There was a sense of déjà vu for the Reign on a muggy Saturday night in Houston.
In August, the Bold carried an early lead into halftime and had uncharacteristic errors allow the Dash to pull off a comeback. In a similar position, the Reign showed they truly did learn from the mistakes.
The team crafted a first-half goal and when the Dash increased their intensity to pepper the Reign with daring chances after the break, they played smart defense and pocketed another goal for a 2-0 win at PNC Stadium.
“We knew we were better than what we showed in that game,” Reign coach Laura Harvey said of the August loss. “(Saturday), we didn’t give them anything. That’s been a big turning point for us. We’re not giving teams silly opportunities of late and we’ve got to keep that going if we want to make any type of run into the playoffs. If we want to get where we want to be, that has to be our mentality. (Saturday) was another show of that.”
With the result, the Reign clinched a NWSL playoff spot and moved into first place in the league standings with 37 points. The Reign’s win also capped a three-game road trip stretched over eight days.
The Bold (10-4-7) will play their season finale Oct. 1 at Lumen Field against the Orland Pride.
“We always talk about trying to be hard to beat,” Reign defender Alana Cook said. “Going into each game and learning from what we did wrong the previous game, we’ve done a good job of that. Hopefully we just keep doing that going forward.”
Reign midfielder Quinn played a nice ball over the Dash’s defense to connect with Megan Rapinoe on the run for the club’s opening goal. Rapinoe sent a low cross into the box but Houston defender Allysha Chapman disrupted the potential sitter for Rose Lavelle. Teammate Bethany Balcer was in place for the easy, right-footed tap-in off the deflection in the 29th minute.
Lavelle faked her defenders and had a clear angle for a score in the 76th minute, but it hit the post. Dash keeper Jane Campbell couldn’t recover from lunging for the save, Reign forward Veronica Latsko simply redirected the ball into goal.
Latsko raised her arms in excitement then covered her mouth in disbelief because her attempt hit the opposite post before bouncing across the line. Harvey said the win was dedicated to Latsko, who was signed in January after playing her first three NWSL seasons in Houston.
“It really felt like a homecoming,” Latsko said. “Houston was home for a really long time and I’m grateful for the time I spent there, but I’m also so excited to be in this new chapter of my life and be on this team.
“(Saturday) was very much a team, grinding out win. This is the third game of a three-game week in Houston in 98-degree weather. It’s awful. And this team freaking just grinded the entire game and I’m so proud. It was a huge team win.”
Houston (9-6-6) didn’t have the same bite as the August match in Seattle. Dash forward Ebony Salmon had the brace in the 2-1 win but was out Saturday due to league COVID protocols.
Sophie Schmidt had a strong shot from outside the box in the 48th minute that Reign keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce caught for the save center of goal. Dash forward Maria Sanchez followed with an attempt that hit the cross bar so hard in the 49th minute that it shook.
Tension continued to build in the 60th minute when Schmidt and Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock were shown yellow cards for conduct. Rapinoe was shown one in the 67th minute and was booed when she was subbed off in second-half stoppage time.
The U.S. international’s streak of recording a goal or assist in seven consecutive matches ended. But the Reign bumped their unbeaten streak to six matches, all following the Houston loss in August.
“I knew this wasn’t going to be pretty, to be honest,” Harvey said of finishing a long road trip in Houston. The Reign only conceded one goal this week, Tullis-Joyce tallying her eighth shutout of the season, which ties her with Portland keeper Bella Bixby.
“It’s what they deserve,” Harvey said of the defense. “They’re playing well and doing good things, but they’ve been doing that all year. We’ve just been giving up sloppy goals that we shouldn’t be doing.”
NOTE: Harvey subbed on Jordyn Huitema for Balcer at the break. Huitema was pulled from the starting lineup as a precaution after suffering a hard knock Wednesday against NJ/NY Gotham FC.