Seattle Reign Clinches a Spot in the NWSL Playoffs
The Seattle Reign secured their place in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) playoffs after defeating the Utah Royals 2-1 on Friday night. Sofía Huerta was key by converting a penalty in the 67th minute.
With this victory, the Reign (10-7-8) climbed to third place in the standings, extending their unbeaten streak at Seattle’s Lumen Field to seven games.
Ainsley McCammon opened the scoring for the Reign with a header after a cross from Maddie Dahlien in added time of the first half. This was the first goal for the 18-year-old.
The Royals (5-13-7) tied in the 61st minute thanks to a goal by Paige Monaghan, whose left-footed shot from outside the area beat Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey.
A few minutes later, Bianca St-Georges of Utah committed a foul in the area, allowing Huerta to convert the penalty and restore the lead for the Reign.
Reign captain Lauren Barnes, who announced her retirement at the end of the season, started the match. Last week, Barnes became the first player to reach 250 regular season appearances.
Barnes has played his entire career with the Reign, since joining the team in 2013, the inaugural year of the league. To date, he has participated in 251 of the club’s 277 matches.
Manaka Matsukubo Scores a Hat-Trick for the North Carolina Courage
Manaka Matsukubo scored three goals and the North Carolina Courage kept their playoff hopes alive after defeating Bay FC 4-1 in an away game.
Matsukubo scored his first goal in the third minute, followed by a second goal in the eighth minute. Penelope Hocking scored for Bay in added time of the first half at PayPal Park in San Jose.
Shinomi Koyama extended the lead for Courage (8-8-9) in the 74th minute, before Matsukubo completed his hat-trick in the 80th minute.
The North Carolina was just outside the playoff zone in the league standings, one point behind Racing Louisville, who occupied the eighth and final position, with one game remaining in the regular season. This victory ended a three-game winless streak for the Courage.
Bay (4-13-8) was already eliminated from the playoffs.
