SEATTLE (July 22, 2015) — Seattle Reign FC (7-3-3, 24 pts) picked up a victory in the first of a two-game back-to-back rivalry series with a 1-0 result over Portland Thorns FC (3-5-4, 13 pts) on Wednesday, July 22 at Providence Park in Portland, Ore. before a crowd of 21,144.

With the win, Seattle remains in second place in the NWSL standings with 24 points — one point back of the first place Chicago Red Stars, who hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

After possession swayed between Reign FC and Thorns FC in the first half, Seattle got on the board in the 57th minute, courtesy of Scottish international Kim Little. Little gained possession on a through ball from U.S. Women’s National Team star Megan Rapinoe — making her Reign FC return after missing the past nine games due to World Cup obligations — and dribbled into the Portland backline before firing a shot past goalkeeper Michelle Betos to give Seattle the lead.

Seattle goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer came up big on the other end in the 68th minute, with a diving deflection off a header from forward Christine Sinclair to maintain the Reign FC advantage.

Portland continued to apply pressure throughout the final 30 minutes of play, but strong play from the Seattle backline and Kopmeyer preserved the victory. Kopmeyer finished the match with three saves.

Reign FC finished the night with eight shots to Portland’s six, with both putting three on goal. Seattle also had seven total corner kicks to Portland’s four.

With the win, Seattle has now picked up points in the NWSL standings in eight of its last nine matches.

Saturday’s match was the first of two between Reign FC and Thorns FC during the 2015 regular season. Reign FC will now head back up Interstate 5 to Seattle to prepare for the rematch with Portland this Sunday on the Moda Pitch at Memorial Stadium. Less than 500 seats remain for that match.

Visit ReignFC.com or call (855) REIGN-FC for details on single match tickets. Seats start at $19. To catch the action away from Memorial Stadium, download the official, free Reign FC app here to watch every match live via YouTube.

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