Seattle Reign FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest level of women's club soccer in the United States. The team was established in 2012 and began play the following year in the inaugual NWSL season at Starfire Sports in Tukwila, Washington. [1] The Reign moved to Memorial Stadium in Seattle for the 2014 season and stayed there until a move in 2019 to Cheney Stadium, a minor league ballpark in Tacoma, that coincided with a rebranding to Reign FC. [2] [3] The team was renamed to OL Reign after the French OL Groupe purchased a majority stake later in the year. [4] The team returned to Seattle in 2022 and now plays at Lumen Field, which they share with Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer and the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. [5] The name reverted to Seattle Reign FC in 2024 ahead of a sale of the team to the Sounders. [1] [6]
As of 2023 [update] , the NWSL regular season runs from March to October and the team with the most points during the regular season is awarded the NWSL Shield. The top six teams qualify for the NWSL Playoffs, a postseason tournament that culminates in the NWSL Championship, a single match that has been played at a predetermined host venue since 2015. [7] [8] A league cup tournament, the NWSL Challenge Cup, was created in 2020 and included results during the regular season until it was converted into a super cup in 2024. [9] [10] The playoffs champion and top two teams in the NWSL Shield standings qualify for the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, a continental championship for women's teams in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean organized by CONCACAF since 2024. The winner of that competition will qualify for the FIFA Women's Club World Cup. [11] An international in-season tournament, named the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, is scheduled to debut in 2024 and feature teams from Liga MX Femenil, the top women's league in Mexico. [12]
The Reign are among the most successful NWSL teams, with three NWSL Shields and seven playoff appearances in their first eleven seasons. [6] They have not won an NWSL Championship but finished as runners-up on three occasions: in 2014, 2015, and 2023. [9] [13] In addition to league honors, the team won the 2022 edition of The Women's Cup, an invitational tournament with international teams. [14] As of the end of the 2023 season, the Reign have played 11 seasons in NWSL that totaled 226 total regular season games with 105 wins, 64 losses, and 57 draws—a winning percentage of 0.591. [15] During the 2023 season, the team had the fourth-highest average attendance among NWSL franchises with 13,609 spectators per regular season match. [16] The Reign set the standalone match attendance record for the NWSL on October 6, 2023, at Lumen Field with 34,130 spectators watching a scoreless draw with the Washington Spirit during the last home regular season match for Megan Rapinoe. [17]
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Season | League [15] | Pos. [15] | Playoffs [24] | CC [24] | SC [15] | Other | Average attendance [lower-alpha 1] | Top goalscorer(s) [lower-alpha 2] | ||||||||||||
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Div | League | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Competition | Result | Player(s) | Goals | ||||||
2013 | 1 | NWSL | 22 | 5 | 14 | 3 | 22 | 36 | −14 | 18 | 0.82 | 7th | DNQ | — | — | — | — | 2,306 [25] | Megan Rapinoe | 5 |
2014 | 1 | NWSL | 24 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 50 | 20 | +30 | 54 | 2.25 | 1st | RU [9] | — | — | — | — | 3,666 [26] | Kim Little | 16 ♦ |
2015 | 1 | NWSL | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 41 | 21 | +20 | 43 | 2.15 | 1st | RU [9] | — | — | — | — | 4,060 [27] | Kim Little | 10 |
2016 | 1 | NWSL | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 30 | 1.50 | 5th | DNQ | — | — | — | — | 4,602 [28] | Manon Melis | 7 |
2017 | 1 | NWSL | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 34 | 1.42 | 5th | DNQ | — | — | — | — | 4,037 [15] | Megan Rapinoe | 12 |
2018 | 1 | NWSL | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 41 | 1.71 | 3rd | SF | — | — | — | — | 3,824 [15] | Jodie Taylor | 9 |
2019 | 1 | NWSL | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 38 | 1.58 | 4th | SF | — | — | — | — | 5,213 [15] | Bethany Balcer | 6 |
2020 | 1 | NWSL | Regular season and playoffs canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [29] | QF | — | NWSL Fall Series | 7th [30] | — | — | — | ||||||||||
2021 | 1 | NWSL | 24 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 37 | 24 | +13 | 42 | 1.75 | 2nd | SF | GS | — | — | — | 5,240 [15] | Bethany Balcer | 9 |
2022 | 1 | NWSL | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 40 | 1.82 | 1st | SF | SF | — | The Women's Cup | W [14] | 6,204 [15] | Megan Rapinoe Bethany Balcer | 7 |
2023 | 1 | NWSL | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 24 | +5 | 32 | 1.45 | 4th | RU [9] | SF | — | — | — | 13,609 [15] | Bethany Balcer | 6 |
Total (as of 2023) [15] | 226 | 105 | 64 | 57 | 337 | 248 | +89 | 372 | 1.65 | 5,276 | Megan Rapinoe | 51 [31] |
The Seattle metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States is home to several professional and amateur sports teams. They include seven teams in major leagues, several in minor leagues, and collegiate programs for two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I universities and one NCAA Division II university.
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