2018 Seattle Reign FC season

Seattle Reign FC

2018 season
Owners	Bill and Teresa Predmore
President	Bill Predmore
Head coach	Vlatko Andonovski
Stadium	UW Medicine Pitch at Memorial Stadium
NWSL	3rd
Playoffs	Semi-final
Top goalscorer	League: Jodie Taylor (9) All: Jodie Taylor (9)
Highest home attendance	5,251
Lowest home attendance	3,172
Average home league attendance	3,824
Home colors Away colors
← 2017 2019 →

The 2018 Seattle Reign FC season was the club's sixth season of play and their sixth season in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. After finishing fifth in the league for two consecutive seasons, the Reign finished third to return to the playoffs, where they lost to Portland Thorns FC in the semi-final.

Vlatko Andonovski replaced Laura Harvey as head coach on November 7, 2017.^[1] Andonovski was previously the head coach of FC Kansas City.

This was ultimately the club's last season of their first stint in Seattle, as well as its last as Seattle Reign FC. During the 2018–19 offseason, the club's principal owners, Bill and Teresa Predmore, announced that the team would move to Tacoma, Washington for 2019 and beyond, rebranding as Reign FC. In addition, the team gained two new minority investors—the ownership group of the Tacoma Rainiers, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Coast League, and Adrian Hanauer, the principal owner of the region's Major League Soccer team, Seattle Sounders FC. Reign FC played in the Rainiers' home of Cheney Stadium. A new soccer stadium in Tacoma, already planned for the Sounders' USL Championship affiliate Tacoma Defiance, was expected to be built by 2021, with Reign FC to move in upon its completion.^[2] However, in December 2021, it was announced that the club would return to Seattle.^[3]

Club[]

Coaching staff[]

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Vlatko Andonovski
Assistant Coach	Sam Laity
Assistant Coach	Milan Ivanovic
Director of High Performance	Nick Leman

Current roster[]

As of July 16, 2018.^[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  AUS Lydia Williams 2 DF  USA Yael Averbuch 3 DF  USA Lauren Barnes 4 DF  USA Megan Oyster 5 FW  USA Kiersten Dallstream 6 MF  USA Allie Long 7 DF  AUS Steph Catley (on loan from Melbourne City) 8 DF  DEN Theresa Nielsen 9 FW  JPN Nahomi Kawasumi 10 MF  WAL Jess Fishlock 11 MF  GHA Elizabeth Addo 12 MF  USA Morgan Andrews

No. Pos. Nation Player 13 FW  CAN Adriana Leon 14 FW  ENG Jodie Taylor 15 FW  USA Megan Rapinoe (captain) 16 FW  USA Jaycie Johnson 17 FW  USA Beverly Yanez 18 GK  USA Michelle Betos 19 DF  USA Kristen McNabb 20 MF  JPN Rumi Utsugi 21 DF  USA Christen Westphal 22 FW  USA Jasmyne Spencer 24 DF  USA Alyssa Kleiner

Competitions[]

  Win   Tie   Loss

All times are in PT unless otherwise noted.

Preseason[]

Regular season[]

Regular-season standings[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	North Carolina Courage (C)	24	17	6	1	53	17	+36	57	NWSL Shield
2	Portland Thorns FC	24	12	6	6	40	28	+12	42	NWSL Playoffs
3	Seattle Reign FC	24	11	8	5	27	19	+8	41
4	Chicago Red Stars	24	9	10	5	38	28	+10	37
5	Utah Royals FC	24	9	8	7	22	23	−1	35
6	Houston Dash	24	9	5	10	35	39	−4	32
7	Orlando Pride	24	8	6	10	30	37	−7	30
8	Washington Spirit	24	2	5	17	12	35	−23	11
9	Sky Blue FC	24	1	6	17	21	52	−31	9

Results summary[]

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
24	11	8	5	27	19	+8	41	7	4	1	17	8	+9	4	4	4	10	11	−1

Results by round[]

Playoffs[]

Appearances and goals[]

As of September 18, 2018

Only players who have made appearances are listed.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Regular season		Playoffs
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers:
1	GK	AUS	Lydia Williams	17	0	16	0	1	0
18	GK	USA	Michelle Betos	8	0	8	0	0	0
Defenders:
2	DF	USA	Yael Averbuch	1	0	1	0	0	0
3	DF	USA	Lauren Barnes	20	0	18+1	0	1	0
4	DF	USA	Megan Oyster	21	1	20	1	1	0
7	DF	AUS	Steph Catley	17	0	16	0	1	0
8	DF	DEN	Theresa Nielsen	21	1	18+2	1	1	0
19	DF	USA	Kristen McNabb	20	0	12+8	0	0	0
21	DF	USA	Christen Westphal	12	0	9+3	0	0	0
24	DF	USA	Alyssa Kleiner	10	0	4+6	0	0	0
Midfielders:
6	MF	USA	Allie Long	20	3	19	3	1	0
10	MF	WAL	Jess Fishlock	19	2	18	2	1	0
11	MF	GHA	Elizabeth Addo	13	0	8+4	0	0+1	0
12	MF	USA	Morgan Andrews	16	0	7+8	0	0+1	0
20	MF	JPN	Rumi Utsugi	16	1	15	1	1	0
Forwards:
5	FW	USA	Kiersten Dallstream	3	0	2+1	0	0	0
9	FW	JPN	Nahomi Kawasumi	14	0	11+3	0	0	0
13	FW	CAN	Adriana Leon	6	0	1+5	0	0	0
14	FW	ENG	Jodie Taylor	25	9	24	9	1	0
15	FW	USA	Megan Rapinoe	17	7	15+1	7	1	0
16	FW	USA	Jaycie Johnson	3	0	0+3	0	0	0
17	FW	USA	Beverly Yanez	20	2	14+5	2	0+1	0
22	FW	USA	Jasmyne Spencer	23	2	8+14	1	1	1
Players who left the club during the season:
26	DF	USA	Maddie Bauer	1	0	0+1	0	0	0

