Match Recap: OL Reign Defeat Portland in Front of 27,278 Fans
OL Reign (8-7-1) defeated their biggest rival, the Portland Thorns (10-4-2) 2-1 Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, in a first of its kind doubleheader event. The three points put OL Reign in third place in the NWSL standings.
OL Reign took the early lead when seasoned veterans of the rivalry, Megan Rapinoe and Jess Fishlock, connected. Fishlock played a through ball to Rapinoe, who took a few touches until she reached the top of the 18-yard box and found the back of the net with a low and hard shot in the 16th minute.
The Reign gained some momentum, backed by the 27,278 fans at Lumen Field. Though the team only had 37.5% of possession during the first half, they made the most of the that possession and kept control of the all-important 18-yard boxes on either side of the field, something that head coach Laura Harvey called out before the match.
OL Reign found the back of the net a second time, when they earned a penalty kick on a Portland handball. Of course, Rapinoe stepped up to the spot and coolly found the same lower corner as her first goal, to put OL Reign up 2-0 against their Cascadia rivalry.
The Portland Thorns found one goal back in the first half, in the 45+4’ when Angela Salem collected a ball that was only half cleared to the top of the Reign’s 18-yard box and volleyed it into the back of the net. The teams went into locker room 2-1 at half time.
The second half was equally as exciting, with the rivalry passion fueling both teams. Though, OL Reign took nine shots, and the Thorns took 10, neither team found the back of the net. OL Reign goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi made an incredibly important save in the 80th minute of the match on a hard shot from Morgan Weaver to preserve OL Reign’s lead. After 90 minutes of hard work, OL Reign came away with a huge win in front of a record-breaking crowd.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
With this win, OL Reign have moved into 3rd place in the NWSL standings
OL Reign are still undefeated against the Portland Thorns this season, with a 2-0-0 record
Megan Rapinoe earned her second brace of the season with her two goals this match
This is Rapinoe’s first back-to-back NWSL braces since 2017
The Reign is now 13-12-4 in all competitions against the Portland Thorns