Seattle Reign Secure 2-1 Road Win Over Boston Legacy
By Becca Weinberg
Pawtucket, R.I. - In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, the Seattle Reign defeated Boston Legacy to earn a 2-1 road win and snap their five-game scoring drought. A first-half goal from defender Sofia Huerta and a second-half goal by forward Maddie Dahlien pulled the Reign ahead and back into the win column on Friday night.
Images from the Seattle Reign FC win against Boston Legacy FC at Centreville Bank Stadium on May 22nd, 2026 (Photos by Meg Kelly, provided by Seattle Reign FC).
“The run we’ve been on, not being able to take chances, not being able to score goals, you know, points don’t matter if you can’t do those things,” said head coach Laura Harvey post-game. “So, breaking that tonight was great, and I think getting three points on top of that is so, so crucial for us right now.”
Huerta’s goal was scored in the 11th minute off a penalty kick, set up by a header attempt by Dahlien inside the box. Dahlien’s header connected with the arms of Legacy defender Jorelyn Carabalí, and after a lengthy delay to confirm the penalty call, Huerta placed her shot in the right corner of the goal for a 1-0 Reign lead. Huerta scored in her 200th NWSL regular-season start, becoming the fifth player in league history to reach that milestone.
Seattle didn’t take their foot off the gas in the second half, and Dahlien scored the team’s second goal in the 51st minute off a beautiful cross into the box from defender Madison Curry. Dahlien hit a one-touch volley right past diving Boston goalkeeper Casey Murphy to put Seattle up 2-0 and secure her fifth consecutive game-winning goal.
“She was so effective defensively, her work rate was phenomenal, and all of those little things you don’t see on the stat sheet, you don’t necessarily see on broadcast, but she worked so hard tonight,” said Harvey post-game of Dahlien’s success in tonight’s match. “She cares deeply about winning, and I think you saw that tonight in her performance.”
Boston got one back late in the game when forward Aïssata Traoré received a ball in the box and slipped her shot right past goalkeeper Claudia Dickey. Regardless of the 2-1 final score, Dickey finished the match with four saves, which made her the 13th NWSL goalkeeper to reach 200 regular-season saves with one club.
“Any time you go through a stint where things aren't going your way, it’s really difficult to stay positive and to take positives out of those games,” said Huerta post-game. “But you know the Reign superpower is the culture, and we stayed positive through it all, even at times when you wanted to get negative, we just didn't allow that. I think we know as a team that if we just control what we can control and keep working on the little things and stay disciplined, then we can get results in this league.”
Match notes from Reign PR
Laura Harvey has fielded a different starting XI in each of its 10 matches during the 2026 season.
Tonight’s match featured six changes to the lineup from last week’s match against Gotham FC, with Jordyn Bugg, Madison Curry, Ainsley McCammon, Sally Menti, Maddie Mercado, and Holly Ward replacing Emeri Adames, Mia Fishel, Shae Holmes, Emily Mason, Sam Meza, and Nerilia Mondesir. Three Reign FC players have started all 10 games – Claudia Dickey, Sofia Huerta, and Phoebe McClernon.
With tonight’s victory, Laura Harvey now has at least one regular-season win over 17 of 19 NWSL clubs all-time.
The winningest coach in NWSL history just needs a win over Bay FC and Denver Summit FC to have defeated every club in league history.
Early in the second half, Maddie Dahlien doubled the lead for Seattle off a cross from Madison Curry.
The game-winning goal marks the first goal of the season for the 2025 NWSL Rookie of the Year finalist and the fifth of her career. Dahlien now has five consecutive game-winning goals.
Claudia Dickey entered tonight with 198 career regular-season saves and finished the match with four saves to bring her all-time regular-season career total to 202 saves.
She is now the 13th goalkeeper in NWSL history to record at least 200 saves with one club. The USWNT goalkeeper holds club records in saves (202), shutouts (16), goalkeeper appearances and starts (60), and minutes played (5,370).
Sofia Huerta made her 200th regular-season start tonight, becoming the fifth player in league history to reach the milestone.
Huerta scored the opening goal of the match in the 11th minute, making her the first player in NWSL history to score in her 200th regular-season start after previously scoring in her 200th regular-season appearance on October 17, 2025, against Utah Royals FC.
She has now scored at least one goal in every NWSL season since her rookie year in 2015, becoming the only player in league history to accomplish the feat.
Huerta now has 39 regular-season goals in her career, including seven with the Reign, which is tied for 10th in club history.
With tonight’s result, Reign FC holds a record of 1-0-0 against Legacy FC across all competitions.
The Reign will continue their road trip this weekend and prepare to face the Washington Spirit on Saturday, May 30th, at 3:30 PM. The match will air on ION and will be available on the radio on 950 KJR FM.
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social
〰️
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social 〰️
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 Meg Kelly, provided by Seattle Reign FC.
Support the work of Circling Seattle Sports by checking out our merchandise!
