Mia Fishel Shows Quality in First NWSL Start
As Seattle Reign FC took on Racing Louisville FC at Lumen Field this weekend, forward Mia Fishel, who signed with the club in July, made her first NWSL start for the team – a milestone months in the making. The 1-0 victory provided the team with a much needed three points and featured a strong performance from Fishel, leaving fans and foes eager to see what the 24-year-old is capable of next.
There’s no denying that everyone knows the quality and experience Fishel brings to the pitch from her attacking position, so it was never a matter of if the San Diego native would enter the starting lineup for Seattle, but when.
The match against Louisville provided the perfect opportunity for Fishel, who has been working hard in training and showing glimpses of what she’s capable of in her previous five appearances for the club.
“I thought that both [Mia] and Coco were great,” said Harvey. “I think against Louisville, one of the things they are very good at is they are very physical. They are very fast and dominant in pressure.”
She continued, “Those two, Coco and Mia, are excellent at holding the ball up. That has become a big part of Jordyn [Huitema]’s game as well of late. So, that was our big reason for starting those three – we thought that we could skip their pressure, and to skip it, we knew we were going to have to have people who physically could compete with them. And I thought that’s what those three did brilliantly.”
Fishel’s journey with the Reign has been a steady build since she arrived in Seattle from Chelsea. She made her first league appearance as the NWSL returned from a prolonged international break on August 1. In the 2-0 win over Angel City, she played for the final nine minutes of the match, giving fans a sneak peak of her world-class ability.
She accumulated an additional 58 minutes of playing time through the next five matches the Reign played, appearing in four, joining the match off the bench each time.
Though she didn’t get on the scoresheet in any of those appearances, Fishel’s presence on the field was apparent. Through those first five appearances, she consistently displayed all the attributes that made her such an enticing signing: elite hold-up play, intelligent off-ball movement, and clever skill when attacking opposing defenders.
All of the small moments that revealed Fishel’s potential led up to her first start. It was clear from the first whistle of the match that she was going to test Louisville’s defense at every possible moment.
She took the first shot of the night, sending warning signs to the opponents that she’s hungry for her first goal. She went to test Jordyn Bloomer in the net one more time before the match concluded.
“I’m glad that she could get the start because she deserved it with the work she’s been putting in. Now, the reins are off a little bit but obviously it’s a quick turnaround, so we’ll see what it looks like on Saturday”
During her 72-minutes shift, Fishel earned the second most shots and shots on target and had the highest passing accuracy of any Reign player on the field. She’s still searching for her debut goal, but it’s clear that the future is bright for Fishel.
“I thought Mia was great. I keep saying it – we know what we’ve got with her, and we know that this is not a short-term thing; It’s a long-term.”