Reign goalie Claudia Dickey out against Red Stars as team looks to snap 3-game losing skid

by · The Seattle Times

The Reign are back at Lumen Field on Sunday for the first time since their season opener on March 17.

Seattle was on the road for three matches — all losses — and had a FIFA women’s international break during the span away from home. They’ll host the Chicago Red Stars.

Here’s a look at Sunday’s match:

The details

Reign (1-3-0) vs. Chicago Red Stars (2-1-1)

Time/place: 3 p.m. Sunday at Lumen Field in Seattle.

TV: NWSL+ and KONG/KING 5+ (local)

Radio: N/A

Series history: The all-time series against Chicago is even at 11-11-8 since 2013.

Here are the storylines:

New keeper

The Reign signed goalkeeper Kaylie Collins to a short-term contract, the club announced Saturday. Her arrival is pending her International Transfer Certificate.

Collins was on loan from the Orlando Pride to play for the Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club in Australia. She made 11 appearances, accounting for 48 saves and three clean sheets.

The keeper is needed after Reign starter Claudia Dickey suffered an injury during the 3-2 loss to Bay FC last week. She was replaced in goal by Laurel Ivory, who will get the start against Chicago.

Seattle will also be without forward Jordyn Huitema. The Canadian international suffered a back injury while with her national team. No timeline was given for Huitema or Dickey’s return.

So soon?

Reign coach Laura Harvey isn’t happy about playing the Red Stars twice within the opening five matches of the season. She’d prefer playing the bulk of the other 13 NWSL teams before spinning the block.

Plus, Seattle lost 2-1 in Chicago on March 23.

Playing at home is a benefit when it comes to matching up against the Red Stars. The Reign are 8-2-6 against the side, haven’t lost to the Red Stars in Seattle since 2016 and the Reign defeated the Red Stars 5-2 in the last meeting at Lumen last season.

Snap the streak

The Reign corrected some errors found in the last match against the Red Stars, but the common thread through the current three-game losing streak is closing out matches.

Seattle midfielder Ji So-yun had an equalizer against Chicago in the 63rd minute. The team conceded the game-winner in the 68th minute.

The Reign conceded a game-winner against San Diego in the 98th minute. And were gifted a 1-0 lead headed into the break against Bay — getting outscored 3-1 in the second half of that loss.

“[We’re] switching off in key moments of the game and if we can cut those little areas out, we’ve got a real prospect here,” Reign midfielder Angharad James-Turner said. “The game in Chicago was a tough game. We as a team weren’t at our best in that game. We’ve looked back at the clips from that game and how we set up and tweaks we can make … it’s going to be a challenge, but we’ve tweaked little areas and hopefully we can go out and perform in the way we know we can.”