Claudia Dickey Ties Hope Solo's Club Record for Saves as Seattle Reign Hold Off Racing Louisville 2-1

Seattle Reign FC took six shots on Saturday afternoon in Spokane. Two of them were on target. Both went in. Racing Louisville FC took 20 and still left with nothing.

That is the short version of Seattle's 2-1 win over Louisville at ONE Spokane Stadium, where Maddie Mercado and Nérilia Mondésir scored in the first half and Claudia Dickey made five saves to keep the visitors at bay until Macy Blackburn's goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Seattle moved to 3-0-1 with 9 points. Louisville fell to 0-1-2 and is still hunting its first win of 2026.

Two Shots, Two Goals

Mercado wasted no time. In the 10th minute, Sam Meza found her and the forward hit a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner. Per Seattle, it was the earliest goal the Reign had scored all season, and it extended Mercado's run to goals in back-to-back matches.

Then the match flipped into a strange rhythm. Louisville had most of the attacking intent and none of the precision. Macey Hodge had a shot blocked in the 14th minute, Kayla Fischer skied one high and wide off a fast break in the 15th, Katie O'Kane's free kick sailed off target in the 20th, and Ella Hase missed to the left in the 22nd. Ellie Jean and Taylor White both missed in the space of two minutes late in the half. Lots of volume, very little in the way of actual danger.

Seattle, meanwhile, waited for its moment. In the 41st minute, 18-year-old Ainsley McCammon slipped a through ball to Mondésir, who finished with her right foot from the center of the box into the bottom right corner. 2-0 at the break, and Louisville had not put a single shot on target. That is the kind of half that makes a head coach stare at the tactics board for a long time.

Louisville Turns Up the Volume

The second half belonged to the visitors, at least on the stat sheet. Fischer finally forced Dickey into action in the 52nd minute, a shot from the left side of the box that the Seattle goalkeeper pushed out of the top left corner. Sarah Weber missed to the left in the 59th and had another effort blocked in the 62nd.

Racing Louisville coach Bev Yanez went to her bench, and the substitutes made a difference. Lauren Milliet tested Dickey in the 77th minute, and Rachel Hill, making her club debut, forced saves in the 85th and 87th. Weber's header in the second minute of stoppage time was saved too, because of course it was.

The breakthrough finally came deep in stoppage time. Weber whipped in a cross and Blackburn, a rookie who came on in the 86th minute, finished from the center of the box into the bottom right corner. Per Louisville, it was the first goal of her professional career. It was also, unfortunately for the visitors, the last kick of any consequence.

Dickey Joins Elite Company

Dickey was the difference. Her five saves, per Seattle, brought her NWSL regular season career total to 187, tying Hope Solo for the club record. Sharing a line in the record book with Solo is no small thing for a goalkeeper, and Dickey earned it on a day when Louisville put six shots on target and needed until the final minutes to beat her.

Mercado and Mondésir each took two shots and scored once, about as efficient as forwards get. McCammon added the assist on the second goal, which Seattle said was her first in the NWSL and made her the youngest player in club history to record one. Meza's assist on the opener connected two of the club's 2024 draft picks, per the Reign.

For Louisville, Weber was the engine. She took four shots, assisted the goal and kept knocking on the door until somebody answered. Blackburn's postgame take was refreshingly honest. "Obviously, Bev (Yanez) and Mitch (Sowerby) just said go up there and do what you can, and got lucky with a goal," she said.

The Turning Point

Mondésir's goal four minutes before halftime decided this one. At 1-0, Louisville's pile of first-half attempts looked like a team that was one clean look away from leveling the match. At 2-0, the visitors had to chase, and chasing against a goalkeeper in this kind of form is exhausting. Blackburn's late goal shows exactly how close the margin really was: had Louisville found its finishing touch even half an hour earlier, this is a very different recap.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Louisville 20, Seattle 6. Per Louisville, the Reign's six shots were their fewest in a game this year.
• Shots on target: Louisville 6, Seattle 2. Seattle scored on both of its shots on target.
• Saves: Dickey made 5. Jordyn Bloomer did not have to make one.
• Possession: Seattle 55.8 percent, Louisville 44.2 percent.
• Clearances: Seattle 26, Louisville 14, a sign of how much defending the hosts did late.

What It Means

Seattle has now won two straight in Spokane, beating the Kansas City Current 3-0 on Wednesday before this one. Per the Reign, the result extended the club's home unbeaten run to nine games, dating back to August 1, 2025, its longest such streak since a 12-game run from June 2018 to June 2019. Seattle closes its stay in Spokane against Denver Summit FC next.

Louisville has 1 point from three matches after a 2-1 loss at the North Carolina Courage and a 2-2 draw with the Washington Spirit. Yanez did not sugarcoat it. "I know that the pressure is on to take points. We're fully aware of that," she said. Next up is a trip to face the Houston Dash.

Closing Take

Seattle's afternoon was a masterclass in Marie Kondo soccer: only keep what sparks joy, and toss the rest. Two shots on target, two goals, and a goalkeeper who quietly drew level with a club legend.

Louisville can take some comfort in the second half, and Jean summed up the mood. "It's just figuring out how we can get goals in the back of the net," she said. Twenty shots says the chances are there. The scoreboard says they need to start landing.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by Racing Louisville FC; match notes from Seattle Reign FC's postmatch release.