on in the 61st after taking a knock in a previous game.
Seattle head coach Laura Harvey said postgame that her team had planned for the star scorer and was able to shift into a more defensive look up 1-0 heading into the second half. While she wasn't pleased with how conservative her team played initially, she appreciated a ramped-up intensity on the ball in the second half as non-defenders like Jordyn Huitema and Maddie Dahlien covered plenty of ground to limit Kansas City.
Still, Kansas City won the expected-goal battle 0.7 to 0.3 as nine different players got a shot off to the tune of 13 total shots to Seattle's five. Only three of the Current's looks were on target, however, as Seattle managed 13 blocks (Sam Meza starred with six) and pressured shooters consistently.
One stat popped in the Current PR's preview of this game, though. Kansas City trailed Seattle for over an hour of game time in the May loss. The Current have trailed in their 19 other fixtures for a combined five minutes. This isn’t a team that’s used to playing from behind.
While Seattle earned a result thanks to their defense last time around, Saturday will pose new issues as Seattle heads into the belly of the beast. The last time Seattle played at KC in June of 2024, it lost 5-2 in one of the franchise's poorest defensive showings.
Kansas City Overview (DWWWD)
Kansas City is coming off a scoreless draw with No. 2 Washington, in which they were missing Chaŵinga completely. The result pushed the Current's unbeaten streak to a whopping 13 games —the fourth-longest stretch without a loss in NWSL history.
That 1-0 loss on May 2 was easily the worst stretch of the season for Kansas City. The Current (16-2-2) lost their second straight game with the result, but quickly put it behind them. The group, coached by former Reign and USWNT skipper Vlatko Andonovski, won eight straight games following the loss in Seattle and is 11-0-2 since. They've only been shut out twice, both in scoreless draws, as the Current's 38 goals are seven scores clear of the second-place Spirit.
There are plenty of stars in this attack, but none have shone brighter than Chaŵinga. The 26-year-old Malawian forward has 32 goals in the past two seasons and is coming off a Golden Boot campaign. While she is very much in the running this season, Chaŵinga is missed her only game of the season last week against Washington with a knee injury. Her status is still up in the air, as it will be a key point of planning for Harvey and company once again.
Outside of their MVP, the Current still have multiple tangible threats to score goals. Four players have put up four or more goals this season for KC, including Brazilian forwards Beatriz and Debinha and young USWNT player Michelle Cooper.
For how elite and multi-faceted as KC's offense is, their defense might be better with its four-player backline look.
The Current have allowed 10 goals in 20 games, by far the best mark in the league. To get to that mark, the Current have totaled a whopping 13 shutouts, 11 of which have come from Lorena, as the Current’s 83.1% save rate leads second-place Seattle by 8%.
To make matters worse for Seattle, KC is 7-0-2 at home and has allowed just four goals in nine games in front of nine sellout crowds at CPKC Stadium. Needless to say, the Current feast off a rabid fanbase. Add to the fact that they are two three-point results away from tying the NWSL single-season wins mark with six games left, and this dominant franchise will have more than pride to play for with their playoff positioning all but secure.
Seattle Overview (WLDDD)
The Reign won't be able to count on another timely score from Biyendolo as she has been shut down for a few weeks with a knee injury. But Seattle is coming off a result it can hang its hat on, as the Reign held a feisty Louisville offense scoreless on Sunday and Tuesday to notch its sixth shutout of the season. Jess Fishlock came on late to finish the game with a score in the 90th minute for Seattle's first win in five tries, so the Reign have some momentum heading into this one.
That said, Seattle has managed just one goal in its last three and two scores in its last four, so Harvey's group will be hoping Fishlock's game-winner was enough to turn the tide on that front.
With Fishlock and Dahlien properly rested after each coming on late in the win, Seattle's attack should have decently rested legs for this tough test.
24-year-old Chelsea transfer Mia Fishel made her first start as those key pieces rested, and she looked at home in the starting XI. Fishel made smart passes and ran fastbreaks well, but had an obvious green light from Harvey to take deep shots that she got plenty of leg behind — she had a 32-yard shot saved just three minutes into the match. Dahlien figures to slot back into her starting spot at forward, as does leading scorer Emeri Adames, who didn't play in the win.
In that sense, the win over Louisville was a demonstration of how Seattle could be the deepest team in the NWSL. Nérilia Mondésir played practically the whole game at forward and tied with Fishel to lead the Reign in progressive passes with five. Mondésir led the entire game with 35 carries, as Seattle has the pieces to be a better dribbling team than results have indicated lately.
Defensively, this is a Seattle side that's allowed two goals in three games, and the disruption from all three levels has been special. Harvey was pleased with offensive players like Huitema disrupting Louisville in its own territory while her team totaled 10 blocked shots to make sure keeper Claudia Dickey stayed clean. Dickey still made four saves, including some diving attempts, to earn her clean sheet.
Midfielder Sam Meza is leading the league right now in total tackles by a wide margin with 83 to head up this unit, while Phoebe McClernon has been consistently solid in the backline with 16 blocked shots — a figure that places her in the top 10 in the NWSL.
It was a very Seattle win on Tuesday, but the question remains: Was it enough to get this offense back on track?
The Verdict
The biggest storyline going into this game will be the status of Temwa Chaŵinga. Harvey changed her whole approach once she figured the MVP wasn't starting last time around, and shifted back once she subbed into the game. If Chaŵinga can't go, Seattle will be freer to play Kansas City straight up regardless of what backline it goes with.
The last matchup between these two saw Seattle switch to a five-player backline as soon as it went ahead, and if Seattle wants to walk out of CPKC Stadium with points of any kind, it can't give up the first goal. Kansas City's defense is the best in the league for a reason, and its offense can snowball goals if it lands the opening punch.
Then again, the Reign do not need to upset arguably the best team in league history to have a positive result on Saturday. A scoreless draw is the most likely "positive outcome" possible, but it would still be shocking if Seattle keeps this dynamic offense off the board twice in one season. Look for Dahlien to spark some of her electric runs early in this game in hopes of giving Seattle a fighting chance to play from ahead.
The most likely outcome, however, is that Seattle's offense can't keep up with the opportunities generated by KC. In the loss, the Current still doubled up Seattle on xG despite not finding the net, and their offensive activity will be hard to match on the road. After all, there is a reason this team hung five goals on Seattle last time the Reign were in town.
Kansas City is the best team in the league on either side of the ball, and Seattle just needs to demonstrate that it can hang with the talent that it has. Although Biyendolo won't be available, Seattle will have capable scorers on the field in Fishlock, Dahlien, Adames and Huitema to make some magic happen.
Defensively, there is no better arena for budding stars like Sally Menti and Meza to show the league more of what they're made of.
If Seattle can hold Kansas City to a single goal, there is a real chance to pull some points out in what promises to be the toughest matchup of the Reign's season.
