Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

The Seattle Reign have a lot of good players, but the players molding together into a good team was the difference-maker in this one, and the reason why today’s game was a beatdown.

Pick your phrase – a whole greater than the sum of its parts, a well-oiled machine, the Body of Christ metaphor – it’s a simple fact of life that no one can do it all alone. Delegating and spreading tasks makes an organization run more smoothly.

And that’s how it goes on the soccer pitch. Today, when the Reign acted as a team, they looked like a true budding force. When each player acted independently to try to achieve something, the team looked shaky.

And most of the game was played with the Reign as one whole unit. Ergo, Seattle won 4-1. It was against the weakest opponent in the NWSL, but taking care of weak opponents is something you have to do – and something the team hasn’t necessarily done this season (see: losing to Angel City and Houston).

Now, the Seattle Reign go into the international break having won two of their last three and being unbeaten in that stretch.

Strong First 20 Minutes, Shakier Finish in First Half

The first half initially looked like a break from the nail-biting games the Reign have been in the habit of playing. Ji knocked in a goal early on and Dahlien soon doubled up, and the Royals looked lifeless, with Seattle fully in control of the pace of the game. But the Royals readjusted about halfway through the first half, gaining a bit of aggressiveness and finding a goal to bring it to a one score match. Seattle regained the initiative – though not with as much dominance as previously – and the score stayed 2-1 by the end of the half.

Scarcely five minutes into the match, the Reign struck first. Biyendolo went forward up the right side and then sent a cross to the box towards Dahlien, but Utah sent it back – right to Ji, who booted it from short distance past McGlynn for the opening goal.

A couple minutes later, the Reign once again worked in from the right side, with Adames knocking on the door and then the team forcing a corner in the 9^th. Adames attempted an Olimpico, but her shot went barely a foot over the crossbar.

Coming out of a goal kick transition, it was the Royals’ turn to threaten on net in the 11^th minute. Utah midfielder Mina Tanaka got the ball a little past midfield and sent a fast ball for striker Bianca St-Georges on the front of the line. St-Georges took the shot, but Dickey was right there for the catch.

It briefly went back the other way, with Seattle forcing a corner, but Bugg’s reception of the cross never got off the ground and Utah wing Brecken Mozingo broke away up the left side.

The good luck kept going for Seattle. Adames sent a long ball from the right side for Ji in the 16^th and Ji quickly knocked it to her left to Dahlien, who chipped it over McGlynn. Tejada tried to intercept it but could not get to the rolling ball in time, and Seattle’s lead was now 2-0.

Mozingo forced a corner in the 19^th with a deflected shot, but the Royals did not get anything out of the set piece. She had another shot in the 20^th that Dickey tipped over the net with a goal-saving jump, but once again, the Utah corner kick left much to be desired.

In the 21^st, Meza stole the ball from Tanaka and gave it to Adames, who easily found a window between Utah’s defenders and took a shot on net, but this time, McGlynn was in good position to snare it. Seattle came back with two more quick attacks on the box in the next few minutes before Adames sent a ball for a Sally Menti positioned well for a goal, but McGlynn grabbed Dahlien’s shot to prevent a third goal.

On the other end of the field, the clean sheet would not last forever. Utah threatened in the 30^th minute as Mozingo charged up the left side with a fairly open line. However, Seattle caught back up and forced her to cut back. Still, Utah kept up the attack, and in the 31^st, Ally Sentnor saw a window. She sent an absolute missile towards the left side of the goal, past Dickey’s dive, but off the post – and right to Bianca St-Georges, who easily tapped it in.

Utah, at this point in the match, were now playing a more aggressive game. Early wide spaces given to Seattle were now replaced with closer pressing. In the 34^th, Mozingo again worked up the left side and sent a cross to a promising box, but her ball zipped through the crowd and the chance slipped away.

Seattle returned to the attacking third in the 36^th minute and Adames had a potential chance to break the line on the edge of the box, but the Royals’ center backs readjusted and caught up. Then, the ball went the other way and Utah picked up a free kick due to a foul by Maddie Curry – but the kick went too far and resulted in nothing for the home side.

There was another chance for the Reign in the 40^th off a transition. Adames sent a ball in for Biyendolo, but it had a bit too much on it and McGlynn just barely caught up to it before Lynn could get a good touch on the ball. Seattle kept possession for a fair bit after this, with the team preventing a potential Utah breakaway, and in the 44^th minute, Seattle had a corner. But Menti’s strike flew much too far for her teammates to do anything with it.

