Match Forecast: OL Reign Welcomes Home Olympians Against Gotham
OL Reign is set to take on NJ/NY Gotham FC in Tacoma on Saturday evening. This is the Reign’s last game at Cheney Stadium until September 26. It is also the homecoming match for Olympic Gold Medalist Quinn, as well as Bronze Medalists Rose Lavelle and Megan Rapinoe.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. PT on Saturday, August 21 at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, WA
WHERE TO WATCH: Tickets are available here or you can watch on Paramount+.
2021 RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-L-D): OL Reign: 6-7-1 (19 points, seventh place), NY/NY Gotham FC: 5-2-6 (21 points, third place)
Key Points Ahead of the Match:
1. LAST MEETING – The last time that OL Reign and NJ/NY Gotham FC met was June 26, 2021, at Cheney Stadium. OL Reign suffered their largest loss of the season in the 97-degree heat that game, conceding three goals and were shut out by Gotham. OL Reign had 23 shots throughout the game and 49% of possession but could not find the back of the net. Ifeoma Onumonu opened the scoring in the 38th minute for Gotham, when she took on the Reign defense and got a strong left-footed shot past goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi. Gotham found a second goal in the 60th minute, when Margaret Purce finished a ball in the box, served by Nahomi Kawasumi. NJ/NY scored their third and final goal of the game in the 85th minute. When substitute Domi Richardson found the bottom right corner of the goal.
2. SCOUTING GOTHAM FC – NJ/NY Gotham FC are currently in third place in the NWSL standings with 21 points and a 5-2-6 record. Most recently, Gotham played Racing Louisville, the ninth-place team in the league. The teams battled to a 1-1 draw at Red bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
Louisville scored first when an early cross from Ebony Salmon found Nadia Nadim at the far post. Nadim easily tapped the ball into the goal to give Louisville the 1-0 lead in the 13th minute of the match. Louisville went into halftime with the lead, but Gotham found an equalizer in the second half. It came in the 83rd minute when Nahomi Kawasumi found Ifeoma Onumonu at the top of the box. Onumonu displayed her talent with a skillful turn and found the corner of the goal to tie the game 1-1.
This match will be Gotham FC forward Carli Lloyd’s last match in Tacoma, as she announced her retirement on Monday, August 16, 2021.
“Even though we felt that we did some things okay last week, just our overall mentality to the game and how we applied ourselves on all aspects of the game, we wanted to be better at. But again, prior to the Kansas game, we had been doing those things pretty well. We’ve had the conversation this week as a team… The reality is that the better this team does with the quality of players we have, the more a target goes on our back. Everyone’s going to bring their best,” said Head Coach Laura Harvey.
3. OLYMPIAN HOMECOMING – OL Reign sent five players to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. After leaving in June, our very own Olympians will be back in market. Nicole Momiki will not be there, as she is on loan to Linköpings FC through December 31, 2021. The four players that will be there will be honored in a short ceremony before the game. Angelina played for Brazil in her first ever Olympic games. Brazil made it to the quarterfinals. Rose Lavelle and Megan Rapinoe represented the United States and took home the bronze medal. Quinn played in every match for Canada and is returning back to Tacoma with a gold medal. They are also the first openly transgender and nonbinary player to win an Olympic gold medal. All of the players will be eligible to play in match as OL Reign look to secure three points.
4. BOUNCE BACK FROM LAST WEEK – Last week, OL Reign traveled to Kansas to take on Kansas City NWSL and lost 1-0. The team will be looking to improve their performance to be ready for Gotham this weekend. Against KC, the Reign were missing a key element of their game – winning the first and second ball. Winning duels all over the field is essential, but when OL Reign does not have the ball, applying enough pressure to win the ball back immediately or force the other team to make a mistake is a must. Along with that, it is important to work the ball into dangerous areas of the field, rather than the spaces that are not threatening to the other team. There were moments where things connected for OL Reign where the team looked threatening.
“When we did find the opportunities to play the ball into the right area, we looked really dangerous,” said Harvey.
“This league is so unrelenting that if you take your eye off any game, then it will bite you. Every game matters so much because it is such a tight season,” said Harvey.
Midfielder Jess Fishlock added to Harvey’s sentiment. “At the end of the day, with the way that this league is going, you’re just going to have to find a way to win at home and on the road.”
MultiCare Injury Report:
OUT
Ally Watt – Right Knee
Rosie White - Illness
Eugénie Le Sommer – Concussion
QUESTIONABLE
Dzsenifer Marozsán - Right Leg