The Reign took all three points against visiting Chicago this past week in their third match of the 2021 Challenge Cup. The action would kick off in just the second minute as the Reign were tested early on pulling a superb diving save out of Reign goalkeeper Bardsley. The first goal would come in the 38th minute for the Red Stars as Mallory Pugh expertly danced through the Reign defense to slot it home. The lead wouldn’t last long for Chicago as Sofia Huerta would equalize for the Reign only minutes later with a blast to the lower left corner of the net. The game would stay level until the 70th minute when a slotted ball through the six would fall to the feet of Leah Pruitt who calmly put it away for the Reign. However this wasn’t the end for the Reign, they would put away another goal off a shot that struck the post from Tziarra King in the 87th minute. This would all but seal the match for Seattle, or so we thought. Just a few minutes later, late into the match, Morgan Brian would put in the second goal for Chicago leaving a tense final minutes for Seattle as the Reign would end up holding strong to secure three points. At this point both squads are middle of their table for the Challenge Cup as Seattle sits in 3rd and Chicago sits in 4th. So far this tournament has continued to build excitement for the coming start of the NWSL season.

Photos by ICONIC photographer Jackie Shinstrom