Biyendolo Brings Essential Experience and Leadership for Club and Country
After starting the 2025 season with an injury, forward Lynn Biyendolo has settled into her role in Seattle Reign FC’s attack. With her 11 years of elite NWSL experience, she brings an undeniable sense of leadership to the team, on and off the pitch.
The NWSL’s all-time leading goal scorer has made ten appearances for the Reign so far this season, including seven starts. She’s posted three 90-minute shifts and notched two goals, tied for the third-most goals of any player on the roster, in addition to adding an assist. But her impact goes far beyond the stat sheet.
Biyendolo was a key player in the Reign’s final match before the international break, playing 81 minutes. Though she didn’t add a goal or assist, she was instrumental in instrumental in setting up three of the four scoring sequences for the Reign.
The importance of the forward’s leadership was on full display in the Reign’s recent match against Chicago Stars FC. She scored Seattle’s first goal, sparking a dramatic comeback as they erased a two-goal deficit in the final three minutes to secure a point on the road.
Her calm, left-footed strike to the far post marked her 70th regular-season goal, making her just the second player in league history to reach the milestone, behind Sam Kerr who leads with 77.
“Yeah, I mean that's why we brought her here, right? She can do those things in moments that you need her to. And it was coming, right? We really felt like it was coming. Yeah, a little bit of quality from Lynn. Just a great finish,” said Reign FC Head Coach Laura Harvey.
“She doesn't really get the credit for those types of things, I don't think. But that's what she has, that caressed, left footed finish. She's not smashing it. She's trying to place it in that bottom corner. So yeah, really happy for her because I know she's been a little bit frustrated to not get a couple more goals this season, so to get her in a good position to score was great,” added Harvey.
Biyendolo captured yet another record with the goal, which was her 11th regular season goal against Chicago all-time and her fifth consecutive goal when playing against the Stars. She is now the first player in NWSL history with five-game scoring streaks against multiple opponents. Despite her penchant for breaking records and finding goals in critical moments, it wasn’t the goal itself that kickstarted the comeback.
“She was the real person setting the tone at half time with the team of ‘this wasn't good enough. Our mentality has to be better. We need to compete better. We need to win first and second balls.’ She was the one spearheading that, and I think that's what we love about her. It's not just her goals. Yes, we want that, but it's everything else that she brings. She's a phenomenal human. She's a great trainer, fantastic teammate and a great leader.”
The game was a perfect example of the Reign’s club-defining grittiness. The comeback draw marked the first time in NWSL history that a visiting team avoided defeat after trailing by two or more goals in the 85th minute or later, and Biyendolo was a key part of that drive.
The 32-year-old led the team with four shots (excluding blocks) – her highest total in a single match since joining the club, and added six shots and three on target, leading both categories.
“We basically had two choices. One is to lay down and accept what was happening or change the fate of that and come out and try to fight and get one point back. So that's what we did. We were going to fight till the end and that's what we did,” said Biyendolo.
Now, the Reign are on a month-long international break in July and Biyendolo has joined the United States Women’s National Team, bringing the same level of leadership to the field for the Stars and Stripes.
She has appeared in both matches the United States has played against the Republic of Ireland. They captured two solid wins, maintaining the all-time 100%-win record against Ireland. Biyendolo, who entered the match with nearly twice as many caps as the entire rest of the starting lineup, started the second match on June 29 and hit two major milestone moments – her first captaincy for the team and her 25th international goal.
With her 11th minute tally, she became the 28th player in USWNT history to score 25 or more goals. The finish brought her season total to four, tied with Ally Sentnor for most on the team, and brings her even with Rose Lavelle for most career goals in this camp.
Biyendolo and the United States have one match left during this international break, on Wednesday, July 2 against Canada. The team will be looking to continue its win streak and collect all three wins in July.
The Reign return home on Sunday, July 20 to take on Urawa Red Diamonds in a friendly match at Lumen Field. Tickets for the match are available now, including an exclusive pickleball promo!