Match Forecast: Seattle Reign FC Set to Open 2024 Season Against the Spirit

Seattle Reign FC takes on the Washington Spirit this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. PT to open the 2024 season. Facing off for the fourth time in a season opener, the two teams have a heated history, ranging from the regular season to the NWSL Challenge Cup. The Reign will look to start their season strong and work toward finding a rhythm with the roster changes seen during the offseason. 

WHEN AND WHERE: The Reign kickoff at 3:00 p.m. PT at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. Tickets for the match are available HERE. 

WHERE TO WATCH: Fans can tune in on NWSL+. NWSL+ is the league’s first-ever domestic direct to consumer streaming platform and is free to access. 

2024 NWSL REGULAR SEASON RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-L-D): Seattle Reign FC: 0-0-0, Washington Spirit: 0-0-0 

Key Points Ahead of the Match: 

1. LAST MEETING – The Reign and Spirit last met at Lumen Field on October 6, 2023. This match is embedded in NWSL history, as it set a new attendance record with 34,130 fans in the stadium to celebrate the retirement of the iconic Megan Rapinoe. 

On the field, the two sides battled to a scoreless draw. Both teams had their moments of excellence, but neither side set themselves apart enough to take three points from the match. Goalkeeper Claudia Dickey had five saves while the Reign took a total of 13 shots on the other side of the field. 

2. SCOUTING WASHINGTON – In the 2023 season, the Spirit finished in 8th place in the NWSL standings and missed the playoffs. Like the Reign, eight Spirit players on the 2024 roster have yet to debut for the club. Notably, forward Trinity Rodman is out for the match after receiving a red card in the Spirit’s final match of 2023. 

"The first game of the season is always challenging, I think, for everybody. You try and do everything you can in preseason to find out as much information as you can about them and I'm sure they've done the same about us, but you are going into a little bit of the unknown and as coaches, we don't really love that. I think it will be interesting,” said Seattle Reign FC Head Coach Laura Harvey. 

“I think we've got a lot of different faces in the team, they've got a lot of young, new faces in their team, obviously different coaching staff and stuff like that. I think we're just going to have to see what we've seen, a little bit of them but not a ton, is what we've seen what they are or is it a little bit different? I think first games of the season, as we're already seeing, can often be a little bit of that - someone comes out very differently than you thought or they go on the front foot really quickly and you have to respond. I think first games of the season always have that initial challenge and this one is no different, even though, I don't even know how many times we've played Washington first, it seems like a lot." 

3. CHANGES – For both sides, drastic changes occurred between the 2023 and 2024 season. For the Reign, one massive change is the retirement of Rapinoe. The legend at the club played every season with the Reign, so her absence is felt both in the locker room and on the field. The Reign also lost some notable players in the offseason but gained others. Despite all the change, the Reign still have the core of the 2023 squad back for 2024. 

“I think one of the things that this club has been built on is consistency and performing at a consistent level every year. I don't think since year one we've finished lower than fifth. To finish in the top-5 in every season in this league with everything that this club has gone through is a testament to who we are. I think, yes, change is necessary, change is exciting, but I think we have core values here that don't change and I think every new face that comes in to it, knows what's expected and what the expectation is of playing for this club,” said Harvey. 

“I don't want to diminish what losing Pinoe means, I don't want to diminish who Rose (Lavelle) and (Emily) Sonnett are, but I also want people to understand that Megan Rapinoe not being here anymore is a big deal and I'm not going to take that away from her, but I do think it's professional sport and I think the good thing about us is we've known that, obviously for a while that she wasn't coming back and we've been working really diligently behind the scenes to make sure we can try and make that transition as seamless as possible." 

4. GO WITH THE FLOW – As this is the first match of the season, it will be important for the Reign to work toward finding a flow as players new and old begin to work together on the field for the first time in regular season play.  

"I think it's been great to have time to integrate new players, obviously we've signed a couple, so it just makes our team look a little bit different this year, which is exciting. I think having that time to continue to mesh as a team is really important. We've been able to do that, we've been able to get games in and really just see the flow of the team this year because just within this league, teams change a lot from year to year, so I think having that time to figure each other out and know each other's tendencies is really important to the success of a team throughout the year," said Reign FC forward Bethany Balcer. 

“I'm always working on how to find the ball in the back of the net, so hopefully there's more goals and [celebrations] to come this year. I think just the flow of our team looks different and I'm excited to show that to everybody tomorrow. It'll just be different, but it's a good different and I think it really plays to the strengths of our team." 

MultiCare Availability Report: 

OUT  

Alana Cook (knee) 

Veronica Latsko (leg) 

QUESTIONABLE 

None