Young Duo of Adames and McCammon Leads Reign FC to Comeback Win
Seattle is a legacy club in the NWSL. Known as a powerhouse for veteran talent, the Reign have slowly added an influx of young talents over the last couple of seasons – and it’s paying dividends.
In front of a home crowd at Lumen Field on Sunday evening, the Reign went down a goal to the North Carolina Courage in 57th minute of the match. Desperate for three points as the team is in a crucial push to stay above the playoff line, they continued to put the pressure on the Courage, searching for an equalizer.
Head Coach Laura Harvey made a pair changes in the 66th minute, bringing two critical difference makers onto the pitch – Emeri Adames and Ainsley McCammon.
"I thought the subs that came on did a good job. I think Ainsley was excellent. Emeri was fantastic when she came on, and everyone responded to them too,” shared Harvey.
“I think that's a big part of the game as well, is if Emeri and Ainsley come on and they're great, but the others don't respond with them, it doesn't really matter, so I thought they were great.”
The spark from the young duo was immediately felt across the field and it took just five minutes for the difference to materialize on the scoreboard. The Reign surged forward taking full advantage of the fresh legs on the field and found an equalizer.
After receiving the ball from a thrown in and turning her defender, McCammon displayed poise beyond her years, slipping a ball into the path of Adames, who served a one-touch cross through the six-yard box to the back post, where Jordyn Huitema threw everything at the ball, forcing it into the back of the net to pull the game level.
Harvey said, “I thought the game suited Ainsley. I thought she would be able to get the ball in positions to hurt them. I've said a lot with Ainsley, to her face, that her journey is going to be a long one. Her career is going to be full of loads of highs. She's an exceptional talent, but she can't judge it on minutes right now.”
“What she's done is when called upon, is she shows everybody what her quality is and that can be off from a start and she gets 60 minutes and she does a job that she needs to do, or rarely we bring her on as a sub unless it's really late. But tonight, I just felt the game was going to suit her, and it did, and I thought she did a great job.”
It didn’t stop there for the teenaged duo, as they continued to propel the Reign forward, youthful exuberance on full display. The two connected once again to set up the game-winning goal in the match, Adames received a pass from defender Phoebe McClernon and quickly laid the ball off to McCammon in the midfield. The Reign’s youngest signing to date displayed her excellence once again, splitting two Courage players to thread a pass to the feet of Sally Menti, who found Maddie Dahlien’s feet. Dahlien made no mistake as she burst through North Carolina’s defense into the middle of the box and strongly struck the ball the far post, claiming all three points for the Reign.
“When the game gets stretched, it's a great way to get Emeri on the field because when she has a little bit of space, she can always show her quality,” Harvey said.
“I think Emeri made a huge impact when she came in,” added Reign forward Maddie Dahlien. “And like I said too, I think Ainsley got on the ball a lot. That was really helpful.”
Up next, the Reign travel to the East Coast to take on NJ/NY Gotham FC in another must-win match up as nearly every team in the league fights for one of the remaining spots in the 2025 NWSL playoffs.