Awards[]

The Best FIFA Women's Player[]

• Megan Rapinoe (nominee)

Ballon d'Or[]

• Megan Rapinoe (shortlisted)^[5]

ESPY Awards[]

• Best NWSL Player: Megan Rapinoe
• Best International Women's Soccer Player: Jodie Taylor (nominee)

The Guardian 100 Best Footballers in The World[]

• No. 10: Megan Rapinoe^[6]
• No. 36: Jodie Taylor^[7]
• No. 89: Nahomi Kawasumi^[8]

NWSL season awards[]

• Most Valuable Player: Megan Rapinoe (finalist)^[9]
• Goalkeeper of the Year: Lydia Williams (finalist)^[9]
• Coach of the Year: Vlatko Andonovski (finalist)^[9]
• Best XI: Megan Rapinoe^[10]
• Second XI: Steph Catley, Lydia Williams^[10]

Team season awards[]

• Most Valuable Player: Megan Rapinoe^[11]
• Defender of the Year: Lauren Barnes^[12]
• Newcomer of the Year: Allie Long^[13]
• Golden Boot: Jodie Taylor (9)^[14]

NWSL Player of the Month[]

Month	Result	Player	Ref.
March	Won	Megan Rapinoe	[15]

NWSL Team of the Month[]

Month	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Ref.
March				Megan Rapinoe	[16]
May		Steph Catley			[17]
July		Theresa Nielsen		Megan Rapinoe	[18]
August	Lydia Williams	Theresa Nielsen Megan Oyster			[19]

NWSL Player of the Week[]

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
1	Won	Megan Rapinoe	[20]
7	Won	Megan Rapinoe	[21]

NWSL Goal of the Week[]

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
1	Nominated	Megan Rapinoe	[22]
6	Nominated	Rumi Utsugi	[23]
7	Nominated	Megan Rapinoe	[24]
14	Nominated	Jodie Taylor	[25]
16	Nominated	Megan Rapinoe	[26]
17	Nominated	Jodie Taylor	[27]
19	Nominated	Jasmyne Spencer	[28]
20	Nominated	Jess Fishlock	[29]
22	Nominated	Jodie Taylor	[30]

NWSL Save of the Week[]

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
1	Nominated	Michelle Betos	[31]
4	Nominated	Michelle Betos	[32]
5	Nominated	Michelle Betos	[33]
6	Nominated	Michelle Betos	[34]
7	Nominated	Lydia Williams	[35]
8	Nominated	Lydia Williams	[36]
10	Nominated	Lydia Williams	[37]
13	Nominated	Lydia Williams	[38]
19	Nominated	Lydia Williams	[39]
21	Nominated	Lydia Williams	[40]
22	Nominated	Lydia Williams	[41]

Contract extensions[]

Date	Player	Pos	Notes	Ref
October 23, 2017	Haley Kopmeyer	GK	Club options exercised	[42]
October 23, 2017	Maddie Bauer	DF	Club options exercised	[42]
October 23, 2017	Rachel Corsie	DF	Club options exercised	[42]
October 23, 2017	Merritt Mathias	DF	Club options exercised	[42]
October 23, 2017	Kristen McNabb	DF	Club options exercised	[42]
October 23, 2017	Rebekah Stott	DF	Club options exercised	[42]
October 23, 2017	Christine Nairn	MF	Club options exercised	[42]
October 23, 2017	Larissa Crummer	FW	Club options exercised	[42]
October 23, 2017	Kiersten Dallstream	FW	Club options exercised	[42]
October 23, 2017	Katie Johnson	FW	Club options exercised	[42]
October 23, 2017	Beverly Yanez	FW	Club options exercised	[42]
November 29, 2017	Nahomi Kawasumi	FW	Re-signed	[43]
November 29, 2017	Jess Fishlock	MF	Re-signed	[44]
November 30, 2017	Rumi Utsugi	MF	Re-signed	[45]
December 5, 2017	Lydia Williams	GK	Signed to a new contract	[46]
January 22, 2018	Lauren Barnes	DF	Re-signed	[47]

Transfers[]

For transfers in, dates listed are when the Reign FC officially signed the players to the roster. Transactions where only the rights to the players are acquired (e.g., draft picks) are not listed, and amateur call-ups are not considered official signings either. For transfers out, dates listed are when the Reign FC officially removed the players from its roster, not when they signed with another club. If a player later signed with another club, her new club will be noted, but the date listed here remains the one when she was officially removed from the Reign FC roster.