Curry drew a foul in the 45^th minute just off a midfield takeaway to give Seattle a free kick, but once more the cross came in way too far on a set piece, this time from Adames. Utah managed to get a brief turnaround with the help of Mozinga once more, but Dahlien recovered and ended the threat to wrap up the half.

Seattle’s early dominance had made way for a close 2-1 match, but the Reign were still in the driver’s seat.

Two Second Half Goals Seal 4-1 Rout

Utah didn’t keep up their midgame flurry into the second half. Both sides initially played more loosely before tightening up in the middle fifteen minutes of the back half, but Seattle broke away with two goals from Emeri Adames, though one was a penalty. Although the Reign’s cohesion atrophied in the last fifteen minutes, the Royals were unable to capitalize, and the game ended 4-1.

In the opening minutes of the second half, both teams prevented the other from building anything out of the midfield. Zornoza had a promising takeaway for Utah but Seattle recovered, then Seattle tried to put some passes together but could not go anywhere. It looked like St-Georges had a takeaway in the attacking third but was called for a foul.

Then Ally Sentnor picked the ball off and went for a breakaway in the 49^th minute. McClernon picked up a yellow stopping her from reaching the box, so it was a free kick for Utah in the 50^th minute. The trend of too-long crosses went across both teams, however, as Zornoza’s cross flew over the line.

Seattle had a transition in the 51^st and developed a threat, with Lynn sending it to Dahlien up top on the left. Dahlien sent in a cross and Royals right back Paige Monaghan was forced to concede a corner. Menti’s corner kick went too far and play morphed back towards midfield.

In the 55^th, the Royals had a chance developing off a left side transition, but Bugg cleared the cross away to prevent anything from developing. Another transition in the 58^th nearly broke the line, but McClernon knocked the ball away from the Royals’ attacking line. Utah came back and put together another attack, this time forcing a 59^th minute corner. Sentnor’s kick was deflected out of the box and the chance fizzled out.

Seattle nearly had a third goal during the following transition, as Curry sent it to Adames in the upper right corner and then Adames crossed to Biyendolo. Lynn would have had a clear shot on goal, but Utah center back Kate Del Fava made an incredible slide to intercept the ball and prevent the goal.

The teams traded half-chances over the next couple minutes, but each time, the defending team recovered in time to prevent anything from building. Neither side could build the quick connections they had been making earlier in the match.

But Seattle quickly put it back together. Biyendolo got the ball on transition and fought off pressure to keep it while dribbling up the middle. She then sent it to Ji, who worked past two defenders before finding Adames on the right side. Adames had a clear shot on goal and sent a left-footed kick into the far corner. 3-1, Seattle.

Both sides slowed down the pace of play over the next few minutes. Seattle had one moment in the early 71^st minute where they nearly had a breakaway, but by and large, the Royals kept possession in their own half and Seattle did not pressure super high.

Harvey went to her first two substitutes in the 72^nd, with Coco Mondesir and Emily Mason coming in for Ji So-yun and Maddie Dahlien. An injury stoppage became an impromptu water break for both sides, and Utah came back with a sharper edge to their play.

In the 75^th, the Royals had a corner kick and then another in the 76^th, forming the first true bit of pressure that the home crew had in the second half. Seattle’s issues in clearing the ball showed as a point of weakness during this spell of play, but a overshot on a ball upfield from Utah gave the ball back to Seattle and play moved back around midfield. Coco sent Adames a ball in the upper right corner, but Adames turned around in the face of pressure from Utah and the chance ended for Seattle.

Jordyn Huitema came in for Biyendolo in the 81^st minute, but during this time, Utah was gaining momentum. Seattle was making clear mistakes in their play, with the team unable to put together phases of passing and less-than-necessary clearances resulting in the Royals having most of the possession.

Mondesir had a run up from the left corner in the 86^th and would have had a pretty good chance on net were it not for a trip from defender Mikayla Cluff. While it initially was not called, a VAR check was made and the referee indicated that there would be a penalty. Adames took it into the opposite corner as McGlynn’s guess, and it was 4-1 in favor of the visitors.

Adames was soon subbed off for Mercado as stoppage began. Utah was still fighting during the end of the match, despite the result being a foregone conclusion. The Reign still struggled under pressure from the Royals and played in a more panicky, uncoordinated way than they had during the majority of the game.

Then again, it didn’t really matter. One final free kick was easily deflected by Seattle, and the game ended soon after as a 4-1 beatdown by Seattle.

