What’s going on with the OL Reign’s starting goalkeepers? It’s a complicated situation
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Fans of the OL Reign may be noticing that the club’s seemingly irreplaceable starter at one point, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, has taken a backseat to Claudia Dickey currently, with the University of North Carolina product taking the clubs past two regular season starts. If these had been UKG Challenge Cup matches, less attention of that kind would be paid to the situation, but now the past two league matches have seen Dickey take the starts for the club as they chase a top spot in the NWSL playoff hunt while Tullis-Joyce rides the bench. It’s a difficult situation for many, as Phallon has captured the hearts of Reign fans for her shot stopping play and aquatic intelligence off the pitch, so it’ll be interesting to get to the real bottom of what is really taking place.
OL Reign goalkeeper Laurel Ivory got the start in the clubs September 6th, 2023 UKG Challenge Cup semifinal loss to Racing Louisville FC (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
What Harvey had to say
At first when asked about the role that Dickey plays in this Reign goalkeeper trio, head coach Laura Harvey didn’t say too much about pecking order or where the different goalkeepers sit in terms of the depth chart and things of that nature. In her answer, though, you can note that Harvey and the staff like that the club can play the ball back to Dickey and feel comfortable with how her ability to use her feet, which is what we referenced earlier in terms of what might be preferred over Phallon. But it’s hard to believe that her distribution is the sole reason that the club has been playing Dickey over Tullis-Joyce.
“I think obviously, last week was disappointing for her. She took responsibility for the result, which I think is hard, but I think what Claudia gives us is she’s super calm at the back, we can play back to her and calm things down a little bit. I’m really happy for her, in the big moment when she needed to step up today, she did. We’ve seen that from her all year and challenge cup, you know, and I think last week was just super unlucky.”
OL Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey’s 2023 NWSL season so far through photos (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Then, at the very end of the press conference after the win over Orlando, Jacob Cristobal from Ride of the Valkyries asked very bluntly if Dickey had surpassed Tullis-Joyce on the depth chart, as fans and the press core alike were very curious about this whole situation. Harvey took a moment to think about her answer to this question, which is certainly something to note when we’re looking at the overall situation. Harvey went on to give praise to the entirety of this Reign goalkeeper group, as it’s the deepest that the club has likely ever been at the position but wouldn’t make a definitive statement about the depth chart at the goalkeeper spot. Take a look at the full quote from Laura and make your own judgements and speculations about it.
“I’m not sure I’m ready to say that. I think I’ve said all year that I think all three are exceptional, and they are. I knew making that change going into last week’s game was going to be challenging for them, all three, in different ways. Claudia getting the start was big, Phallon not was hard, and Laurel not was hard right... Credit to all three of them. They’ve all been super professional, and I’ve been honest with all three of them that I’m not in a position to say that this person is absolutely number one right now. But I think we’re in a position where that gap is closed, and Claudia we feel right now is in a position to take that mantle on.”
OL Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce during the 2023 NWSL season, through pictures (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Where’s Phallon?
As far as we can tell, goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce is fully healthy and is still with the club. She’s been seen in training with the Reign down at Starfire and was also visible with the club in pregame workouts ahead of the win over the Orlando Pride on September 3rd. So, what’s the deal with the seemingly all-world shot stopper not sitting as the DeFacto starter for the Professional women’s soccer team in the city of Seattle? It may sit with Tullis-Joyce's distribution shortcomings at this point in her career, as while she is as good a shot stopper as they come, her ability to distribute the ball falls behind Claudia Dickey in that regard. Even so, it’s an odd decision to go and take the player who seemed to be the very future of the goalkeeper position for the club and swap her out for the backup at the position.
This whole situation had another fold added to it when it appeared that there may be some potential substance to a rumor that Manchester United have interest in Tullis-Joyce. First and foremost, any sort of event where Manchester United would get Phallon requires them to buy out the remainder of her current contract with the Reign, which runs through the 2024 season. The current report is that a transfer fee is being negotiated between the Reign and United, but there is no current agreement yet with the England transfer window approaching in a little over a week (September 14th). There is “some” positive if a transfer takes place, as the Reign could keep her NWSL playing rights in exchange for the NWSL itself keeping that fee that she is sold for, or the Reign could relinquish those said rights and keep 85% of that fee as it becomes allocation money and that other 15% going to the NWSL.
Once the OL Reign goalkeeper of the future, are we seeing the end of Phallon Tullis-Joyce’s tenure with the club? (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Tough time in the season to make a change
Given a couple factors at this point in the season, from how many matches Phallon has started, familiarity, the uncertainty of the current NWSL table, plus just how late it is into the season itself, it seems like a difficult situation to put the goalkeepers and the club into. Familiarity with a goalkeeper with its backline can be incredibly important, but considering the sort of quality that the Reign have with their keeper group of three with Tullis-Joyce, Dickey, and Laurel Ivory, the club has been able to operate seamlessly with any of those three in the goal to start or if they needed one to come in at a certain point in time. Everything being said, it is certainly a difficult thing for the fans to stomach considering how Tullis-Joyce has become such a fan favorite, but this whole roller coaster of a situation seems to show the business aspect of professional sports and it will be increasingly intriguing to see what plays out. Maybe there isn’t any weight to the rumors about Manchester United, and Phallon returns to form as the Reign make their playoff push. We’ll keep our eyes on the situation, as we hope to see our Marine Biologist friend stay in Reign colors.
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Check out our previous OL Reign articles here
Check out previous articles with photos by Liz Wolter here, her portfolio here, and note that the thumbnail is by her as well
Check out previous articles with photos by Liv Lyons here, and her portfolio here
Check out previous articles with photos by Rio Giancarlo here, and his portfolio here
Check out previous articles written by Charles Hamaker here