Seattle Reign Continue Home Unbeaten Streak With 2-1 Win Over Racing Louisville FC
By Becca Weinberg
Spokane, WA - For the second match in a row, the Seattle Reign rode a halftime lead to victory as they defeated Racing Louisville at “home” 2-1 on Saturday. The Reign extended their home unbeaten streak to nine games and played their second of three games at ONE Spokane Stadium this season, as Lumen Field continues renovations for the upcoming men’s FIFA World Cup.
Seattle Reign FC midfielder/forward Maddie Mercado celebrates her 11th minute goal against Racing Louisville FC at ONE Spokane Stadium on Saturday, March 28th, 2026. (Photo by Jane Gershovich via Seattle Reign FC)
The first goal for Seattle came in the 11th minute on the very first shot of the game. Midfielder Maddie Mercado dribbled the ball to the top of the box and ripped a shot towards Louisville goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer that just managed to slip out of her hands and into the corner of the net.
After securing the 1-0 lead, the Reign held possession for most of the first half despite a few Louisville challenges, and broke through with a second goal in the 41st minute. Forward Nérilia Mondésir made a perfectly-timed run into the box and connected with a pass by midfielder Ainsley McCammon that split two Louisville defenders. Mondésir only needed one touch before ripping a shot into the goal for a 2-0 Seattle lead at halftime. McCammon officially became the youngest player in club history to register an assist at 18 years old.
“I think Coco made really big strides last year, she maybe just didn’t get the reward she deserved from that progress. This league’s always been challenging for anyone coming who’s new to it, and I think Coco has shown that she has the talent, and now she has the physical capabilities to compete in it game in and game out.”
Sights from Seattle Reign FC’s 2-1 win against Racing Louisville FC at ONE Spokane Stadium on Saturday, March 28th, 2026. (Photos by Jane Gershovich via Seattle Reign FC)
The pressure from Racing was high in the second half, and they outshot the Reign with much more consistent possession. While the back-and-forth action continued, Louisville wasn’t able to break through until the final seconds of the match. In the 94th minute, at the very end of stoppage time, Louisville defender Macy Blackburn hit a shot into the crossbar that just grazed the goal line on its way back onto the field. There was considerable confusion over whether the shot had actually scored, and after a lengthy delay, Racing was awarded a goal to end the match.
Although the Reign were just seconds away from another shutout, they secured three more important points at “home.” Goalkeeper Claudia Dickey produced another standout performance, keeping the Reign in the lead with five saves and bringing her NWSL regular-season career total to 187, tying Hope Solo for the club record.
"I said to the group at the end, I think we've had a really challenging two weeks, for many, many reasons, and to come out of that with nine points out of the four games, I think, is a huge positive for us,” said Harvey.
Reign match notes
With today's result, Reign FC improves to 5-1-6 against Racing Louisville FC across all competitions.
Seattle’s starting XI had an average age of 24.9 years, marking the club’s youngest starting lineup of the 2026 season. At 18, Ainsley McCammon was the youngest player in the XI.
Reign FC selected both Sam Meza (17th overall) and Maddie Mercado (27th overall) in the 2024 NWSL Draft, the league’s last draft. The pair combined on the opening goal in the 10th minute, with Meza assisting Mercado.
Through four matches, Seattle has scored a league-leading six first-half goals, including five at ONE Spokane Stadium. The club tallied two more first-half goals today after scoring once in the season opener (March 15 at Orlando) and three against Kansas City on March 25.
Seattle extended its home unbeaten run to nine games (6W, 3D), dating back to August 1, 2025. It marks the club’s longest home unbeaten streak since a 12-game run from June 2018 to June 2019 (7W, 5D).
Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey recorded five saves, bringing her NWSL regular-season career total to 187 saves and tying Hope Solo for the club record.
Reign midfielder Ainsley McCammon recorded her first NWSL assist on Nerilia Mondesir’s goal, becoming the youngest player in club history to register an assist at 18 years old.
Reign midfielder/forward Mercado opened the scoring in the 10th minute, marking Seattle’s earliest goal of the 2026 season. She has now scored in back-to-back matches and has three goals in her NWSL career.
The Reign will remain in Spokane for one more game on April 4th against the Denver Summit before returning to Seattle on April 26th for their official home opener.
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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 Jane Gershovich, provided by Seattle Reign FC
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