Seattle, Washington: Reign Fall 1-0 to Gotham in NWSL Quarterfinal as Jess Fishlock Plays Her Final Match

SEATTLE, Washington (Orbit Post) - The Seattle Reign's 2026 season ended on Sunday in Harrison, New Jersey, where top seed Gotham FC won the NWSL playoff quarterfinal 1-0 and Jess Fishlock played the final match of her career.

Gotham scored in the fourth minute, and the goal came from a Seattle player. Jordyn Bugg tried to clear a driven ball toward the near post and the deflection beat goalkeeper Claudia Dickey for an own goal, the Reign said in their match recap. It was the only goal of the afternoon, and it held up even though Gotham did not put a shot on target the rest of the way.

Seattle pushed and pushed

Fishlock nearly changed the game three times in the first half. In the 12th minute she spotted Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger off her line and tried a chip from near midfield, but Berger recovered and made the save. In the 36th minute Fishlock intercepted a pass and drove a shot that rolled just wide. In stoppage time she flicked on a corner for Sofia Huerta, whose first time effort went over the bar.

The pressure grew after halftime. Mia Fishel forced a fingertip save from Berger in the 51st minute, and Fishlock curled an effort inches wide of the top corner moments later. Dickey kept Seattle in the game in the 58th minute with a flying save from a deflected header. One minute later Mondesir put the ball in the net from a Fishlock pass, but the goal was called back for offside. Berger saved from Maddie Mercado in the 71st minute. Seattle finished with 11 shots and three on target, according to the Sounder at Heart match report.

Fishlock came off in the 75th minute, replaced by Menti, and the match was her last. Afterward she was clear about where her sadness sat. "I'm not upset that I'll never play football again; I'm okay with that, I've played enough, but I'm devastated that I do not get to spend more time with this group, because they will win," she said, in comments reported by Sounder at Heart. She also called the Sports Illustrated Stadium pitch "atrocious," according to USA Today.

The last original

Fishlock, 39, joined Seattle for the league's first season in 2013 and stayed for 14 seasons. She was the last remaining player from the Reign's inaugural squad. She won three NWSL Shields with the club, the prize for the best regular season record, and she holds the club scoring record after passing it in September with her 51st and 52nd goals for the Reign. The club said she scored four goals with one assist in her final season.

For Wales, Fishlock scored 48 goals in 166 matches, both national records. She retired from international football in October 2025. She announced in April that this season would be her last. Her playing days are over, but she is staying in the game: she will join the Wales coaching staff under head coach Rhian Wilkinson, and her first assignment is December's two leg World Cup playoff against Norway, Sportin Wales reported from BBC Sport coverage.

Gotham, the defending champions and the No. 1 seed, will host the Kansas City Current in the semifinals next weekend. Kansas City beat Angel City 1-0 in extra time on Saturday. Sunday's crowd in Harrison was 11,328. For Seattle, the offseason starts now.