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After the drama of Wednesday night's Spirit vs. Reign game, tonight's game seems calm even though there's an NWSL Shield at stake for the Washington Spirit while Seattle Reign FC face elimination from playoff contention. We talked to Sounder at Heart to preview tonight's game. We also answered their questions heading into the game.
The Spirit will clinch the NWSL Shield, the award for the team with the best regular-season record, with a win tonight and could win the Shield even with a draw or loss to the Reign. If the Portland Thorns fall to Western New York tonight, the Spirit will clinch the Shield regardless of tonight's result at Seattle. If both the Spirit and Thorns end up with draws tonight, that would also do the job.
For the Reign, even a win might not spare the team from elimination. The two-time NWSL Shield winners need a win to stay in contention, but if Western New York gets a point out of its match against Portland and the Chicago Red Stars win or tie tonight, the Reign will be eliminated regardless of tonight's outcome.
Location: Memorial Stadium (Seattle, Washington)
Kick-off time: 10:00pm Eastern
Available TV: None
Available streaming: NWSL Soccer, free and non geo-blocked
Treat this as the gamethread for tonight's match.