The Seattle Reign came into their game against the Boston Breakers only needing a win to lift the NWSL Shield for the second straight year. The Breakers came into the match with 15 points after 18 games and looked for a win to avoid securing a last place finish. The Reign entered this match with a record of 16-0-5 all-time at Memorial Stadium. The Reign looked to continue that unbeaten streak in front of 4,488 fans.

The only chance in the lineup for Laura Harvey was having Katrine Veje starting in place of Beverly Yanez. Yanez had to leave last Friday night’s game in the 36th minute after she picked up an injury.

The first real chance for the Reign came in just the 8th minute of the match. After a through ball was played to Veje, she sent the ball across the penalty area that deflected off of Merritt Mathias. The ball trickled to the penalty spot where Megan Rapinoe got her foot on it and had Alyssa Naeher beat, but unfortunately the shot hit the cross bar and was cleared out by the Breakers.

After a bit of back and forth between the two teams, the Reign found themselves in the attacking third again in the 15th minute. After a few crosses, Rapinoe sent a floater towards the back post, but Naeher came off her line to cleanly collect the ball.

In the next two minutes, the Reign had three corners, but nothing would come of them. In the 18th minute, a through ball found the feet of Veje, but once again Naeher was there to stop the play and send it out for a corner. One the ensuing corner, the ball fell to the feet of Rachel Corsie, who fired a shot at goal, but it was right at Naeher who was able to parry the ball away.

Finally in the 21st minute, the Reign found the opening goal. Kim Little played a through ball into the box to Stephanie Cox. She was able to find Rapinoe at the top of the six yard box. Naeher was able to get a glove on the ball, but not enough to keep it out of the goal. The assist was Cox’s third of the year and Rapinoe’s fourth goal of the year.

In the 25th minute, Rapinoe had yet another crack at the goal and once again Naeher was there to make the save to keep her team in it.  Just a minute later, the Reign has yet another chance on goal. After some lovely back and forth between Rapinoe and Little, the ball fell to the feet of Veje. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to get enough power on the shot and it made for a comfortable save for Naeher.

The Breakers earned their first real chance in the 29th minute off of a corner. As the ball was sent in, it appeared to have deflected off of a Seattle defender's arm, but the referee waved play on. The Reign was able to clear the ball away from danger.

In the 33rd minute, Rapinoe was denied once again by Naeher, but the Breakers were not able to fully clear the ball and Kendall Fletcher was able to put the ball in the back of the net to extend the Reign’s lead to two goals to none.

In the 37th minute, Little played a perfect through ball to Veje, but her touch let her down and she wasn’t able to recover in time before Naeher got to the ball.

The Reign attacked the goal once again in the 41st minute. Little played a beautiful ball over the top to Mathias. Naeher came out to challenge and Merritt rounded her, but took herself too far away from goal. She played the ball across the penalty area, but Little was not able to get a shot off.

After one minute of stoppage time, the teams headed to the locker room with the Reign up 2-0 over the Breakers.

The Breakers took the second half kickoff and looked to get a goal back. After about the first two minutes, Seattle took control of the game again. The Reign dominated in possession the first five to ten minutes of the second half.

In the 56th minute, Rapinoe made an incredible play as she flicked the ball around a Breakers defender to the feet of Little. Little was able to beat the onrushing Naeher to score her tenth goal of the season to extend the Reign lead to three goals to none.

The last portion of the match was a lot of back and forth between the two teams. The Reign looked content to keep possession and the Breakers didn’t really seem interested in scoring other than a few chances here and there.

The Breakers did finally get on the board in the 88th minute after second half sub Maddy Evans was able to slot the ball past a diving Hope Solo. It was a beautifully played ball over the top sent in by Kristie Mewis. She found Evans who made a great run between the two center backs. She chested the ball down and hammered the shot home.

With the win, the Reign won their second straight NWSL Shield and will be the number one overall seed in the playoffs. With the loss, the Breakers can do no better than last in the league.

The Reign plays again this Saturday for their home finale against Sky Blue FC. Boston plays this Sunday on the road against the Houston Dash. That will be their final game of the 2015 NWSL season.