Reign win 5-2 Over Chicago

OL Reign 5

Chicago Red Stars 2

April 22, 2023

Lumen Field – Seattle, WA

NWSL Regular Season

OL Reign and Chicago Red Stars met Saturday afternoon in Seattle at Lumen Field. 

The Reign were playing their third match in eight days with a midweek away Challenge Cup match in Los Angeles midweek. With squad rotation at the forefront, a successful two nil victory over Angel City with the stoppage time victory over San Diego last weekend, the Reign were riding a defensive goalless week into the match.

Chicago came into the match having found the net four times against Kansas City Current; a good result as they sort out the season ending loss of Mallory Swanson to a knee injury. For the Red Stars, nabbing four goals and three points in that first match after the loss of Swanson potentially bodes well for the resiliency of the side in 2023.

Photos by Lee Pate

The early going in the first half saw both sides poking and prodding for openings, but neither pressing up with numbers or pushing the envelope.  

About a dozen minutes in the hosts kicked up the pressure, Tziarra King, Jordyn Huitema, and Veronica Latsko all began to get and create chances.  In the fifteenth minute the pressure would pay off with Bethany Balcer slotting a right footed shot low after a series of touches in the box and the Reign had an early one nil lead.

Balcer would get her head on another cross a few minutes later to nab her second goa and it was a sudden two goal advantage.

The Red Stars were forced to make an early concussion sub when Cheyna Matthews came off in the 30th minute for Allison Schlegel.  Moments later, the Red Stars would halve the Seattle lead when Arin Wright converted from the top of the penalty area.  VAR review would confirm the goal.

The Reign would continue to press as the half wound down, while Chicago was finding more and more opportunities pushing forward with rookie Penelope Hocking and others stretching the defense.

Jessica Fishlock would score a stoppage time goal to extend the Reign lead back to two goals and the match would go into the interval 3-1 to the home side.

Megan Rapinoe entered the match at the half, having picked up yellow card on the bench in the first half.

Chicago wasted no time grabbing back a goal in the first minute out of the break. Schlegel would get a quick turn in the box on her right foot and stunned the Reign defense right out of the gate to cut the lead to 3-2.

Where the early going of the first half had appeared to be both teams playing fairly cautious, but the early stages of the second half this was a wide open match.

The 73rd minute would find the Reign with a set piece outside the box on the upper corner.  Rapinoe’s shot was deflected by a Chicago defender past Alyssa Naeher bringing the lead back to two at 4-2.

The hosts would strike again moments later as Jessica Fishlock found the net to make it 5-2 with fifteen minutes to play.

The early goals in this match really opened up the play.  Chicago getting a goal back during the first half and right out of the gate in the second contributed to keeping the match wide open. 

The Reign successfully navigated the three match week, grabbing full points from all matches.  

The Red Stars can score, showing they have scoring options despite the loss of Swanson to injury.  However, they find themselves with only three points looking up after four matches.

BOX

Scoring

RGN: Balcer – 15’, 20’, Fishlock – 45+5’, 76’, Rapinoe – 73’

CHI: Wright – 32’, Schlegel – 46’

Discipline

RGN: Rapinoe (Caution – 21’)

CHI: Bike (Caution – 85’), Milazzo (Caution – 90+2’)

Lineups

RGN: GK Tullis-Joyce, D Huerta (Canales 89’), D Cook, D Hiatt, D Barnes ©, M Sonnett, M Fishlock, F Balcer (Bennett 78’), F Latsko (Stanton 67’), F Huitema (Brown 89’), F King (Rapinoe 46’)

Unused substitutes: GK Dickey, M Athens, D Malonson, D Holmes

Total Shots: 15 (Fishlock – 4)

Shots on Goal: 5 (Balcer, Fishlock – 2)

Fouls: 10 (Four tied with– 2)

Offsides: 1

Corner Kicks: 2

Saves: 3 (Tullis-Joyce – 3)

CHI: GK Naeher, D Kreuger, D Davison, D Milazzo, M Rocarro, M Nagasato (Bianchi 82’), M St. Georges (Bike 82’), M Wright (Aguilera 83’), F Stevens (Cook 60’), F Hocking, F Matthews (Schlegel 30’)

Unused substitutes: GK Boyd, F Griffith, M Feller, M Fisher

Total Shots: 10 (Hocking, Wright – 2)

Shots on Goal: 5 (Five tied with – 1)

Fouls: 8 (Hocking – 2)

Offsides: 0

Corner Kicks: 4

Saves: 0

Referee: JC Griggs

Assistant Referee 1: Melissa Beck

Assistant Referee 2: Christian Clerc

4th Official: Adorae Monroy

Var: Daniel Radford

Avar: Emma Richards

Stoppage time goal gives OL Reign 1-0 win over San Diego Wave

[JL is still having technical issues with WordPress, so I’m posting his copy for him. – VT]

OL Reign 1
San Diego Wave FC 0
April 15, 2023
Lumen Field – Seattle, WA
NWSL Regular Season

The OL Reign hosted the San Diego Wave FC in Seattle at Lumen Field on Staurday night. Match day three of the NWSL Regular season was the home opener for the Reign coming off the recent international break.

