Two lightning delays and anthem controversy will be remembered more than the result, which nearly killed off the Reign’s postseason chances.
On a night that will be remembered more for what happened off the field — where the Washington Spirit owner chose to sneakily reschedule the anthem rather than let Megan Rapinoe kneel in protest during it — on the field the Seattle Reign fell short in what was effectively a must-win match, losing 1-2 on the road to the league leading Spirit.
Had other matches on the same night gone as you’d expect them to, the playoff chase could already be over, but neither of the Western New York Flash nor Chicago Red Stars were able to beat bottom-of-the-table teams, leaving Seattle the narrowest of margins.