Beverly Yanez scores Reign’s goal, and Marta got the equalizer in the 52nd minute.
The Seattle Reign showcased its high powered offense in its 6-2 win last week, but the team could not reproduce that performance in Sunday’s match against the Orlando Pride at Memorial Stadium.
Forward Beverly Yanez scored the Reign’s only goal of the game as Seattle settled for a 1-1 tie against the Pride,which features Brazilian forward Marta, a five-time FIFA World Player of the Year who tallied Orlando’s lone goal of the day in the 52nd minute.
Seattle head coach Laura Harvey said the team has struggled to relax until after it scores its second goal — something that never occurred in the game against Orlando (1-2-3).
“Everything I thought Orlando had in terms of chances came from us giving them away,” Harvey said. “That’s something we’ve got to address. We can’t expect to do that and win football matches if we’re not going to score four or five or six goals like we have been in previous games. I think we’ve got to get back to learn how to win games 1-0. Tonight’s game should have been 1-0.”
Most Read Sports Stories
Still, the draw continues a Seattle (2-1-3) streak that stretches back to May 2016, as the Reign has now won or tied 10 straight games in Memorial Stadium, a venue Orlando head coach Tom Sermanni called “a bit of a fortress.”
Following nearly an entire half of scoreless play, Seattle was the first team to earn a goal when Yanez scored in the 40th minute with Rachel Corsie picking up the assist.
“When it’s kind of chaotic in the box, it’s just that mentality of, ‘Can I get anything on it?’ ” Yanez said. “I thought we did a really good job of forcing them to kick out and I was in a good spot. Rachel got something on it, and I was lucky to be in a good spot to finish it.”
Yanez scored on Orlando goalkeeper Caroline Stanley, who previously played for the Reign. Stanley entered the game in the 26th minute after starter Ashlyn Harris left the game due to injury.
After conceding at least two goals in their last three games, the Reign showed slight improvement in its defensive effort, holding Orlando to one goal. Following Marta’s goal seven minutes after halftime, neither team scored again.
Orlando came into Sunday’s match off its first win of the season against North Carolina, the top team in the league’s standings, and the Pride managed to finish the game even with Seattle, which has scored more goals this season than any other team in the league.
“I think they defended well at times, but I think some of it was us,” Harvey said. “The longer it went 1-0 and we didn’t get that second goal, we started to force things and we got frustrated.”
Next week, Seattle will face the Houston Dash as it begins a three-game stint on the road.