The Missouri Reign took care of business over the weekend with a 2-0 win against the Missouri Rush, improving to 2-2-2 on the season. 

The Reign have undergone a successful midseason turn-around, as they started the year off with 2 losses and a tie. They have since gained 7 points in their last 3 matches, and look to finish the season off strong.  

The team stuck to their gameplan during the victory over the Rush and Head Coach Dakota Acock knows that's an important mission for the squad.

“You look at the overall body of work that we’ve been able to put together, the trust the team is starting to have in each other, that goes a long way,” Acock said. 

Match Recap

The Reign opened up the game with some early offensive opportunities, but they couldn't capitalize off of them. They lived inside the opposing half, with some huge chances after the keeper got out of goal.

The Reign kept pounding away at the Rush’s defenses, every offensive chance felt closer than the last. But instead of coming away with their first goal of the game, their offensive momentum slowed down. 

The Rush gained a little more control of possession after the 15 minute mark as they continued to deny the Reign. A few Rush corner kicks made the Reign sweat, but the game remained at a stalemate. 

This continued for the rest of the first half, when it was over both teams were still scoreless, although not for lack of opportunities. 

Coach Acock noted that the team played well in the first half, but was just unable to connect in the final third when they got down to it.

“At halftime talk was positive, small adjustments were made, and things started to click,” Acock said. “We had some unselfish plays to score some goals. That's huge for our morale and who we want to be.”

When the match resumed so did the missed offensive chances. The Reign had some good shots on goal early in the half, but still the game's seal remained unbroken.

Finally in the 60th minute the Reign broke through, Holland Hawkins took a ball down the middle of the field and buried a shot from outside of the box into the top right corner. 

Despite scoring the Reign kept the offense firing on all cylinders, they fell back into the lull of scoring attempts coming up empty, but refused to quit. 

The game sealing goal finally came when Rebecca Rhienheimer brought down a loose ball in the box, shielded the defender and laid it off to Kayla Juengermann, who sliced the ball past the goalie to extend the Reign’s lead to 2 goals. 

Although the Rush conjured up some last minute attacks to try and erase their goose egg, they were unable to due to a stronger defensive retaliation by the Reign. The second goal gave the squad some breathing room which helped them secure the win. 

“Anytime you get a shutout it’s something that you want to be proud of. We have played really good halves of defensive soccer, and it’s unfortunate that it’s taken this long to show how good of a defensive team we can be put together for a full 90 minutes,” Acock remarked. 

The Reign’s 2-0 win over the Rush marked their first shutout of the year, and the Reign’s two stonewall centerbacks Libby Homes and Yazmin Baird Watson were glad the team put the game away without much stress at the end.  

“It was definitely an even game for both teams, so then to get that first goal coming out in the second half was a good feeling,” Yazmin Baird Watson said.

“Defensively we were pretty sound and then putting it away, and not having to scramble at the end for a last minute winner. It always feels good and creates more momentum to score hopefully more goals,” Libby Homes replied.

Next Match

The Reign have a massive match upcoming against Lou Fusz Athletic. They are the current first place team in the Gateway division, with a record of 4 wins and 1 draw. 

Lou Fusz’s lone draw came against the Missouri Reign back in the second week of the season. The final score was 1-1, and now the Reign are looking to capture the season series between the two teams. 

Playing these rematches have been a good opportunity for the Reign to show off their consistent improvement.

“It shows our learning as a team. Like, I think these games where we are coming back and winning them, it shows our growth as a team,” Baird Watson said.

This matchup serves as a big chance for the Reign to prove themselves as one of the most competitive teams in not just the division, but the league as well. 

The game is set for Tuesday, June 23 at 7:00 p.m., located at Marvin Owens Stadium. It will be the Reigns final home game of the 2026 season. 

“To be honest the home games have given us good momentum to come out with these wins, just having the crowd behind us, and even being a bit local to home,” Homes said.

“And then, we're international so to have our host family come and support us and watch us, it always means the most to us,” Baird Watson added.