Match Recap: Two Late Goals Earn Seattle One Point on the Road in Chicago

In a tale of two halves, the Reign pulled off a comeback draw against Chicago Stars FC. The first half featured a brace from Chicago forward Ludmila, while the second half was a stronger showing from the Reign, punctuated by goals from forward Lynn Biyendolo and defender Jordyn Bugg. 

Though the Reign had the opening opportunity of the match, earning a corner kick just minutes in, the momentum quickly shifted in favor of the home team. They fired off their first shot in the fourth minute, but it was straight to the hands of Clauda Dickey in goal. 

Less than 10 minutes later, Chicago got the scoring started. Ludmila received the ball before midfield before turning and carrying the ball all the way through the Reign’s defensive half of the field. Just after entering the 18-yard box, she took and shot low and hard to the far post, giving the home side the lead 11 minutes into the match. 

A minute later, Ludmila struck again, racing onto the end of a cleared ball and dribbling into the box once more to make it 2-0. 

The half worsened for the Reign in the 21st minute, when veteran defender Lauren Barnes went down with an injury and was subbed off the field. Defender Shae Holmes subbed into the match and play continued. 

In the 35th minute, it seemed as though the Reign had won a penalty kick when forward Maddie Dahlien went down in the box, but after Biyendolo lined up to take the kick, the referee made the decision to go to the monitor, eventually resulting in the penalty kick being called back upon review. 

At the halftime whistle, the 2-0 scoreline held and the Reign had everything to play for in the final 45 minutes. 

When the game restarted, the Reign were on the front foot, fueled by the energy that substitutes Sam Meza and Ji So-Yun brought onto the pitch. Seattle worked to build momentum, earning 15 total shots in the half. 

The Reign found one of their best attacking opportunities of the half when midfielder Sally Menti fought to keep possession of the ball, fighting past a defender before feeding the ball to Biyendolo at the top of the box. The veteran forward let a shot fly, forcing Chicago’s goalkeeper to tip it off frame. 

Chicago was asked to do even more defending as the Reign continued to press forward. In the 87th minute, Seattle finally found a breakthrough goal from Biyendolo. Meza lobbed a ball toward the box and it was half cleared by a Chicago player, straight to the feet of Biyendolo. She touched the ball to her left foot setting up a picture-perfect shot to the lower left corner of the goal. 

The Reign frantically pressed forward again, desperate for a second goal to level the score. Less than three minutes later, they found it. Menti swung a corner kick into the box and it was popped out to the opposite side of the field, where Bugg was waiting. She attempted to cross the ball into the box but was blocked. Dahlien picked up the rebound and cut it back out wide to Bugg. The defender used her laces to drive the ball toward goal, finding the back of the net at the far post. 

In stoppage time, midfielder Maddie Mercado and Biyendolo both had chances on goal, but Chicago did just enough to keep the score level and force the teams to split the points at the final whistle. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

• BIYENDOLO: Forward Lynn Biyendolo scored the Reign’s first goal in the match, kickstarting the eventual comeback. The goal marks her second goal for the Reign and her 70th NWSL regular season goal. The goal is her 11th regular season goal against Chicago all-time and her fifth consecutive goal when playing Chicago.. She is now the first player in NWSL history with five-game scoring streaks against multiple opponents.  

• BUGG: Defender Jordyn Bugg scored her second career goal to solidify the Reign’s two-goal comeback. 

• TEAM: Reign FC becomes the first road team in NWSL history to avoid defeat after trailing by more than one goal in the 85th minute or later.

UP NEXT: The Reign play their third of three consecutive road matches, traveling to Utah to take on the Royals. Tune in on Fox 13, Paramount+ or NWSL+!