Jess Fishlock leaves on stretcher as Seattle Reign lose in return to Lumen Field

Can't blame anyone for wondering if they arrived at the right house Sunday.

The Reign opened the season on the road and played three matches in Spokane due to renovations at Lumen Field for the FIFA men's World Cup this summer, including installing a grass surface. A highly anticipated welcome - which also marked Reign captain Jess Fishlock's countdown to retiring her soccer career at the end of the season - was immediately tarnished by visiting Utah.

The Royals scored two mind-boggling goals in the opening seven minutes en route to handing the Reign a 3-0 loss. It was the Reign's first loss at Lumen since May 2025 against the Washington Spirit.

It's really terrible," Reign forward Brittany Ratcliffe said. "Three-nothing, you don't ever want to see that, but it's an opportunity to grow. We were off by just a hair (on some shots). In the next game, those go in."

Fishlock, the last original from the inaugural 2013 roster, left the match in the 68th minute on a stretcher with an apparent left leg injury. She landed awkwardly on a play in the box, and medics placed the leg in an air cast. The midfielder covered her face as she was taken off with the crowd of 8,211 chanting "Fish-Lock."

Reign coach Laura Harvey didn't have any updates after the match.

Utah captain Paige Cronin, playing in her first match of the season, was gifted a goal 56 seconds into the match due to a poor backward pass from Madison Curry to Phoebe McClernon. The ball went past McClernon and the Reign defender was slow to react when Utah forward Mina Tanaka pounced on the ball.

Tanaka was patient in then sending a pass into space, Cronin roofing a right-footed shot past Reign keeper Claudia Dickey.

Narumi Miura received her first start with her new club Sunday and doubled the score with her first goal since her 2023 NWSL season with North Carolina.

The stunner from 25 yards was developed from a corner kick in the seventh minute.

"We played into their hand a little bit," Reign defender Sofia Huerta said of trying short passes instead of kicking it long. "They were pressing us and we were turning the ball over. A couple of their goals came from that. It was a quality thing not tactical. Nothing that we can't improve on."

The Reign (3-2-1) didn't settle into the match until the half-hour mark. But it didn't result in any goals.

Fishlock had a decent chance hit the crossbar in the 31st minute and two plays deep in the box were ultimately nullified by offside rulings, including one the Reign felt earned them a penalty kick.

Utah (3-2-1) closed the half by taking advantage of another botched series of defending in stoppage time. The Royals forced a turnover and Huerta missed a sliding tackle.

The through ball reached Utah forward Cloé Lacasse, who nestled a left-footed shot in goal for a 3-0 lead.

"That third goal was like a sucker punch," Harvey said.

Adding to the Reign's rough evening was U.S. women's national team coach Emma Hayes witnessing it all from a suite at Lumen. She received the loudest cheer from the crowd when spotted on screen waving and smiling in her signature Hello Kitty branded USA cap.

Hayes is visiting all the NWSL teams and her USWNT side lost to Japan at Lumen earlier this month. The Reign has multiple U.S. internationals in Dickey, Huerta, Maddie Dahlien, Sam Meza and Jordyn Bugg, who's out with a hamstring injury.

"You can't make assumptions game-to-game," Hayes told media at halftime. "I don't go in with expectations; I just come to watch behaviors of players. What are they like in the preparation of the game? What are they like when the game is going well? What are they like when the game is not going well? How are they showing up within their team?"

Harvey started her substitutions in the 55th minute by replacing Ratcliffe with Dahlien. Emeri Adames subbed on for Fishlock.

Maddie Mercado hit the post on a shot in the 71st and Harvey made a trio of changes minutes later. Reign forward Mia Fishel, defender Ryanne Brown and midfielder Angharad James-Turner entered the match for Nérilia Mondésir, Huerta and midfielder Sally Menti.

The Reign managed to keep Utah from adding another goal, yet the damage was done. Royals keeper Mia Justus had four saves to help her team collect their first win in Seattle since 2024.

"When the injury happened, we were really on the front foot, really pushing" Harvey said. "It sucked the life out of us a little bit. We started to get back into it."

A healthy roster permitted multiple lineup options for the Reign's return to play after a two-week FIFA women's international break. Menti was back in the midfield and newcomer Ratcliffe, who's netted two goals this season, received the start up top.

They replaced midfielder James-Turner and Adames.

The Reign are back on the road for a Friday matchup against the Houston Dash.

"It's an opportunity for us to fix the mistakes that we made," Ratcliffe said of the quick turnaround. "I'm excited for that because that's the type of team we are.

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This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 11:37 PM.