Reign Halftime Observations From Seattle’s Home Match Against Chicago, August 14th, 2026
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - Through the first 45 minutes of the Chicago Stars and the Seattle Reign meeting at Lumen Field, it’s the home side that’s been in control of the attack, with one midfielder in particular getting some strong chances on goal. The Reign will look to turn their chance creation into goals in the second half, as they did last time out back on Sunday against Angel City.
Here are some basic observations at halftime of Stars at Reign from our viewpoint in the Lumen Field pressbox.
Ainsley McCammon, knocking on the door
With midfield engine Sam Meza missing this match due to a thigh injury, someone was going to have to step up in the middle of the park for Seattle, and it appears to be Ainsley McCammon. Through the first 20 minutes of the match, McCammon had registered four attempts towards goal, and all of them had come from headers. The closest one to converting came in the 20th minute, when she connected with a Sally Menti cross following a corner, but it kissed off the crossbar and over for a goal kick.
Three of the headers, in the 9th and 13th minutes and the aforementioned 20th minute chance, came either directly off a corner or shortly off corner kicks, of which the Reign had ten total in the first half. The 9th minute attempt came shortly off a corner off the cross of Madison Curry, and the 13th minute attempt came directly off a Mia Fishel corner. The fourth attempt of the bunch came off a Maddie Dahlien pass, showing that by design or just by circumstance, Ainsley is a target for crosses in this match. Feels like she’ll be someone to watch in the second half.
Seattle is applying the pressure
Outside of Ainsley McCammon and her being a target for Reign crosses in the first half, the Reign have kept the pressure on when it comes to their attack in the first half. For the second consecutive match, they go into the halftime break scoreless after finding plenty of scoring success through the initial 45 minutes in matches prior, but it’s at least a strong sign that Seattle has been dominating the offensive statistics so far.
As mentioned above, the Reign had ten corner kicks in the first half, many of them coming within the first ten minutes of the contest. The Stars didn’t register their first until the 35th minute, getting consecutive corners in that instance. Seattle has nine total shots in the first half and 13 touches in the opposing box, including two “big chances.” They’ve been in control save for a few instances, and there’s plenty of reason to believe that the Reign will be the club to strike first.
What to look for in the second half
After mentioning it above, we’re looking for Ainsley McCammon to find the back of the net in the second half. She had numerous chances toward goal in the first half, including the most dangerous attempt of the night: a header that went off the crossbar. Keep an eye on her.
I’m slightly concerned about the few instances that Chicago has gotten when they actually have possession. Seattle has a ton of possession and the advantage in attacking stats, yes, but the two sides are tied with two shots on target. The Stars have had the ball in a couple of dangerous areas, and I’m worried that this is a match where the Reign have plenty of creation but no final ball, and that a silly Chicago goal is the decider.
Mallory Swanson in particular has gotten a bit too much open space in the first half, and I’d keep an eye on her to be a problem for Seattle unless they tighten things up.
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