Reign facing potential playoff elimination in Sunday’s game at Utah

The Reign will try to end a four-game losing streak when they travel to play Utah on Sunday.

Here’s a look at the match:

Reign (5-13-5) at Utah Royals FC (6-14-3)

Time/place: 2 p.m. Sunday at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.

TV: ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes

Radio: N/A

Series history: Seattle leads 7-1-3 since 2018.

Storylines

Asking about playoffs?

The inevitable possible elimination match has arrived. The Reign and Royals need an outright win Sunday or will be eliminated from postseason contention. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in their last regular season match in July. A draw in the rematch would eliminate both teams.

Seattle is unbeaten (3-0-2) when playing on the road against Utah. But the Royals have won their past two matches against playoff-bound Portland and Louisville, which is one slot outside the postseason picture.

Some consistency

Reign coach Laura Harvey hasn’t played the same lineup twice this season, partly because of injuries and in-season roster shake-ups. Two constants are defender Phoebe McClernon and midfielder Ji So-yun. They haven’t missed a start, McClernon contributing one assist this season while Ji has three goals and three assists.

Quotable

“I’ve actually not been back since I was coaching there, so I’m excited for that,” said Harvey of being Utah’s inaugural coach, posting a 19-17-12 record from 2018-19. Reign assistant Scott Parkinson was also on Harvey’s staff for the two seasons in Utah. “There’s a lot of cool little food spots that I’m trying to get into and I’m excited for. I wish I could stay for longer and play some golf. But yeah, it’s a beautiful place of the world — the mountains and everything that comes with it. It’s stunning, actually. And yeah, the community out there were really good to me, so I’m excited to go back and see some people. That’ll be fun.”