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Match Forecast: Reign FC at Washington Spirit Tomorrow

July 17, 2015 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Seattle Reign FC News Release


SEATTLE (July 17, 2015) - Seattle Reign FC (6-2-3, 21 pts) will try to extend its league unbeaten streak to nine games on Saturday, July 18 at 4 p.m. PT in a matchup against the Washington Spirit (5-4-2, 17 pts) at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md.

Reign FC is coming off a 4-2 victory over the Western New York Flash last Saturday on the Moda Pitch at Memorial Stadium, setting a new NWSL record of three goals in six minutes and nine seconds to take a 3-1 lead, after trailing 1-0 at the half.

After the Flash cut the deficit in half of a Jaelene Hinkle goal in the 67th minute, Jess Fishlock put the match out of reach with Reign FC's fourth goal just seven minutes later.

Defender Rachel Corsie scored her first league goal in the victory and midfielder Amber Brooks tallied her first goal as a member of Reign FC. Midfielder Jess Fishlock and forward Beverly Yanez also notched goals in the winning effort which extended their season tallies to five and six goals, respectfully.

The victory stretched Seattle's home league unbeaten streak to 19 games, dating back to the start of the 2014 season when the team moved to Memorial Stadium. Reign FC is now in second place in the NWSL, even with the Chicago Red Stars with 21 points with Chicago holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Washington did not have a game last weekend, and fell 3-0 to FC Kansas City two weeks ago. The Spirit sit just four points back of Reign FC, tied for third-place with FCKC.

Kendall Fletcher will will not be available for the match due to a concussion that she sustained last Saturday against the WNY Flash.

Reign FC will continue to compete this weekend without the services of U.S. Women's National Team (USWNT) World Cup stars goalkeeper Hope Solo and forward Megan Rapinoe.

Solo sustained an injury to her knee during the Women's World Cup and is being evaluated on a game by game basis to assess her fitness. Due to her injury, she did not travel with Reign FC for this weekend's match against the Spirit.

Rapinoe has not had an opportunity to train with Reign FC following the completion of the Women's World Cup on July 5th in Vancouver, Canada. Due to her unavailability to train with the team, Rapinoe was not available for selection and did not travel to Washington for the match. With three matches in an eight day span on both coasts, the club has requested that Rapinoe stay in Seattle and train over the weekend in an effort to be prepared for upcoming matches.

Meanwhile, with six national team call-ups before the World Cup - and additional signings during the tournament - Washington has seen little consistency in its lineup as defender Megan Oyster and midfielder Christine Nairn are the lone players to start all 11 games, with forward Crystal Dunn, and midfielders Angela Salem and Amanda Da Costa making appearances in each match.

Dunn leads the NWSL in goals with seven and is tied with forward Francisca Ordega for the team-lead in assists with two each.

It's unclear how many of the World Cup competitors will be in action on Saturday for the Spirit.

USWNT defender Ali Krieger and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, Canadian midfielder Diana Matheson, Mexican defender Arianna Romero, and the Nigerian trio of Ordega, newly signed forward Ngozi Okobi, and defender Josephine Chukwunonye could all see playing time.

Australian forward Hayley Raso, who also competed in the WWC, saw her first NWSL action two weeks ago, and should play Saturday, while Mexican forward Veronica Perez remains with the Mexican National Team for the Pan American Games.

Saturday's game is the second of three matchups this season between Reign FC and the Spirit. In the first contest - a 3-1 Seattle victory on May 2 at Memorial Stadium that started the current unbeaten streak - Yanez, Fishlock, and forward Merritt Mathias all notched goals. The two sides will square off again in Seattle's regular season finale on September 5 at 4 p.m. PT at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

For details on single match tickets, visit ReignFC.com or call (855) REIGN-FC for tickets. Seats start at $19. If you can't make it to the stadium, download the official, free Reign FC app here to watch every match home and away live via YouTube on your iPhone.


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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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