Both sides went into the break on a winning note, with the Reign bouncing back from an opening loss and San Diego taking the full six points from the opening two matches while averaging three goals per match.

The Seattle side came into the match with a new distraction. Earlier in the week it became known that the OL Groupe was actively in a process to sell the club. Details are slim at this stage, but it appears that changes are again on the horizon for a club in its eleventh season, third brand identity, and fourth stadium home.

Additionally, with the next international window being when players are released for World Cup duty, NWSL sides now have a couple months and a dozen or more league and Challenge Cup matches wihtout interuption.

In an odd scheduling quirk, despite having played both league and Challenge Cup matches last season, the two sides had not faced each other in almost a year. The Wave are no longer the expansion side trying to get off to a good start and Seattle is playing its first home match coming off a NWSL Shield winning season.

The match began with a rapid pace of play. OL Reign pressed hard in the first minutes, Emily Sonnett getting forward in the first minute and the home side keeping San Diego mostly in their own defensive third a good chunk of the first half.The Reign created a number of good early opportunities, but were unable to break through the Wave defense to get the early goal. As the first half moved along, the Wave began to find their spots, getting Alex Morgan forward with some through balls and putting pressure on the Reign in transition.San Diego’s defense managed to hold their shape against the quick combination play and high press Seattle likes to play. Moving into the later stages of the first half the Wave got forward creating dangerous situations, but neither side was breaking through on the scoreboard. The Wave were rewarded with their pressure with their first corners, pushing the Reign back into their own defensive third for the first lengthy stretches.The match would go into the interval level and goalless.

Where the home Reign had pushed forward in the first minute on the kickoff, the Wave followed suit pushing forward and getting the Reign on their heels to open the second half.The Wave nearly opened the scoring in those first few mintues, but Phallon Tullis-Joyce was up to the task on back to back shots by Alex Morgan and Amirah Ali. It was clear San Diego had come out of the interval with their foot on the gas.As the middle of the half approached and the match remained scoreless, both sides began to vary their offensive approach. The Wave began to add numbers to their attacks. The Reign began to work the ball more wide, creating more crosses and diagonal runs.

The first group of substitutions came along in the 64th as coaches Laura Harvbey and Casey Stoney began to tinker with frest legs and line up changes.Megan Rapinoe entered the match in the 72nd minute, and her impact was nearly instant. Jess Fishlock fopund Rapinoe on the left flank, a few touches later she launched a shot from the top of the box. Wave keeper Kailen Sheridan was up to the task, snatching the ball out of the air diving to her left. Moments later Sheridan was again tested as Rapinoe and Bethany Balcer nearly connected on a through ball across the goal.

As regulation wound down to ten minutes, San Diego’s excellent counter once again put the Reign defense on their heels. Once again, the goalkeepers were up to the task at each end.

The final minutes and stoppage were end to end with neither side playing for the draw.

The winner did come in the fifth minute of stoppage. Olivia Van der Jagt scored on a shot through traffic that got past Sheridan to her right. Moments later, the 1-0 scoreline would hold.

A terrific end for the Reign, grabbing the full three points. A brutal end for the Wave, that had looked like they would grab a deserved road point.

BOX

Attendance
9,219

Scoring

RGN: Van der Jagt – 90+5’
SD: None

Discipline

RGN: None
SD: Hill (Caution – 90+4’)

Lineups

RGN: GK Tullis-Joyce, D Barnes, D Hiatt, D Cook, D Huerta, D Sonnett (Quinn 79’), M Fishlock, M Van der Jagt, F King (Rapinoe 73’), F Balcer, F Huitema (Bennett 87’)
Unused substitutes: GK Ivory, M Stanton, M Athens, D Brown, F Latsko, D Holmes

Total Shots: 16 (Fishlock – 5)
Shots on Goal: 5 (Rapinoe – 2)
Fouls: 12 (Four tied with– 2)
Offsides: 3
Corner Kicks: 4
Saves: 3

SD: GK Sheridan, D McNabb, D Girma, D Riehl, D Westphal, M Kornieck (Jakobsson 79’), M Colaprico (Briede 64’), F Shaw (Hill 87’), F Doniak, F Morgan, F Ali (Turnbow 64’)
Unused substitutes: M Enge, D Pogarch, D Gyau, GK Brzykcy

Total Shots: 10 (Morgan – 3)
Shots on Goal: 3 (Morgan – 2)
Fouls: 10 (Doniak – 3)
Offsides: 1
Corner Kicks: 3
Saves: 4 (Sheridan – 4)

Referee: Tori Penso
Assistant Referee 1: Brooke Mayo
Assistant Referee 2: Katarzyna Wasiak
4th Official: Corbyn May
Var: Christopher Spivey
Avar: Tyler Wyrostek