Brittany Ratcliffe scored the tiebreaking goal on a header in the 82nd minute as the Seattle Reign opened the NWSL season with a 2-1 victory against the host Orlando Pride in a weather-delayed match Sunday.
Jess Fishlock also scored for Seattle and Nerilia Mondesir had two assists.
Barbra Banda tallied for the Pride.
A thunderstorm started at halftime with lightning strikes visible from the stadium, so the start of the second half was delayed for 2 1/2 hours.
Ratcliffe, a second-half substitute making her Reign debut, took Mondesir’s cross from the left wing and put a glancing header from the top of the 6-yard box into the far corner of the net.
Trailing 1-0 at the half, the Pride tied the score in the 51st minute as Haley McCutcheon sent a through ball down the left wing for Banda. She dribbled into the penalty area and put a right-footed shot from just outside the top of the 6-yard box into the far side of the net, leaving Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey no chance.
The first half featured back-and-forth play, with Orlando outshooting Seattle 13-9 and both teams putting four attempts on target.
The Reign broke through in the 24th minute as Mondesir sent a through ball down the middle of the field to Fishlock just outside the top of the 18-yard box. Fishlock split two defenders, outmuscled Orlando’s Hailie Mace to get free and put a 15-yard shot into the lower right corner of the net, out of the reach of diving goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse.
It was Fishlock’s 49th career goal with the Reign, two shy of Megan Rapinoe’s franchise record.
It appeared Orlando had tied the score in the 41st minute as Jacqueline Ovalle’s corner kick from the right wing found Rafaelle Leone Carvalho Souza at the far post for a half-volley into the net, but referee Alexandra Billeter ruled an attacking player had fouled Dickey on the play.
Orlando captain Marta, a six-time FIFA World Player of the Year, didn’t play because of what the club called an “excused absence.”
–Field Level Media
