While the sight of crushed roses might convince you that you’ve walked in on a Valentine’s Day date gone wrong, it is actually one of the traditions stemming from the fierce rivalry of two National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) teams. Seattle Reign FC and the Portland Thorns matched in the most recent bout of this rivalry April 18. 

The Reign started off on the right foot four minutes into the game, with new addition and veteran forward Lynn Biyendolo threading a pass to forward Maddie Dahlien, who found an opening low and across the net, burying it on the right side. The goal was Dahlien’s first ever in the NWSL.

In addition to her opening goal, Dahlien put up multiple good shots in the first half, putting offensive pressure on the Thorns and helping the Reign to a dominant first half. Biyendolo, the NWSL’s leading scorer and a member of the U.S. Women’s National team, had high praise for the young forward.

“Maddie’s ceiling is so high… [She] reminds me of a younger me,” Biyendolo said.

Biyendolo wasn’t only seeking out assists this game—in the 35th minute, a pass off a midfield steal found Biyendolo attacking the goalie alone at the top of the box. She struck the ball past the goalie, but it missed the left post by less than a foot. The goal would have been Biyendolo’s first for the club, as she missed the first four games of the season due to injury.

Given her status as a legend in the sport, there have been high expectations attached to Biyendolo’s arrival in Seattle. Even though she didn’t score in her Reign debut, teammates and Reign personnel are more than willing to testify to the veteran impact that she is having on the team.

“She’s a leader. I think she realized the moment she came into the team that there’s a place for that. It was needed,” the Reign’s head coach Laura Harvey said in a postgame interview.

The Thorns struggled to keep up with the Reign on both sides of the ball. In one of the few quality Portland offensive drives, forward Peyton Linnehan lost the ball to Reign defenders before she even had the chance to shoot it.

Portland’s first half frustrations were clear, especially as defender Kaitlyn Torpey dragged Dahlien to the ground by the jersey during a transition in midfield. The play earned Torpey a yellow card, which was the team’s second in the first half.

The Thorns came out of the halftime break looking fired up, immediately changing the dynamic of the game. They maintained much better control of the ball and field, shedding many of their offensive struggles from the first half.

The Reign struggled to respond in the second half but managed to hold onto their lead thanks to a few Portland misses and blocked shots by goalkeeper Claudia Dickey. Their first major scoring opportunities came in the 75th minute, when a tricky passing sequence led to a Dahlien shot nearside. Both it and her subsequent shot were blocked by the Thorns’ Bella Bixby.

The Reign were not alone, though—both teams were plagued by missed scoring opportunities, especially as the Thorns fought to equalize. Striker Caiya Hanks was left frustrated after an open shot in the 84th minute went just wide of the goal.

Immediately afterwards, the Reign forward Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic barely missed a shot that would have sealed the game, sending it hard off the right post and back into defensive possession.

Harvey spoke to the importance of sealing the game with a second goal after the game, reflecting on how the inability to capitalize on early opportunities allowed the Thorns to stay in the game and fueled their performance in the second half.

“Goals change games. I think if we had gotten the second one in the first half, which we had chances to, that the game dies. The longer that we didn’t get that, they started to get into the game more,” Harvey said.

In the final minutes of the game, the Thorns mounted a last-ditch offensive effort, with Hanks sending a hard shot barely above the net, and forward Reilyn Turner sending a loose ball from a corner right into the crossbar in the 95th and 96th minutes, respectively.

The Reign, clinging onto their 1-0 lead, left the rivalry match as winners. While aware of their second half backslide and points of constructive criticism, players were happy to eke out a win, especially given the contentious nature of their rivalry.

“I don’t really necessarily think we followed the game plan like we wanted to, but I think sometimes it’s going to be like that. Sometimes, we’re just going to have to gut it out,” Dahlien said in a postgame interview.

This win brings the Reign’s record to 2-2-1, and they sit in 7th place in the standings. While this game exposed some issues in their game, the team is hopeful for the future. With Biyendolo returning from injury and many of their newer players developing, the Reign are confident that their veterans and young alike can lead the team to a successful season.