Reign Lose Grip, Lose Game 1-0 to Houston

Lackluster and disappointing – those were the words Coach Harvey used to describe the match today, and they were apt. Although the Reign came into the game hoping to build on recent wins over the Thorns and Current, the team put together a largely uninspired performance against the Houston Dash and came away with a 1-0 loss.

While Houston did not play with much more verve than Seattle did, the visiting side successfully snuffed out all of Seattle’s attacks with a defense-heavy structure while also putting together one successful attack of their own – and one was enough. Although nearly every other push from the Dash lacked coordination or pressure, the single goal was all the scoring Lumen Field saw.

Laura Harvey went with a structure similar to what we have seen from the Reign this season. Haz and Meza anchored the team as dual sixes, with Ji as a playmaker connecting with the top four. Lynn Biyendolo played a little higher than the other three attackers, while Maddie Dahlien dropped into the back line during defensive phases.

Sides Scoreless in First 45

The first half did not see any goals and did not see many real threats from either side. Both the Reign and the Dash struggled to coordinate big pushes, with both teams’ high presses doing their jobs to stymie the opposing attackers – though with Houston stuffing the backfield, Seattle’s attacks only came from dribbles, not passes.

Despite keeping Houston off the board, the Reign struggled on defense to clear properly, but always either recovered in time to prevent a real attack or benefited from a bad tackle call on the Dash. Still, there were many times when a Reign defender would be chased around the Seattle half by a charging Dash player before rattling off the clearance.

In the second minute, the ball worked up the field through Meza and to Huitema, who sent a through ball to Haz in the box – but Houston recovered and got to the ball before Seattle’s midfielder could make anything of it. Seattle maintained possession for a couple minutes but was unable to cross midfield until the early fifth minute, when Bugg sent a ball up the right sideline for Huitema – but the Dash took it away knocked it back into Seattle territory.

Then it was Houston’s turn to kick the ball around in their own half, which they did for about ten minutes, notwithstanding a couple brief Seattle takeaways. Now and then during this spell, the Dash would bring it forward into the Reign quarter, but it was never much of a cohesive threat during that time.

Dahlien was served with a yellow for a bad tackle in the 15^th, and the Dash promptly brought it up and hovered around the box for a few seconds before being sent off by the Reign, who started an attempted drive of their own. Huitema received a ball in the box and attempted to deal with two Dash that were guarding her, but she knocked it out of play for a goal kick.

In the 21^st, Dahlien stole away a ball from Dash striker Messiah Bright with a chance at a quick turnaround, but Dahlien sent it to the side and Seattle squandered the potential chance with slow play before losing the ball.

The 22^nd brought the Dash’s first spell of attack, as they brought it briefly into the box and confused the home side enough to potentially threaten goal, but the phase of attack was initially pushed back before culminating in a promising cross to Bright that the striker was unable to reach.

Seattle won a corner in the 27^th after McClernon sent the ball up to Biyendolo, who knocked it off a defender behind the line. Barnes sent in a beautiful kick to Ji, positioned on the outside of the set piece, but Ji’s header went into the crowd instead of at the goal, and the ball came back.

Houston brought it up on the attack after this, first being squeezed out of the front of the box by some clutch play from the Reign midfield and then spending a couple minutes unsuccessfully trying to break the home side’s shield around the 18. Play moved to midfield, with each side trying to break the cohesion of the other with hurry-up play, but each side unsuccessful. The Reign had a couple interesting chances but were offsides in both instances.

In the 36^th, Ji got it to Dahlien on the upper left side of the pitch, and Dahlien forced her defender to concede a corner. Barnes sent in the 37^th-minute cross, but little came of it. The ball came down to the other side, where Seattle gave the ball away and then regained it, with a long ball to Biyendolo showing promise up top – but Dash center back Kathleen Naughton pressed her away from where she needed to go, and a second ball from Huitema caught Biyendolo when she was offside, ending the threat.

Seattle had another opportunity in the 40^th with a Barnes ball up the left side to Dahlien, who whizzed past her defenders. Rather than take a shot from near the outside of the box, she opted to send a short through ball to Biyendolo – but Dash keeper Abby Smith got to the ball first.

Ji sent Dahlien a promising ball on transition in the 45^th, but the Reign wing again opted to lean on her teammates, sending a ball to the left of Dash midfielder Avery Patterson for Biyendolo to take. But it was well beyond Lynn’s reach and went beyond the line.

