The Seattle Reign are officially in the NWSL playoffs, baby! It all came down to Jess Fishlock’s final regular-season match, a win-or-go-home scenario against Orlando Pride, and thanks to Jordyn Bugg, the Emerald City’s finest are dancing. Bugg slotted in the game-winner in the 68th minute, off a corner kick with an assist from Mia Fishel, clinching that crucial 1-0 victory and booking a spot in the postseason.
Reign Grinded It Out, Deserved Every Bit
What a moment for the club and for captain Jess Fishlock, leading the squad out for her last regular season game with everything on the line. The tension was real. Coach Laura Harvey summed it up perfectly: “On the overall run of play, I felt like we deserved the win. The more the ball kept going across the goal and not going in, I was like, ‘Oh god, please not one of those days.’” But it wasn’t one of those days. The payoff came from a set piece, something the team had been grinding on. “Set pieces has been something we’ve spoken about a lot. We changed the way we’ve done a few things of late, so to get a goal off that was really rewarding.” It wasn’t easy, but the 16,095 fans in attendance got to see their Reign fight and conquer.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: Reign Were Dominant
Don’t let the 1-0 scoreline fool you, folks. While Orlando Pride might have had more possession at 56.1% to our 43.9%, the Reign absolutely dictated the game where it mattered most. We peppered their goal with 18 total shots compared to their 8. And get this: the Reign put 5 shots on target, while Orlando Pride had a grand total of ZERO shots on target. Yeah, you read that right. Zero. Their expected goals (xG) tells an even clearer story of dominance: Seattle was at a massive 2.24 xG, while Orlando limped in at 0.63 xG. That’s a huge difference, showing the quality of chances the Reign were creating, especially with 12 shots from inside the box and 32 touches inside their opponent’s box. The team earned that win, and the stats back it up hard. Harvey put it succinctly, “I wish we could have made it a bit easier on ourselves, but I’m just so proud of the group.” She should be, we all are!
Next Up: Gotham FC in the Playoffs
Now, the real test begins. The Reign are heading straight into the NWSL playoffs this weekend, and they’re kicking things off against none other than the NWSL Shield winners, Gotham FC. This is going to be an absolute barn burner. The match is set for Sunday, November 8, at 9:30 a.m. PT, and you can catch all the action live on ABC. Get ready, Seattle, because our Reign are just getting started, and they’re bringing that playoff energy!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Sounder at Heart.
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