Impact Subs Make the Difference in Draw with Spirit

Reign FC earned a hard-fought point on the road against the Washington Spirit on Saturday, September 14, thanks in no small part to the contributions of their three substitutes in the second half. Forward Megan Rapinoe, midfielder Morgan Andrews and forward Ifeoma Onumonu all made major contributions to help the club secure an important point as the playoff race tightens.

“This season, we’ve had to make a lot of changes due to injuries in games, sometimes even using more than one sub for that reason,” Reign FC head coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “To have the chance to make all three changes from a tactical standpoint and to be able to bring on such quality players makes my job as a coach a lot easier.”

Rapinoe was Andonovski’s first sub, coming on at the start of the second half to replace midfielder Rosie White. The move pushed forward Bethany Balcer, who had been playing on the wing, to White’s slot in the attacking midfield while Rapinoe patrolled the left wing. The forward took 39 touches and completed 14 of her 21 passes, along with three shots on goal in her second appearance of the season with the club.

“It was good to get Megan some more minutes,” Andonovski said. “We’re working carefully to make sure we don’t try to have her go too many minutes as she works her way back to full health, but she put in a great half and really opened some things up for us in the wide spaces, as well as hit some great free kicks too.”

Andrews came next, replacing midfielder Allie Long in the 61st minute to make her ninth appearance of the season. The midfielder made three recoveries and two clearances, helping plug up the middle of the field in the final half hour.

“We’re coming into a busy week, so to be able to get Morgan in and have her make those defensive plays was great,” Andonovski said. “It gave us a chance to get Allie a little more rest, but we also know that Morgan is always going to give us a great effort in helping us defend the way that we want to.”

Onumonu was Andonovski’s final change, replacing Darian Jenkins in the 70th minute. Onumonu would provide the biggest impact for Reign FC, scoring the equalizing goal in the 2-2 draw in the second minute of stoppage time after sprinting on to a through ball from Jodie Taylor.

The forward finished with 14 touches in 20 minutes of play, scoring with her lone shot of the contest and helping stretch Washington’s back line with her speed in the late minutes.

“What a finish for (Onumonu),” Andonovski said. “She’s played really well for us and that makes it easy to have the confidence to send her in when we need a strong presence up top. It was a great ball in by Jodie, but Ifeoma’s finish earned us that point, there’s no doubt.”

The point pulls Reign FC level on points with Utah Royals FC, who the club will host after a short turnaround on Wednesday, September 18 at 7:00 p.m. PT.

“The biggest thing when you start having so many matches close together is to try and manage minutes,” Andonovski said. “I think the great play we got out of our bench at Washington let us do that. Hopefully, it puts us in a good position to be successful against Utah.”