The Seattle Reign, despite being outplayed in every conceivable metric, managed to earn a crucial 1-1 draw against KC Current at CPKC Stadium in what has to be one of the grittiest results of Matchweek 18. Seriously, they held on for dear life in one of the most difficult environments in women’s sports.
Gotham’s Streak Rolls On as Byars Goes Ballistic
Man, Matchweek 18 was wild, with surprises and heroic performances all over the place. Gotham FC is still on fire, pushing their unbeaten run to nine games after a 0-0 draw at Angel City FC. They would have loved all three points, but Guro Reiten had a penalty kick saved, and Sam Kerr even hit the post. A concerning note: USWNT midfielder Rose Lavelle had to leave early in the 37th minute with a head injury, and there is no update yet.
San Diego Wave shot up three spots to second, thanks to a monster 4-2 win over Utah Royals. Trinity Byars, are you kidding me?! The star forward had *four* goal contributions in that game. Yes, you read that right. If Melanie Barcenas and Ludmila can keep finding the back of the net, this team is complete. Our neighbors to the south, the Portland Thorns, also climbed a spot to third after a 1-0 win against Denver Summit. Sophia Wilson bagged her 10th goal of the season, a milestone she has hit in four different NWSL seasons. And get this: it was their first shutout in seven games! They’ve now won three straight and are set for a top-of-the-table showdown with Gotham FC.
Spirit’s Bad Luck Continues While Sanchez Leads Golden Boot Race
Not everyone had a great week, though. Washington Spirit dropped to fourth after a tough 0-1 loss to Orlando Pride, their third consecutive loss at Audi Field. Talk about unlucky, they hit the post three times, had 73% possession, 51 touches in the opposition box, and fired off 23 shots, but they just could not score. Utah Royals slid three spots to fifth after that loss to San Diego. Mina Tanaka scored a brace, equalizing twice, but it was not enough. The Royals have also allowed two or more goals in their last three games. Yikes, defensive concerns there.
Up in North Carolina, the Courage nabbed a 2-1 win over Boston Legacy, and Ashley Sanchez is now your NWSL Golden Boot leader. A USWNT call-up has to be coming soon, right? As for KC Current, they generated 3.31 xG, 24 shots, and 41 touches in the opposition box against our Reign, but could only get one goal via a Debinha penalty kick. The impending return of Temwa Chawinga is exactly what they need. And Angel City FC is stuck in draw-land with their fourth straight, despite Angelina Anderson’s clutch save on a late-game penalty kick against Gotham. They need to turn those draws into wins if they want to make any noise. Orlando Pride beat Washington 1-0, moving them to tenth.
Our Reign truly pulled off an escape act this week, showing some serious grit by holding on in a super tough environment. They may have been outplayed, but they still walked away with a crucial point. Every point counts in this league. Let’s hope they build on that fighting spirit and bring that energy to the next one!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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