About this time last year, Laura Harvey had to remind herself that Seattle Reign FC hadn’t won anything just yet. Now, it seems, she doesn’t need to remind herself.

Last year, the Reign won the Shield for the best regular season in the National Women’s Soccer League, but went on to lose in a close championship final to FC Kansas City. Harvey, a British import from Arsenal, had admitted that she wasn’t used to the American-style playoff system.

But with a rematch against FC Kansas City looming on Thursday night – again after a Shield-winning season – Harvey is keen not to repeat the mistakes of last year.

“Until the final whistle in the final last year, I don’t think any of us appreciated how disappointed we would be with not winning it,” Harvey told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s why the mindset is different this year – more driven, more focused on putting everything out there to win it.”

She certainly has the talent on her roster to do it. Household names from the US women’s national team like Golden Glove-winning goalkeeper Hope Solo and winger Megan Rapinoe figure heavily in what makes the Reign so dominant.

But it’s perhaps the depth of the Reign squad beyond international stars that made them such a consistent force this season. Scotland’s Kim Little finished the regular season on 10 goals. Jess Fishlock from Wales had eight. American Beverly Yanez had nine. All in all, the Reign scored 41 goals, the most in the league, spread across 10 players.

It’s Harvey’s wheeling-and-dealing that built what is perhaps the deepest roster in the league – masterminding worthy of her back-to-back NWSL Coach of the Year awards. In their inaugural year, the Reign were dismal, recording just five wins but 14 losses in 22 games. From there, Harvey made bold trades and shrewd acquisitions to create the most potent arsenal of strikers in the league two years running.

But they will have to go up against the best defense in the league – a strategic chess match in the making. While the Reign boast the league’s best attack, FC Kansas City has an air-tight defense. Buoyed by NWSL Defender of the Year Becky Sauerbrunn, the Blues have allowed the fewest goals league-wide.

“We just know that good defensive pressure and winning the ball in good areas leads to a good attack,” Sauerbrunn said Wednesday. “That’s kind of the philosophy of our team. We like to defend together, not alone defending on islands, and if we win the ball higher up the field, we have better chances to score.”

That is where Lauren Holiday and Amy Rodriguez come in. They are arguably the best attacking pair in the NWSL and they have a connection that hints at their close off-the-field friendship. Last year, Holiday set up Rodriguez twice in their 2-1 championship win over the Reign.

Since joining FC Kansas City, Vlatko Andonovski has implemented a highly organized and attractive, possession-oriented style that is responsible for Kansas City becoming a perennial contender. It’s the approach that won the team the title last year and Andonovski said there’s no reason to change.

While the coach’s cohesive vision can be credited with the Blues’ success, there’s the early question of what will happen when the Holiday-Rodriguez pairing splits. This will be their last hurrah together. Holiday, fresh of winning the Women’s World Cup this summer, announced she will retire at the end of this season.



“I’ve cried over this way too much because it does sadden me to think I’m not going to play with one of my best friends anymore,” Rodriguez said. “I can’t tell you how many times she makes myself and others look good on the field because of all the hard work she does.”



The Reign have no problem playing spoilsport to Holiday’s farewell. Rapinoe joked that she can’t let Holiday, her Team USA team-mate, go out on top. That in a nutshell may be the mentality the Reign have shown coming into this final – that touch of ruthlessness they lacked last year.



Seattle seems to relish the idea of winning in front of people that don’t want them to win, thanks to a new twist on the year’s championship match. Instead of the top seed hosting, the league has switched to a pre-determined site with Portland’s Providence Park serving as the host venue – an unfriendly stadium in a fierce Cascadia rivalry.



The move could certainly hurt the top-seeded Reign – they have never lost a match at their current home over the past two years. But it’s clear why the league did it: As of Wednesday, around 12,000 tickets had been sold, already making this the most well-attended NWSL final to date.



After the Women’s World Cup and its record-setting viewership, NWSL commissioner Jeff Plush said the league is hoping to turn the final into more of an event and a celebration of women’s soccer. From a big-picture perspective, Harvey and the Reign players agree: it’s the right move for a league looking to gain momentum.



But that doesn’t mean Seattle won’t have to endure being a de facto away team at Providence Park in their most important match of the year. The rivalry between Seattle and Portland seems to permeate all sports and the NWSL is no different. But Rapinoe just laughed and called it “extra incentive.” Likewise, Harvey is looking forward to it.



“It will be hostile – I can only go off when we’ve been there and it’s been very hostile,” Harvey said. “We expect to be like an away team, but if we can pack a stadium, then it shows that, no matter what, the league can be here long term.”



“And silencing that crowd is one of the best moments of my career. I’d love to do it again.”

