Seattle Reign end 5-match winless streak with win over Boston Legacy
Tucked underneath some of the ugliest streaks the Reign have ever been on was one that ultimately saved the team - fullback Sofia Huerta had recorded a goal contribution in every NWSL market except the defunct Boston Breakers in her 12-year career.
The U.S. international walked into a new stadium against a new Boston Legacy team Friday looking to showcase her skills to a new fanbase. Weighing the moment down was her Reign being winless in their past five matches and dragging through a 499-minute scoring drought.
Huerta shattered it all 12 minutes into play at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I. Reign winger Maddie Dahlien earned the team a penalty and Huerta stepped to the spot.
I was really just staying calm in that moment and trying to control my breath," Huerta said of her mentality before taking the shot. "I knew it was important, and I wasn't going to let the team down."
Legacy keeper Casey Murphy was sent the wrong way, Huerta mashing a right-footed shot into the back of the net. The score - Huerta's first of the season - ended the Reign's 510-minute stretch without netting a goal.
The expansion side tried a late comeback, but the Reign held on to win 2-1. It's the club's first victory since March. Boston (2-6-3) had its five-game unbeaten streak snapped.
"We can do a better job of imposing ourselves early in the game, but once we settled in, it looked like us," Dahlien said. "I'm really proud of gritting it out."
Dahlien was attempting to angle a header past Murphy in the eighth minute with Jorelyn Carabalí marking her. The blocked shot rolled off Carabalí's arm and hand, ceding the penalty. Despite the violation looking obvious, there was a long VAR (video assistant referee) check.
There was no debate about Dahlien's goal in the 51st minute. The play started from a corner kick. The ball made its way to defender Madison Curry outside the box, who was patient in sending the ball back into the box for Dahlien to direct into goal with the insole of her shoe. It's Dahlien's first goal of the season.
"Scoring early was good, it settled us down," Reign coach Laura Harvey said. "You could sense a little bit of relief at the end of the game from the group of finally getting it over the line and getting the three points."
Boston had its chances against Reign keeper Claudia Dickey. The stadium's pyrotechnics shot into the air and majority of the 9,141 in attendance erupted after an Aïssata Traoré goal in the 87th minute. But she was ruled offside.
Traoré tried again in second-half stoppage time. She pounced on a through ball from center back Emerson Elgin and angled it past Dickey. It's Traoré second goal this season.
During the Reign's drought, they ceded six goals, which is respectable in the 16-team league. The team wanted to retain the defensive mindset Friday and were upset they couldn't keep the clean sheet.
"I'm surprised how good they are, being an expansion team," Huerta said. "This wasn't an easy game that we won just easily. It was a tough game. We felt if we focused on the details, we could win this game."
Friday's match was the league's debut in Rhode Island. The Swans are claiming it as home due to Gillette Stadium undergoing final renovations for the FIFA men's World Cup next month.
Reign defender Jordyn Bugg made her debut start of the season. The match was her second due to starting the season with a hamstring injury.
Bugg was one of six changes to the starting lineup. Teammates Curry, Ainsley McCammon, Sally Menti, Maddie Mercado and Holly Ward replaced Emily Mason, Shae Holmes, Sam Meza, Nérilia Mondésir, Emeri Adames and Mia Fishel.
Harvey made her first changes in the 71st minute, pulling Bugg, Ward and Menti for Fishel, Mondésir and Mason.
The Reign (4-4-2) will close out this portion of their schedule with a road match against the Washington Spirit next week. The NWSL will have a monthlong hiatus in June for the World Cup.
"After the Gotham game, we were at a crossroads," Harvey said of the 2-0 loss at Lumen Field last week. "We couldn't keep saying the same things and keep doing the same things. We needed to go a bit deeper than that. Our culture allowed us to do that. It gets tested and it gets strained, but when you have a good culture, ultimately the people in that room care and you can come out on the other side of it. You saw that in not only the win, but how we got the win.
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