Reign FC Opens 2026 NWSL Campaign with 2-1 Road Win over Orlando
NWSL Seattle Reign FC

Reign FC Opens 2026 NWSL Campaign with 2-1 Road Win over Orlando

Published on March 16, 2026 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Seattle Reign FC News Release


Seattle Reign FC mobs Brittany Ratcliffe following her goal
Seattle Reign FC mobs Brittany Ratcliffe following her goal
(Seattle Reign FC)

ORLANDO, FLA. - Seattle Reign FC (1-0-0, 3 points) kicked off its 2026 NWSL campaign with a 2-1 road win over the Orlando Pride (0-1-0, 0 points) on Sunday evening at Inter&Co Stadium. Jess Fishlock and Brittany Ratcliffe each found the back of the net to lift Seattle to its first win of the season and improve the club's all-time record in NWSL season opener record to 5-3-5.

Nerilia Mondesir set up the opening goal in the 24th minute, connecting with Fishlock to give Seattle a 1-0 lead heading into halftime. Lightning in the area forced a delay of more than two hours at the break before play resumed. Orlando found an equalizer shortly after the restart, with Barbra Banda scoring in the 51st minute. Seattle responded late, as Ratcliffe came on in the 78th minute to make her Reign FC debut and scored the game-winning goal just five minutes later.

Reign FC continues its road stretch with an early-season Cascadia rivalry match against Portland Thorns FC at Providence Park on Friday, March 20 (7:00 p.m. PT / Prime Video).

MATCH NOTES

STARTING STRONG: Seattle continues to begin its NWSL campaigns with points. Today's victory extended the club's unbeaten streak in season openers to three matches, with Reign FC now earning points in 10 of its 13 season openers all-time. The win also marks the first season-opening road victory in club history.

THE STREAK CONTINUES: All four Reign FC players who appeared in all 26 regular-season matches last year - Madison Curry, Maddie Dahlien, Claudia Dickey and Sam Meza - started today's match against the Orlando Pride.

WE MEET AGAIN: Today's meeting marked the club's third consecutive match at Inter&Co Stadium against the Pride across all NWSL competitions. Seattle ended the 2025 regular season with a 1-1 draw in Orlando before falling 2-0 to the Pride in the NWSL quarterfinals.

RYANNE BROWN: After tearing her ACL in July 2024, Ryanne Brown entered the match in the 90th minute to record her first minutes in more than 600 days.

CLAUDIA DICKEY: Claudia Dickey has not missed a match since June 9, 2024, extending her streak to 41 consecutive regular-season starts, tying Kim Little for the second-longest streak in Reign FC history. Tonight's appearance also marked her 51st regular-season match, making her the club's all-time leader in appearances among goalkeepers. The fifth-year goalkeeper finished the match with seven saves, tying her single-game career high.

JESS FISHLOCK: Club original Jess Fishlock picked up where she left off in 2025 as the team's leading goal scorer, netting the opening goal in the 24th minute. The strike marked the 49th goal of her NWSL career, tying Christen Press for the ninth-most goals in league history. Fishlock is now two goals shy of tying Megan Rapinoe (51) for the most goals in club history. The Welsh international has now scored Seattle's season-opening goal three times (2015, 2023, 2026).

PHOEBE McCLERNON: Phoebe McClernon's start marked her 61st regular-season start since joining Reign FC, tying Kendall Fletcher and Elli Burris for the 10th-most starts in club history.

NERILIA MONDESIR: Nerilia Mondesir recorded two assists, her first assists in the NWSL, setting up Jess Fishlock's opening goal in the first half and Brittany Ratcliffe's game-winning goal in the second half.

BRITTANY RATCLIFFE: After entering the match in the 78th minute to make her club debut, Brittany Ratcliffe scored the game-winning goal five minutes later, marking the 11th NWSL goal of her career.

SERIES: ‚ With today's result, Reign FC now holds an all-time record of 8-6-8 against the Orlando Pride across all competitions.

UP NEXT: ‚ Reign FC (1-0-0, 3 points) travels to Providence Park for an early-season Cascadia rivalry match against Portland Thorns FC (1-0-0, 3 points) on Friday, March 20 (7:00 p.m. PT / Prime Video).

MATCH SUMMARY

Seattle Reign FC 1 - Orlando Pride 1

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Venue: ‚ Inter&Co Stadium

Referee: ‚ Alexandra Billeter

Assistants: ‚ Zachary McWhorter, Matthew Rodman

Fourth Official: ‚ Benjamin Meyer

VAR: ‚ Jaclyn Metz

Attendance: ‚ 16,320

Weather: ‚ 78 degrees and cloudy

SCORING SUMMARY

SEA - ‚ Jess Fishlock (Nerilia Mondesir) 24'

ORL - ‚ Barbra Banda (Haley McCutcheon) 51'

SEA - ‚ Brittany Ratcliffe (Nerilia Mondesir) 83'

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

SEA - ‚ Emily Mason (caution) 7'

SEA - ‚ Jess Fishlock (caution) 50'

SEA - ‚ Madison Curry (caution) 88'

SEA - ‚ Maddie Mercado (caution) 90+4'

LINEUPS & STATS

Seattle Reign FC - ‚ Claudia Dickey; Sofia Huerta, Emily Mason (Ryanne Brown 90'), Phoebe McClernon, Madison Curry; Jess Fishlock © (Maddie Mercado 61'), Ainsley McCammon (Angharad James-Turner 90'), Sam Meza; Maddie Dahlien (Brittany Ratcliffe 78'), Mia Fishel (Emeri Adames 78'), Nerilia Mondesir

Substitutes not used: ‚ Evan O'Steen, Neeku Purcell, Ruby Hladek, Sofia Cedeño

Total shots: ‚ 13

Shots on goal: ‚ 5

Fouls: ‚ 12

Offside: ‚ 4

Corner-kicks: ‚ 2

Saves: ‚ 7

Orlando Pride - ‚ Anna Moorhouse; Rafaelle Souza (Hannah Anderson 66'), Hailie Mace, Ally Lemos, Oihane (Reagan Raabe 76'); Haley McCutcheon ©, Cori Dyke; Barbra Banda (Julie Doyle 81'), Jacquie Ovalle (Solai Washington 76'), Summer Yates (Luana 76'), Seven Castain

Substitutes not used: ‚ Cara Martin, McKinley Crone, Simone Jackson

Total shots: ‚ 23

Shots on goal: ‚ 8

Fouls: ‚ 12

Offside: ‚ 2

Corner-kicks: ‚ 5

Saves: ‚ 3

Check out the Seattle Reign FC Statistics

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Images from this story

Seattle Reign FC mobs Brittany Ratcliffe following her goal
Seattle Reign FC mobs Brittany Ratcliffe following her goal
   



National Women's Soccer League Stories from March 16, 2026


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