MOTM Ji So-Yun

During the first 20 minutes, the team was markedly more coordinated and looked to be eating the Royals for lunch. Utah came out of the gate with a porous back line and subsequently allowed Ji to find a wide-open window for the first goal. Ji continued her excellent play for most of her 72 minutes on the field, connecting well with her teammates. Obviously, her best moment after her goal was her assist, which was made under pressure from two close defenders. In the second half, she was not as surgical, but she still had a good presence on the field.

This was the kind of performance the Reign have been looking for from their playmaker. Ji has had some ups and downs in her time with Seattle, but if she consistently puts up performances like today’s, then Seattle might be a genuine contender. There are a lot of strong attacking players on the team, but the midfield has been a question during the 2025 season. Again, the teamwork is the Reign’s final key to turn, and teamwork flows through the midfield.

Worrying Final Fifteen?

After Ji left the game, the Reign started looking much worse. Part of it was probably that they were now up by two with time running out, but the defensive play, once much more measured and calculated, became a frenetic mess of sloppy clearances, and the passing between players similarly atrophied. The Royals didn’t pounce, but a top team like Orlando or Kansas City absolutely would.

In general, the Reign’s problem late in the game was that they did not play as a team, rather all eleven players were their own unit. There was one moment that stood out to me particularly: in the 81st minute, Curry ran to intercept a ball going up towards her side of the field and intercepted the pass, but instead of running with it for a transition, she kicked it away across the sideline. This turned what could have been a strong run up the side and a release of Utah pressure into a continuation of that pressure.

The Reign still made a goal out of the final phase of play – Coco made a strong run into the box and was fouled in the box for the penalty – but the end of the game was not the Reign’s best performance.

Seattle’s press also declined in the last sixth of the game, again suffering from the lack of team play. A player would, on their own, attempt to go forward, but there wasn’t the close team-wide marking we saw earlier.

Now, this didn’t matter one iota today. But it is worrying that the basics – and the teamwork – seemed to dissipate when the Reign had a 2-goal lead, especially in areas like clearances where the team has struggled all year. It might not matter in a midseason match against the worst team in the league, but it absolutely will in a playoff match against the Current or Pride.

Adames Gets Brace, Now Top Reign Scorer

Emeri Adames got her fourth start of the 2025 season and played 89 minutes. This was the first brace of her career and a sign that she could be rapidly turning into a key piece of the Seattle lineup. She now has three goals over her past three games.

In particular, the connection with Ji on Adames’ first goal was tailor-made, something that Adames commented on postgame.

“I was telling Ji earlier, just beat someone and play me the ball, because I’ll finish it for you,” Adames said. “I knew, right when she played me, I’d just take a touch inside and finish. It’s what we do in training, it’s what we do pre-game.”

Earlier in the season, Coach Harvey described Adames as an impact player. But clearly, the last few games have seen Adames the impact player replaced by Adames the starter. According to Harvey, this is because she made key improvements on defensive play such as obtaining transitions.

“Me and Emeri had a conversation, maybe six weeks ago now, to say if she wants more playing time, to be committed to the defensive side of the game is what she needs to do,” Harvey said. “And she’s executing defensively, and she’s getting the reward for that.”

This goes back to the point about teamwork. Adames the impact player could make a late attack; Adames the starter can play from the back when needed, hold up the wing, and be a full part of the Reign unit.

Now, Adames has four goals on the year, most of any Reign player. The NWSL leader in goals is Esther González with ten.

Solid Summer Sendoff

Today’s win is a good finish to the first half of the NWSL season before the summer international break. Despite periods of worry, the team came away on the good side of a 4-1 rout.

The win also marks four straight games scoring multiple goals. This is a very good sign from the top line stat: the team is starting to put things together. Seattle currently has the fourth lowest number of goals scored in the league and is in a playoff spot – an increase in offensive production could propel this side to the top.

“We had a lot of momentum and getting that second goal was important. Unfortunately, then we took our foot off the gas a little bit and let them back in the game,” Harvey said. “But I think this is the growth of our team.”

And there is a notable progression of growth: last week’s match in Chicago showed this team’s ability to dig itself out of a hole and scrape points away, today showed a team that took the high ground early, adequately defended it, and expanded upon it.

The standings now look like this after thirteen games (note: San Diego and Washington play one match tomorrow before the break truly starts):

The Reign are smack dab in the center of the upper-middle pack of NWSL teams. Four points behind Orlando, three points ahead of North Carolina.

Seattle has an international friendly against the Urawa Red Diamonds on July 20, but the NWSL season resumes with an August 2 match at home against Angel City FC.