Seattle Reign FC lost 3-0 against their western rivals, the Utah Royals, on Sunday, April 26. Early goals by Paige Monaghan and Narumi Miura sealed the win for the visitors.

To add to the Reign’s afternoon loss, their captain, Jessica Fishlock, who is retiring at the end of the season, went off in the 68th minute with an ankle injury.

The Reign kept pressure on the Royals after the first two goals, but not before the visitors were able to put six shots towards Seattle’s goal, getting 0.42 expected goals (xG) in the first 30 minutes.

Seattle had better scoring opportunities than Utah in the first half, but when Brittany Ratcliffe and Madison Mercado each had a big chance, Royals goalkeeper Mia Justus made the save. Fishlock also had a chance as a cross came into the box from the right, headed on by Ratcliff, and the captain attempted to bicycle-kick, but the shot landed slightly wide.

The Reign did not see many signs of revitalization in the second half, with the Royals outplaying them in every department; however, the visitors found it hard to keep their shots on target, with striker Kiana Palacios even missing a big chance from three yards away.

In the 68th minute, after a shot from Mercado, Fishlock tried to get away but landed awkwardly and suffered an injury to her ankle. She was transported out of the stadium by ambulance before the final whistle.

Reign head coach Laura Harvey provided some hopeful insight into the situation, saying, “There was no [bone] break, we were concerned about that.” She added that although the Reign were left without a timeline for the injury, the team believes that she will be back before the end of the season, allowing Fishlock to retire healthy.