Seattle Reign FC traveled to the North Carolina Courage for the second time this season, looking to avenge their 2-0 loss last month. Unfortunately, due to international duty at the Tournament of Nations, Seattle was without two important starters for the match, with Megan Rapinoe and Rumi Utsugi both given the weekend off to recuperate and avoid additional cross-country travel. There was also significant uncertainty going into the match about whether Jess Fishlock would be sufficiently recovered from her knee injury to make a significant contribution to the match.
All of this necessitated some significant tinkering with both the line-up and tactics, and led to a Reign FC approach to the match unlike any we’ve seen yet this season.