Match Recap: Reign FC Splits Points with Chicago
Reign FC battled Chicago Stars FC to a 3-3 draw at Lumen Field on Monday night. Seattle raced out to a three-goal lead behind a pair of first half strikes from Jess Fishlock and Jordyn Huitema and an early second half tally from Emeri Adames before the visitors responded with three unanswered goals.
It was a dream start for the Reign as they took a 1-0 lead three minutes into the match.
Angharad James-Turner received the ball on the half turn 30 yards from goal before slipping a pass behind Chicago’s back line for Huitema. The Canadian international took a touch toward goal before squaring the ball to Fishlock, who one-timed her shot past Alyssa Naeher.
Chicago responded almost immediately, with Allyson Schlegel racing behind Reign FC’s back line back line in the 15th minute, but Claudia Dickey denied the forward with a stellar reaction save.
The visitors continued to pepper Seattle’s goal over the next 20 minutes, but Dickey was repeatedly up to the task.
After absorbing a bit of pressure, the Reign responded by doubling the lead in the 34th minute.
The sequence started with Fishlock playing an inch-perfect through ball down the channel for Maddie Dahlien, who fired a shot to the far post that forced Naeher into a sprawling save. Maddie Curry crashed on the rebound, uncorking a powerful volley that crashed back off the crossbar. Huitema punctuated the play with an acrobatic bicycle kick to finally put the ball in the back of the net to make it 2-0.
The Reign picked up where they left off to start the second half, with Adames scoring straight from the kickoff. Chicago’s defenders struggled to deal with a long ball from Dickey, and the 19-year-old striker pounced on the loose ball to volley it in from the edge of the box for the 3-0 lead.
Seattle nearly added a fourth in the 64th minute when Huitema dissected Chicago’s center becks with a threaded pass into Fishlock’s path, but she pulled her shot wide of the far post.
Chicago pulled one back in the 73rd minute as Ludmila burst into the box and fired a shot into the side netting.
The visitors grabbed a second goal five minutes later as Camryn Biegalski raced onto a long ball over the top of Seattle’s back line before smashing a shot into the top corner.
In the 83rd minute, Fishlock nearly grabbed a second goal as she attempted to chip Naeher from distance, but the Chicago keeper recovered well to make the stop.
Four minutes later, Lynn Biyendolo raced down the fight flank and drove a ball across the face of goal that forced Naeher into an acrobatic save.
Chicago drew level nine minutes into second half stoppage time as Dickey produced an incredible save on a headed effort from a corner kick. During the ensuing scramble, Naeher smashed the ball in on the goal line for the equalizer.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Red-hot attack: Following Monday night’s match, the Reign have now scored multiple goals in six consecutive matches, posting a 2-1-2 record during that stretch. Eight different Reign players have found the back of the net throughout the streak.
Making history: Adames is now one goal away for breaking the record the most goals by a teenager in NWSL history. With six goals on the campaign, she is currently tied with Sam Kerr (2013), Mallory Swanson (2017), Trinity Rodman (2021) and Jaedyn Shaw (2023).
OG performance: Fishlock has been on fire since the start of June, tallying a goal contribution in each of her last six straight appearances for the club. The Seattle Reign FC original has four goals and two assists during that run of games.
UP NEXT: Reign FC plays Houston Dash on the road at 4:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, August 24.