Previewing Houston Dynamo at Seattle Reign with Sounder at Heart
(image via Seattle Reign FC)
The Houston Dash are on the West Coast for a Mother’s Day match up in Seattle. We talked to our friend Steve Voght from Sounder at Heart to get some insight on the Reign ahead of tonight’s match.
Bayou City Soccer (BCS): The Reign come into this match with 7 points from their last three matches. What is it about their recent form that has made them so succesful of late?
Sounder at Heart (SaH): A key change this year has been head coach Laura Harvey’s willingness to adapt her lineup and tactics to fit the opponent. If you ever ask her pregame how she plans to adapt to address the specific challenges presented by an opponent, she’ll give some form of response saying that her team will focus on their own game plan and not worry about the other team. In prior years that involved a lot of doing the same thing over and over even when it wasn’t working, but this year the plan going into each game has been much more adaptable. Against Orlando and Kansas City she rolled out a new five-back formation to clog up channels and look for opportunities to counter; against Portland she had wide attackers dribbling at the Thorns defense to force them into tough choices. Perhaps most importantly, she has the entire team bought into the philosophy. Giving up a goal right after missing a golden opportunity, as happened against Bay, would have been a death knell last season, but this year the team shook it off and kept pushing until they found an equalizer.
BCS: No one on this Reign attack has more than one goal this season. What is it about the Seattle offense that makes them so versatile?
SaH: In recent seasons the Reign attack tended to be rather one-dimensional, which let opponents focus on closing down crossing lanes and clogging the box to frustrate Seattle. The team made a deliberate decision since last summer to diversify their attack by adding players who can stretch the field and challenge defenses with the ball at their feet, and Jordyn Huitema also seems to have finally figured out how to use her height and strength to win the vast majority of aerial duels and serve as a reliable target player. This has opened up a lot more space for the attack to work in and made them much more unpredictable and adaptable to different defensive tactics. When one option is closed down, they finally have the players available to try a different approach. We might not see too many more Bugg Bombs from 30 yards out, but the rest of what they’ve been doing to find goals this year has a high probability of repeat success, and it’s really hard to overstate the value of having someone like Lynn Biyendolo in front of goal to turn a half-chance into a full chance.
BCS: On the other end of the field, the Reign are allowing less than a goal a game. How has that unit done so well, even with a mix of very young players and veterans?
SaH: The team went through some growing pains last year as they tried to figure out the ideal defensive lineup and dealt with long-term absences, which led to giving up a lot of goals through preventable mistakes. Teenage centerback Jordyn Bugg has been a revelation since being signed last summer, but was essentially put into the starting lineup last year after only a few weeks of training. This year the defense had an entire preseason together to get in sync, goalkeeper Claudia Dickey is more confident and commanding in her box, and veteran defender Lu Barnes is finally healthy after dealing with a number of nagging injury issues last season.
BCS: The Dash like to have possession of the ball while the Reign have had it only 46% this season. How do you see this clash of styles playing out and could this work into Seattle's favor?
SaH: We asked Harvey about the Reign ceding possession a few weeks ago and she noted that it isn’t part of their overall plan, but has instead been more a factor of who they’ve played and the game state. The club would like more of the ball and to be more methodical in building their attack, but it needs to be with a purpose – last year they had a tendency to hold the ball for long stretches while looking for the perfect attacking opportunity and often wasted those chances without getting a shot off. If the Dash want to hold the ball, this year’s Reign will likely be okay with giving that to them and shifting to one of their other attacking approaches, such as utilizing the speed of Biyendolo and Maddie Dahlien to quickly counter.
BCS: Are there any injuries or suspensions that could impact the lineup this weekend?
SaH: If this was a few weeks ago, the obvious answer would be midfielder Jess Fishlock, who is expected to be out for a few more weeks with a leg injury. In prior seasons, any time she’s been out for an extended time the club has struggled in the midfield. However, second-year player Sam Meza has shone brightly in her spot this year, ranking near the top of the league in tackles won, duels won, interceptions, and recoveries, despite barely playing in the first two games of the season.
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We want to thank Steve for his time and wish our friends in Seattle the best of luck tomorrow.