The half ended at the end of the 45^th with no stoppage, both teams knotted at zero.

Graham Notches Only Scoring, Reign Lose in Second half

From a pace-of-play standpoint, the second half was very similar to the first. Neither team had a propensity for putting together strong offensive chances. Seattle tried to create all their attacks using through balls, but each time, the lead player would get surrounded by Houston’s many defenders before having the opportunity to take a shot.

Ultimately, the game was decided by one good spell of play from the Dash, a 57^th minute breakaway that rapidly went up the left side, across the box, and into the net for goal. Although Seattle tried (somewhat haphazardly) to put together a late attacking push – and produced two strong shots – the score held, and the home side lost.

Seattle started the second half with a spell of offense, as Haz and Ji danced around the box in the 46^th before Ji sent it right to Dahlien, who crossed to Huitema – but a little too forward, and it was taken by the Dash.

The visitors brought it back up to the Seattle half of the pitch, but the Reign quickly brought it back and Ji sent a ball to Lynn on the left side. The Seattle striker rattled a ball off a Houston defender and won a corner, but nothing came of the set piece.

In the 50^th, Meza had an excellent takeaway near midfield and got it to Biyendolo on the right side, but her cross was a little off and the Dash recovered enough to bring the ball out of danger.

Then the teams traded the ball from side to side, each trying to win possession off quick play and sudden pressure, but just as in the first half, each side’s lack of attacking coordination ended threats pretty quickly.

Ji took advantage of a 53^rd-minute giveaway to create a good opportunity for Seattle, but hesitation up front – first from Ji, then from Biyendolo – left the chance untaken. Dahlien got the ball off a carom an took a shot, but it bounced off Naughton and the Dash promptly recovered. The Reign had another opportunity in the 56^th as Biyendolo induced a giveaway from the visitors, but once more, the team took it slow – and then they lost it on transition.

The Dash brought it up the left side of the box from Ryan to midfielder Ryan Gareis, who crossed to Graham – and the Dash right wing did not miss. 1-0, Houston. Lumen Field became silent.

Immediately after, Harvey went for a change, bringing Maddie Curry on for Ji in the 57^th and transitioning into a formation with Curry on the left side and Crnogorcevic moving between the backfield and the midfield.

The pace of play slowed for a few minutes. Seattle nearly produced an opportunity in the early 63^rd, as Biyendolo sent Dahlien a ball on the left side, but Dash back Christen Westphal intercepted it and neutralized the budding threat.

Seattle won a corner in the 66^th after Houston failed to accurately contain a long ball, but the set piece ended without any threat. Biyendolo took a through ball in the 67^th into the box but was stymied by the Dash defense. Barnes sent in a ball to the box soon after that Smith grabbed.

A few minutes later, Houston brought the ball back and won a corner in the 70^th. The Reign struggled to clear despite getting the ball in the crowd, and so the Dash maintained possession.

Harvey went to some more subs, bringing on Adames, McCammon, and Crnogorcevic for Dahlien, Haz, and Holmes. Holmes joined McClernon as a center back, while McCammon went into the midfield and Adames became the left wing.

Houston and Seattle traded a couple somewhat promising attacking motions over the next five minutes, but the overall story of the match took over – the defenses prevented anything from building.

In the 77^th, Seattle started to mount something, first with Jordyn trying to push through the midfield and then the ball caroming around. Adames gathered the ball a couple meters outside the box and sent a sudden arcing shot over Smith and toward the goal – but it hit the crossbar, and so there was no golazo. This was Seattle’s first of two strong looks in the final minutes.

The team won a free kick in Houston territory a minute later but was unable to convert it into a big threat.

Curry sent Jordyn a ball on the left side in the 79^th, and the latter tried to shoot for goal, but left back Natalie Jacobs blocked the shot. Then the Dash brought it forward in direct transition and Ryan broke free from the line and dashed (pun intended) to the box. She had an excellent chance to double the Houston lead – but Dickey batted away her shot to keep the Reign within one.

Time was running out fast for Seattle. Adames barreled up the left sideline in the 86^th but her cross did not find the vicinity of a teammate. But even with the time crunch, the Dash could still scrape the ball away from Reign possession and get it back across the field. Ryan had another run on the net from the left side, but this time McClernon and Curry drove her off. Then Houston tried the other side but found no openings.

