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SPOKANE, Wash. \u2014 The Seattle Reign scored five goals and conceded once over their first two \u2018home\u2019 games in Spokane. Fans joked that the team should make a permanent move east to continue scoring goals, a primary struggle of the team dating back to last season, but that Spokane scoring sauce ran out Saturday night against the Denver Summit in a scoreless draw. With the offense stifled, defense secured the point.<\/p>\n The Reign came out on the front foot with seven early shots, but then were held without an attempt from the 27th minute until stoppage time in the first half. Denver didn\u2019t register a shot until the 17th minute, but had more opportunities the rest of the game.<\/p>\n The Summit particularly took hold of the match in the second half. It felt like the Reign couldn\u2019t get out of their own defensive half or transition into any sustained offense, and could end up sitting in a low block for 30 minutes to end the game. Despite the near-constant pressure, the defense held strong.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they had a lot of momentum in the second half, and when that happens, the old saying is bend but don\u2019t break, and we did that,\u201d head coach Laura Harvey said postgame. \u201cI think they had a lot of the ball, they got in areas that were dangerous, but we didn\u2019t break. \u2026 Our mentality to not be beaten is a big part of who we want to be, so I was really proud of the players for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Denver\u2019s 18 shots on the night were a season high for the expansion team, double their previous high, goalkeeper Claudia Dickey wasn\u2019t forced into any particularly difficult saves for the three on target. That\u2019s largely credit to the Reign defense getting bodies behind the ball, keeping the Summit in front of them, blocking shots and putting in tackles.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that [Denver] is probably one of the more exceptional teams in terms of their ability to score from crossing situations. And I think we did an incredible job of shutting them down when we were inside our own 18,\u201d defender Phoebe McClernon said. \u201cI think that\u2019s something we can take pride in. And I also just think that we\u2019re like a gritty defensive team. I think we have players all over the field who want to get stuck in, and maybe the next evolution of that is just the decision after we create that turnover.\u201d<\/p>\n With the help of their \u2018home\u2019 fans, the Reign were finally able to wrestle back some offensive momentum in the last 10 or so minutes. The engaged crowd, though just under 4,000, recognized the shift and tried to will the Reign to victory with the thunderous rumbling of thousands of feet stomping on metal bleachers. After the home team desperately struggled for chances in the second half, they created several late opportunities, most in transition, but lacked the finish.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s an area that we will definitely focus on is how, when a team has momentum, how you can get it back,\u201d Harvey acknowledged. \u201cI think tonight, maybe it wasn\u2019t our best performance, but we still created chances in periods where, if you take one of them, I think we could see the game out. \u2026 Maybe we didn\u2019t convert the ones that we should\u2019ve, but creation, I believe, is getting much better than it\u2019s been before.\u201d<\/p>\n While you always want to win, the draw means Seattle earned a solid seven of nine available points across their three-match \u2018home\u2019 span in Spokane. Reign will head into the international break sitting third in the league standings with 10 points from five games. <\/p>\n
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