Dahlien’s Gritty Performance Leads to Game-Winning Goal

Forward Maddie Dahlien was back in the starting lineup tonight as Reign FC pushed overturned a one goal deficit to take all three points against North Carolina at a pivotal moment  in the season. Dahlien’s 83-minute shift produced a game-winning goal for the Reign, highlighting the grit that defines the 21-year-old's play.

Dahlien's journey with the Reign has been a steady build as she has featured in several iterations of Head Coach Laura Harvey’s formation. Since the team returned from the international break over the summer, the forward had yet to get on the scoresheet – until tonight.

From the beginning of the match, it was clear that she was going to be a headache for North Carolina’s defense as she challenged every ball that came her way, winning the third-most duels of any Reign player. Though she was asked to spend the majority of the first half defending, she was up to the task, staying focused on finding her chances to get into the attack.

“I watched lots of film on [Ryan William’s] tendencies and she’s a great defender. I mean, I had difficulty defending her a little bit in the first half, but I think once we got on the front foot, we were able to kind of shift some momentum,” said Dahlien.

She continued, “It's always going to be back and forth and so like I said, I's just staying in the game and getting ready for when my opportunity does come.”

That first opportunity arose in the 49th minute, when Sally Menti swung a ball out to the left side of the field, finding Dahlien. She engaged her defender and cut inside, shooting the ball to the far post, past Marisa Jordan and into the back of the net. However, the referee put a halt to the celebrations as the goal was called back for offside following Video Review.

“I think after my first goal got called back, I tried to stay pretty levelheaded. I think I told myself, ‘you're going to get another opportunity and put it away.’”

Minutes after Dahlien had her goal waived off, the Reign conceded against the run of play, raising the stakes in the match. The intensity of the crowd seemed to double in mere minutes and strategic substitutions from Harvey renewed the energy on the pitch, fueling the Reign to find a 71st minute equalizer.

With three points in reach, Dahlien was presented with the opportunity to secure the win for the Reign and boost the team into fourth place – and she made no mistakes this time. She received a ball out wide to the left side of the field once again and ran at North Carolina’s defense.

 “I knew exactly when she was taking away endline, I was going to cut in and shoot again. Luckily, I got another opportunity and put it away.”

There’s no doubt that Dahlien is a versatile player and she’s taken every opportunity to learn with the Reign this season, and it shows each and every game. Her decision to cut the ball inside for a second time highlights her ever-growing soccer IQ. As she received the set-up pass from Sally Menti, she confidently took on the defense, shooting the ball low and hard to the back post, completing the Reign’s comeback and quest for three points.

“I think I've just really tried to have versatility in which ways I go, so that's really unpredictable. I think like you saw, I went endline one time and I feel like right after I was able to cut in again, so it's just kind of having versatility in that,” shared Dahlien.

She continued, sharing the credit with the entire team. “I'm just really proud of how the team responded in the second half. I thought we really gritted it out and I thought the people who came on the field, the game changers just really changed the momentum for us.

With just four matches left in the season, the Reign will look to build off this momentum and carry that confidence through to the next challenge – NJ/NY Gotham FC on October 5.

“I think honestly, getting Maddie Dahlien in those positions that we got her in, I mean, even the goal that was rolled back for offside was so tight, is great because they're the things that early in the season we were doing a lot of, and again, we've come away from it a little bit. So, I think it will give us a load of confidence going into the last bit of the season,” said Harvey.