Match Forecast: OL Reign Ready to Take on Kansas City
OL Reign and the Kansas City Current are set to meet for the first time in 2022, this evening at Lumen Field. In the second of three home games in one week for the Reign, both teams will be looking to pick up their first win of the regular season.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. PT on Wednesday, May 25 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be available on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Twitch internationally
2022 REGULAR SEASON RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-L-D): OL Reign: 0-1-3 (3 points, 9th place), Kansas City Current 0-3-1 (1 point, 11th place)
Key Points Ahead of the Match:
1. LAST MEETING – OL Reign and the Kansas City Current have not yet met in 2022. Their most recent meeting was back in October 2021 in OL Reign's final regular season match before their semifinal playoff game. The match was controlled by OL Reign, who came out on top by a score of 3-0.
The breakthrough goal came for OL Reign in the 35th minute of the match. Sofia Huerta drove up the flank to beat the Kansas City defense and played a curled ball into the back post. A Kansas City defender got the last touch on the ball, directing into the back of the net. At the start of the second half, OL Reign wasted no time in getting the goal scoring started. In the 48th minute, Megan Rapinoe served a corner kick into the box. Rose Lavelle was on the end of it, taking a touch to redirect the ball to the back post, where Eugénie Le Sommer was there to tap the ball into the back of the net. In the 64th minute of the match, OL Reign found a third goal thanks to a beautiful combination play. Dzsenifer Marozsán played a perfect ball through to Rapinoe, who put in a solid cross to the back post. Le Sommer was there to head the ball into the back of the net, earning her third brace of the season.
Kansas City has one all time win against OL Reign. The 1-0 win was KC's first ever win.
2. SCOUTING KANSAS CITY – Kansas City most recently played Angel City FC and lost 1-0, making the team’s record through the regular season, zero wins, three losses and one draw. Goalkeeper AD Franch was huge for the team, making several crucial saves to keep KC in the game. The game went scoreless until the 70th minute, when an own goal put Angel City in front 1-0. The match was the Current’s second of three consecutive matches on the road and their availability report featured several players and their head coach out due to COVID protocol.
“It’s a new team for us this season. They are probably the most unpredictable team we have faced, in regards to scouting them,” said OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey.
3. NEW FOE – Through the 2022 Challenge Cup and regular season, the Reign have played several teams more than once already, so it will be refreshing for the team to play a new opponent.
“We’ve kept the focus on us, to make sure we do the things we need to do well, so that we can get a result that matches the performance that we put in the previous game,” said Harvey.
OL Reign midfielder Nikki Stanton added, “I think we are just really excited to play a new team because we we’ve been having a lot of repeats. Coming off a strong performance last week, we’re excited to get some more chances and score some goals.”
4. FINAL TOUCH – In recent matches, the team has been playing high quality soccer and creating great chances. A key in this match will be finding the finishing touch to bury the ball in the back of the net.
“We’re performing well, we’re just not punishing the opponent in the area of the game that matters the most, which is putting the ball in the back of the net,” said Harvey. “But we are creating more chances right now than any of my teams have ever created since I have coached in this league. Now we just have to turn that into goals and I believe we can do that.”
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