FC Kansas City, Seattle Reign make NWSL final after shutout wins

It didn’t take Kansas City long. It took Seattle a while. But both teams eventually got there, booking a ticket to the 2015 NWSL final. Both teams were on the right end of a 3-0 shutout, both bringing the offense -- all of it -- all at once, with each taking less than 20 minutes to take the thing from 0-0 to out of reach.

For Kansas City it was an early lead that quickly grew to insurmountable, leaving Chicago dazed and down by three before the 30-minute mark, and left them to try to chip away in vain against the league’s best defense. On the other side of the country, the story was similar, though the goals came late instead of early. The Reign, too, tallied three, with the league’s best offense suddenly putting the game out of reach for a Washington team that went from headed to extra time to just plain out of time in 18 minutes.

The Reign and FC Kansas City head to Portland next, to face off in the final at Providence Park on October 1. They’re not quite the top two teams on the table, but this is the season’s highest scoring team taking on this year’s stingiest defense, and also a rematch of last year’s final, which Kansas City won. So, either the first team to win two in a row or the first to win both the regular season and championship. October should not be so far away.

As a person whose job it is to score goals for the USWNT, Amy Rodriguez is confusing. As a person whose job it is to score goals for her club team, Amy Rodriguez has some kind of magical powers.

Rodriguez scored both of FC Kansas City’s goals in last season’s championship win over Seattle. She scored an extra time winner in the first round in 2010 and a late-game equalizer in the semifinal in 2011 during her days with the Philadelphia Independence in WPS. She probably scored the game winner for her U-8 team to get the pizza party when she was only six. And on Sunday night in Chicago, Rodriguez did it again, scoring two of FCKC’s three goals as the Blues went on to beat the Spirit 3-0.

Rodriguez scored her first, the eventual game-winner, in the 12th minute, picking up a poorly played ball from Red Stars keeper Michele Dalton and turning it into a quick 1-0 lead for the visitors. Erika Tymrak doubled the Blues’ lead nine minutes later off a looping cross from Heather O’Reilly, and Rodriguez netted her second and FCKC’s third just four minutes after that.

Chicago meanwhile, had a few quality chances, but despite outshooting Kansas City 18-11 and forcing Nicole Barnhart into nine saves, the Red Stars could never quite break through.

Sunday marked the final official game of Canadian international and Red Stars goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc’s club career, though LeBlanc didn’t play, as Rory Dames went with Dalton. The Lauren Holiday farewell tour, meanwhile, will continue on to Portland.

Someone on the Reign apparently saw that Kansas City scored three goals in 13 minutes and felt left out. And while the Reign couldn’t quite make it happen that quickly, Seattle did manage to shut out the Spirit with three very lovely goals of their own. They just needed 18 minutes to do it.

After a little back and forth and a lot of Ashlyn Harris being very busy, it was starting to feel like maybe we’d see extra time. Where the afternoon game was over before the first half was, the nightcap was proving to be a little closer. But after 70 scoreless minutes, Seattle turned on that trademark Reign offense and quickly put the game out of reach for Washington.

Scores