Transfers in[]

Date	Player	Pos	Previous Club	Notes	Ref
November 22, 2017	Jodie Taylor	FW	Arsenal	Free transfer after guest-player stint with Melbourne City	[48]
January 11, 2018	Allie Long	MF	Portland Thorns FC	Traded for a conditional 2nd-round draft pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft and the rights to Caitlin Foord	[49]
January 18, 2018	Yael Averbuch	DF	Utah Royals FC	Traded, along with the 25th pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft, for Diana Matheson	[50]
January 29, 2018	Jasmyne Spencer	FW	Orlando Pride	Traded for Haley Kopmeyer and the club's natural 3rd-round pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft	[51]
January 30, 2018	Michelle Betos	GK	Vålerenga	Free transfer	[52]
January 30, 2018	Megan Oyster	DF	Boston Breakers	Contracted dispersal draft pick	[53]
January 30, 2018	Elizabeth Addo	MF	Boston Breakers	Contracted dispersal draft pick	[53]
January 30, 2018	Morgan Andrews	MF	Boston Breakers	Contracted dispersal draft pick	[53]
January 30, 2018	Christen Westphal	DF	Boston Breakers	Contracted dispersal draft pick	[53]
January 31, 2018	Theresa Nielsen	DF	Vålerenga	Free transfer	[54]
March 23, 2018	Adelaide Gay	GK	ÍBV	National Team Replacement player for Lydia Williams	[55]
March 30, 2018	Jaycie Johnson	FW	Nebraska Cornhuskers	National Team Replacement player; signed standard player agreement on July 10	[56][57]
May 1, 2018	Alyssa Kleiner	DF	Washington Spirit	Free transfer	[58]
June 12, 2018	Adriana Leon	FW	Sky Blue FC	Traded for a 4th-round pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft	[59]

Draft picks[]

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in. Only trades involving draft picks and executed on the days of the 2018 NWSL College Draft and the 2018 NWSL Dispersal Draft, respectively, will be listed in the notes.

Player	Pos	Previous Club	Notes	Ref
Ally Haran	DF	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	College Draft Round 3, Pick 5 (25th overall); acquired from Utah Royals FC	[50][60]
Celia Jiménez Delgado	DF	Alabama Crimson Tide	College Draft Round 4, Pick 6 (36th overall)	[60]
Megan Oyster	DF	Boston Breakers	Dispersal Draft Round 1, Pick 3 (3rd overall)	[53]
Elizabeth Addo	MF	Boston Breakers	Dispersal Draft Round 1, Pick 8 (8th overall); acquired from Orlando Pride	[61][53]
Morgan Andrews	MF	Boston Breakers	Dispersal Draft Round 2, Pick 2 (11th overall); acquired from Orlando Pride	[61][53]
Christen Westphal	DF	Boston Breakers	Dispersal Draft Round 2, Pick 7 (16th overall)	[53]
Lindsay Elston	MF	Boston Breakers	Dispersal Draft Round 3, Pick 3 (21st overall)	[53]

Loans in[]

Start	End	Player	Pos	Parent Club	Notes	Ref
January 29, 2018	October 11, 2018	Steph Catley	DF	Melbourne City	Rights acquired from Orlando Pride for Carson Pickett and Christine Nairn	[51][62]

Transfers out[]

Date	Player	Pos	Destination Club	Notes	Ref
September 22, 2017	Elli Reed	DF		Retired	[63]
October 23, 2017	Madalyn Schiffel	GK		Retired	[64]
January 11, 2018	Rebekah Stott	DF	Sky Blue FC	Traded, along with Katie Johnson, for the rights to Caitlin Foord	[49]
January 11, 2018	Katie Johnson	FW	Sky Blue FC	Traded, along with Rebekah Stott, for the rights to Caitlin Foord	[49]
January 18, 2018	Diana Matheson	MF	Utah Royals FC	Traded for Yael Averbuch and the 25th pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft	[50]
January 29, 2018	Carson Pickett	DF	Orlando Pride	Traded, along with Christine Nairn, for Steph Catley	[51]
January 29, 2018	Christine Nairn	MF	Orlando Pride	Traded, along with Carson Pickett, for Steph Catley	[51]
January 29, 2018	Haley Kopmeyer	GK	Orlando Pride	Traded, along with the club's natural 3rd-round pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft, for Jasmyne Spencer	[51]
January 31, 2018	Merritt Mathias	DF	North Carolina Courage	Traded, along with the club's natural 2nd-round pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft, for the Courage's natural 1st-round pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft	[65]
January 31, 2018	Rachel Corsie	DF	Utah Royals FC	Waived	[66][67]
February 19, 2018	Larissa Crummer	FW	Newcastle Jets	Waived	[68]
April 25, 2018	Adelaide Gay	GK	Portland Thorns FC	National Team Replacement contract concluded	[69][70]
July 16, 2018	Maddie Bauer	DF	Djurgården	Waived	[71][72]

References[]