Seattle brought it back to their attacking zone for Jordyn, who worked in from the right and crossed it to the 18 box crowd. It caromed back for Curry, who fired a shot – and Smith reached up to deflect it over the net. This was the second major threat Seattle produced in the late second half, and just like the first, nothing came from it.

The following corner went nowhere – and the Dash immediately took it back into the Reign half.

Houston won a corner in the 89^th and took it short, looking to eat up time as the game wound down. The Reign got the ball back as stoppage time began and won a free kick in the 91^st. Barnes sent the ball into the set piece and it flew towards the crowd. Though the Reign once again lost the initial aerial, the ball came to Mercado, who sent a pass to Holmes, who took a shot – just over the net. The final whistle blew just a little later.

Final score: Houston Dash 1 – Seattle Reign 0.

Offensive Woes, Forced and Unforced

The visiting side kept most of their players deep in their own territory whenever the Reign had the ball, and the strategy paid dividends. Seattle attempted many times to put together good phases of possession in the Houston quarter, but each time, an army of orange swarmed the ball and easily ripped the Reign possession away.

Seattle did not help themselves with their set pieces or crosses, which were largely inconsequential. Though the Reign had a fair few corners and free kicks, the Dash won the aerial each time and regained control of the pacing. The crosses, meanwhile, either did not have a good recipient or did not find the intended recipient.

The team did have a fair bit of promising dribbles, though like the other methods of attack, they all were stopped by something. Jordyn’s 79^th-minute look on the right side was prevented by good defensive play, while other chances near the box ended due to slight hesitations.

Most of the time that the team had possession, they simply passed between each other and waited for an opening that rarely showed from Houston. When they did attack forward, they always lost control of the ball – hardly something that instills confidence in the team.

“I think there was a bit of lack of belief as the game wore on,” Harvey said postgame. “I think when you know you’ve turned up and performed and the result doesn’t go your way, you believe that you’re going to be able to turn that around. The hardest losses are when you don’t believe that you’ve performed well.”

Defense and Belief

While Houston lacked good looks just as the Reign did, the Seattle defense did not necessarily have the best game, either. Though only one point ended up on the opposing scoreboard, there were many times when the back end of the field just barely kept the ball away from a charging opponent. The clearances, as in previous matches, were not very strong, though that aspect of the game was not what bit Seattle in the end.

Still, Harvey commented on the team’s lack of quality throughout the pitch.

“We were lackluster. I thought we never really got going,” Harvey said. “And the frustrating part of that is that when it’s the whole team, you’ve got to look at everything we’ve done to prepare.”

Even though the team’s slight defensive shakiness did not directly result in the goal that lost the game, it definitely contributed to what Harvey talked about – the slipping sense of belief that the players had in their team.

Belief is one of those intangibles that never shows up in any stat sheet and often goes unreported in coverage, but it’s such an important part of any sport. You see it all the time – a team scores and immediately has an energy they didn’t have before. Perhaps if Adames’ strike fell a few inches sooner and found the back of the net, the weight would have come off the team’s shoulders.

But that’s the world of hypotheticals, and in the game today, that belief dwindled over time. There was something of a sense in the stands and on the pitch that Houston’s goal was a dagger. That’s irrational, of course – no soccer game is over with a 1-goal deficit and 33 minutes remaining – but that feeling of helplessness is stifling and ultimately self-fulfilling.

It’s also not a feeling that’s common to the 2025 Reign. Even in defeat, this Reign team has almost always been one that fights and has a good chance to win.

Harvey, of course, intends to win. The ’25 Reign have had another similarly dim loss – March 30 against Angel City. But immediately after that was a promising performance (although unsuccessful) against Orlando and then a victory against the Thorns.

“We’ll wake up tomorrow and we’ll go in and be very analytical for ourselves so we can try and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Harvey said. “We did the same after Angel City.”

Following Fixtures

The Reign go on the road Friday to face Racing Louisville, who are identical to Seattle in the table at 3-3-2. After that, the next home match will be on May 23 against the Washington Spirit, who are currently third in the table with a 5-3-0 record.

It’s anybody’s guess as to what happens, but a full six points is definitely possible, despite Seattle’s struggles.

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