Seattle Reign Concede Late Goals in 3-2 Loss to NJ/NY Gotham
By Becca Weinberg
A difficult match for the Seattle Reign this weekend led to a 3-2 away loss against NJ/NY Gotham at Icahn Stadium. The Reign weren’t able to hold a two-goal lead entering the second half and gave up three goals to Gotham in the final 20 minutes of the match.
Images from the Seattle Reign FC loss against the NJ/NY Gotham FC at Icahn Stadium on July 18th, 2026 (Photos by Ruby Klawans, provided by Seattle Reign FC).
“We need to learn as a team, despite the weather, the air quality, all those sorts of things, the travel — how to manage games,” said forward Maddie Mercado postgame. “I think that's a big area of growth for us. I think we've gotten better at it. But again, I think like Mia [Fishel] said, we came out on top — we executed our game plan in the beginning. I think it's just going to be how we can learn as games go on and momentum shifts, how we can manage that and turn the momentum in our favor.”
Seattle’s first goal was scored via a penalty shot in the 14th minute by forward Mia Fishel, who recorded her first NWSL goal in the process. Fishel took the penalty for Mercado, who had her legs clipped out from under her by Gotham defender Mandy Freeman during an attempt on goal in the box.
Mercado doubled the Reign’s lead in the 23rd minute after connecting with a cross right in front of Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger by forward Maddie Dahlien. Mercado sprinted into the box and hit a one-touch shot into the goal for a 2-0 lead before halftime.
Seattle had a chance at a third goal in the 57th minute after another foul in the box resulted in a penalty, but Dahlien stepped up and hit her shot into the left post.
After building what appeared to be a comfortable cushion, the Reign conceded goals in the 82nd, 94th, and 97th minute to hand Gotham a 3-2 win and push them into first place in the NWSL standings. Tonight was also the first time that Gotham has rallied from a two-goal deficit to win in nine years.
"We're always just consistent,” head coach Laura Harvey said post game of keeping a positive attitude after a difficult match. “We weren't too high after the Portland game, we won't be too low after this. We're very analytical. We have a very good group that is vulnerable and is willing to take feedback and learn from things, and that's something that we've got to do in this instance for sure."
The Reign will continue their road trip against San Diego Wave FC on Sunday, July 26th at 2 PM. The match will be streamed on FOX 13+ and CBS Sports Network.
Match notes from Reign PR
Head Coach Laura Harvey has named 13 different starting XIs through the club's first 14 matches of the 2026 season. Today's lineup featured one change from last week's match against Portland, with Emily Mason replacing the injured Sofia Huerta.
Mia Fishel became the 10th Reign FC player to score this season, tying Bay FC for the most players with at least one goal across the NWSL. Maddie Mercado continues to lead the club with four goals.
Maddie Dahlien recorded her first assist of the 2026 season in the 22nd minute, setting up Maddie Mercado's goal to double Seattle's lead. The assist was the fifth of her NWSL career, tied for the ninth-most regular season assists in club history.
Mia Fishel converted a penalty in the 14th minute to give Seattle an early lead. The goal marked her first since joining Reign FC in August 2025.
Jess Fishlock entered the match in the 83rd minute, making her return after missing seven matches with an injury suffered against Utah Royals FC on April 26.
After joining the club on a short-term contract ahead of the 2026 season and earning an extension through August, Ruby Hladek entered in the 90th minute to make her NWSL debut.
Phoebe McClernon, who captained Reign FC for the first time this season, made her 84th regular season appearance for the club to move into sole possession of seventh in club history.
Maddie Mercado scored for the second straight match, doubling Seattle's lead in the 22nd minute. The San Diego native leads Reign FC with four goals this season and has five NWSL regular season goals since entering the league in 2024.
With today’s result, Seattle holds a record of 12-12-10 against Gotham FC across all competitions.
Reign FC (5-7-2, 17 points) continues its road trip, traveling to California to face San Diego Wave FC (9-5-2, 29 points) on Sunday, July 26 at Snapdragon Stadium (2:00 p.m. PT / FOX 13+, CBS Sports Network).
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Check out our previous Seattle Reign FC articles here.
Check out our previous articles written for CSS by Becca Weinberg here, and her work with Lookout Landing here.
Photos in this article by Ruby Klawans, provided by Seattle Reign FC.
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