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NWSL Seattle Reign FC

Reign FC Earn Point against Sky Blue FC

April 16, 2017 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Seattle Reign FC News Release


Reign FC Earn Point Against Sky Blue FC

SEATTLE - In

front of a crowd of 3,521 fans, Seattle Reign FC earned a point in a 1-1 draw

against Sky Blue FC to open the 2017 National Women's Soccer League season. This

was the first of three meetings between the two squads.

With

the tie, Reign FC (0-0-1, 1 pt) remains undefeated through their past six NWSL matches

going back to the 2016 season. Seattle's all-time record against Sky Blue is

still even at 3-3-5.

"Last

year we could've lost that game for sure," said Seattle Reign FC head coach and

general manager Laura Harvey. "We said before the game we have to have grit and

determination and a mentality of proving the critics wrong because everyone's

written us off, and I think tonight we showed we have that."

Reign

FC came out quickly, almost scoring within the opening five minutes of the

match. Megan Rapinoe sent a cross to Nahomi "Naho" Kawasumi on the back post,

who then chipped the ball to a trailing Jess Fishlock. Fishlock's header was

just over the crossbar.

After

the quick start, Haley Kopmeyer was called into action several times. The first

came in the 17th minute, when Leah Galton came into the box trailing

the run of play. The ball fell to Galton who fired a shot at Kopmeyer, who was

able to make the save.

In

the 31st minute, Kelly O'Hara had a shot from a tight angle in the

box. Kopmeyer dove to parry the ball out for a corner kick that would be

cleared by the defense.

The

teams entered the half tied 0-0. The first goal of the match came in the 56th

minute, after Rapinoe finished the penalty kick opportunity she earned after

being fouled by Erica Skroski. It was Rapinoe's first-ever goal against Sky

Blue.

"I

had let Laura know I was comfortable taking [penalties] and would take them if

she wanted that," said Rapinoe.

Sky

Blue's goal also came from a penalty kick, just eight minutes after Seattle's.

O'Hara was fouled in the box by Merritt Mathias, and Sarah Killion converted

the resulting penalty to even the score 1-1.

Kopmeyer

was named player of the match for her performance, making eight saves on the

night. This was the first season opener Kopmeyer has started for the club.

"The

more involved you are, the easier it is to get that rhythm and keep that rhythm

versus games where you're out there like 80 minutes and then all of a sudden

you're called on to make a save," said Kopmeyer. "Being in the league this long

I was more like alright I got to calm the people in front of me down and make

sure they settle in and feel comfortable."

Before

the match, Reign FC honored Keelin Winters as a Reign FC Legend for her career

with the club. The team captain from 2013 to 2016, Winters retired at the end

of last season and will become a firefighter at the Kirkland Fire Department

this May.

Today's

result gives Reign FC one point to open the season, good for fourth place on

the NWSL table. Seattle and Sky Blue were the only teams to tie on opening day,

with the Houston Dash, Portland Thorns FC, and North Carolina Courage earning

wins.

"We

have a really short preseason, and anywhere else in the world you have

preseason for three months whereas we have it for five weeks," said Harvey "This

to me is we're still in preseason a little bit, because we have to be. I

think that showed in every game today. The quality is the thing that was probably

lacking across the board."

Up

next, Reign FC hosts Houston Dash on April 22nd at 7:00 p.m.

PT. The last meeting between the two teams ended in a 3-2 victory for Seattle

to close out the 2016 NWSL season and improve their perfect record against

Houston to 7-0-0.

NWSL Match Report

Match: Seattle Reign FC (0-0-1,

1 pt) vs. Sky Blue FC (0-0-1, 1 pt)

Date: April 15, 2017

Venue: Memorial Stadium

Kickoff: 7:00pm PT

Attendance: 3521

Weather: Sunny

Team

1

2

Final

Seattle Reign FC

0

1

1

Sky Blue FC

0

1

1

Scoring Summary:

SEA - Rapinoe (PEN) 56'

NJ - Killion (PEN) 62'

Lineups:

Seattle Reign FC: Kopmeyer, Pickett, Barnes, McNabb, Mathias, Fishlock, Yanez, Nairn

(Dallstream 74'), Rapinoe (Stott 86'), Elston (Utsugi 66'), Kawasumi

Substitutes Not Used: Corsie, Reed, Schiffel, Johnson

Sky Blue FC: Sheridan, Skroski, Freeman, Pearce, Mills, Galton (Hayes 83'), Killion,

Rodriguez, Lytle (Corboz 73'), Kerr, O'Hara

Substitutes Not Used: Casey, Stanton, Simon

Stats Summary: SEA/NJ

Shots: 11 / 9

Shots on Goal: 5 / 6

Saves: 8 / 4

Corner Kicks: 4 / 4

Fouls: 5 / 2

Offside: 5 / 1

Misconduct Summary:

SEA

- Mathias (Yellow) 62'

Officials:

Referee: Karen Abt

Assistant Referees: Jeremy Weed, Cephas Quartson

Fourth Official: Levi Rippy

About Seattle Reign FC

Seattle Reign FC is one of ten teams in the National Women's Soccer League. The two-time winner of the NWSL Shield, Reign FC features world-class talent from around the world, including USWNT superstar Megan Rapinoe. Reign FC plays its home matches at Memorial Stadium, located in the shadow of the Space Needle on the Seattle Center campus. For more information about Reign FC please visit zI2XzQ4NjdfMTQyXzcwOTg

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