U.S. national team star Megan Rapinoe scored on a header in the 54th minute and the Seattle Reign beat the Utah Royals 1-0 on Wednesday night in Washington in NWSL action.
Rapinoe’s header came off a corner kick by Stephanie Catley as she floated to the back post and connected with a header that went the opposite side of the net and over the head of Royals goalkeeper Abby Smith.
It was the first game back in Seattle for Royals coach Laura Harvey, who led the Reign to NWSL titles in 2014 and 2015.
The Royals were without Becky Sauerbrunn, who is injured, and Diana Matheson, who was serving a one-match suspension handed down by the league’s disciplinary committee.
The loss drops the Royals into sixth in the NWSL standings with 21 points ahead of Saturday’s nationally-televised game at Rio Tinto Stadium against Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux and the Orlando Pride.