Midfielder Sally Menti Makes the Most of First Reign FC Start
In Seattle Reign FC’s 2-1 win over San Diego Wave FC on Friday, Head Coach Laura Harvey fielded a lineup featuring heavy squad rotation. With a handful of players recently returning from international duty, the young talents on the team had a chance to impact the match.
One of the newcomers on the squad, midfielder Sally Menti, made her first start for the Reign after making her debut the match before against the Washington Spirit. The Seattle native had a dream start to her Reign career, as she scored the opening goal of the match in the 67th minute.
Menti’s long range strike was a showstopper. After electing to pass the ball inside the box instead of taking a shot earlier in the match, she knew she had to go for goal when veteran defender and Reign FC captain Lauren Barnes played a ball to her feet outside the 18-yard box. Backed by the encouragement of her teammates on the field, she unleashed a powerful shot from distance that arrowed toward the far post and rippled the back of the net.
“We scored two beautiful goals from people that really had to step up today.” said Barnes. “There was a lot of responsibility on some young kids and some, you know, first starters and yeah, I'm just super proud. Like you can't write what just happened, so it's pretty incredible.”
Now nominated for NWSL Goal of the Week [link], the goal was the headliner of her performance against the Wave, but she was a key contributor on the pitch for the entirety of the match. She had the fourth most touches on the ball of any Reign player and regained possession of the ball on seven different occasions. The Washington native was tied for the most tackles won in the match and was tied for the third-most clearances.
Though it may seem like she has stormed onto the scene in Seattle, Menti is no stranger to the Reign. She previously trained with the squad as a non-roster invitee and grew up in the Seattle area.
“I had a little injury coming out of college, so everything was kind of slow to begin with. I wasn't there for the preseason; I joined at the beginning of March, so kind of just it's been getting my fitness up, getting used to my team, getting comfortable with the coaches and everything. So just kind of all been building. Everyone here has been so welcoming and encouraging that it was a pretty natural build for me and I just appreciate my teammates a lot and coaches for helping me get here,” said Menti.
Barnes added, “Sally has a history with us as well. This isn't her first time with the team. We knew we had something special for a really long time, and we always knew we needed to keep her around. Yeah, so when she's healthy and fit, she's in here and you guys got to see just a tad of what she's going to bring, so it's really exciting for her.”
Menti officially signed with the Reign in March on a short-term contract through June, bringing with her an accolade-filled career at Santa Clara University and a long resume of experience with the United States Women’s Youth National Team.
"I said to Sally when we when we signed her that we had a plan about, you know, keeping a short term and then maybe looking to loan her out in the summer,” shared Harvey. “When we did that, my exact words to her were ‘Change the plan. That’s up to you’ And I don’t think she did herself any damage in that tonight.”
This standout performance is just the beginning for Menti, who continues to improve each day with the Reign. Her first professional start and goal are just another step forward in the career of the hometown player.
Harvey praised, “So happy for Sally. She's grown a lot since she's been with us. She's a baller. Absolute baller. The fact she's a local kid just means a little bit more, you know?”
Next up, Reign FC continues its three-match road trip, taking on Chicago Stars FC at Soldier Field. Fans can tune in on ION [link].