Match Forecast: OL Reign Set to Square off with Washington in Challenge Cup Semifinal

OL Reign is set to play in the NWSL Challenge Cup semifinals tonight against the Washington Spirit. The teams, who last met on Sunday, will battle for a place in the NWSL Challenge Cup final. If OL Reign wins, they will host the final at Lumen Field on Saturday, May 7.

WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 5:00 p.m. PT on Wednesday, May 4 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. 

WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be available on CBS Sports Network in the U.S. and Canada and Twitch internationally

2022 CHALLENGE CUP RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-L-D): OL Reign: 4-0-2 (14 points, finished 1st place in the West Division), Washington Spirit 2-0-4  (10 points, finished 2nd place in the East Division)

Key Points Ahead of the Match:

1. LAST MEETING – OL Reign and Washington met just days ago, in their regular season opener on Sunday. The high tempo game ended 2-1 in favor of Washington on their home field. Washington opened the scoring of the match in the 14th minute, when Ashely Sanchez nailed a shot from the top of the box into the back of the net. OL Reign did not find an equalizer until after halftime.

In the 53rd minute, Balcer won possession of the ball for the Reign and played Watt out wide. Watt got to the end line to play a cross into the box. Kingsbury made the initial save but could not hold onto the ball. Lavelle was already there waiting and tapped the ball into the back of the net to open OL Reign’s scoring in the 2022 season. The Spirit were able to break through the Reign once more before the end of the game, in the 66th minute. Trinity Rodman played a lofted cross into the box and Ashley Hatch got on the end, using her head to direct the ball into the net.

All time, the teams have met 26 times, including three semifinal matches and 23 regular season matches. OL Reign has won 13 of those matches, including one Washington forfeit and lost eight of the matches. There have been five draws between the teams.

2. SCOUTING WASHINGTON – Washington’s most recent match was a regular season game against OL Reign on Sunday. However, their last Challenge Cup match was against the North Carolina Courage. The teams battled to a 2-2 draw, bringing Washington’s Challenge Cup record to two wins, four draws and zero losses.

Washington scored first in the 15th minute, when Ashley Hatch stole a ball out front and tucked a shot just outside the reach of Courage goalkeeper and into the bottom left corner of the goal. However, before the first half was over, North Carolina was awarded a penalty kick and Debinha made no mistakes with the opportunity to level the score. In the second half, North Carolina scored first. Malia Berkely intercepted a ball in Washington’s defensive half and nailed a shot into the top left corner of the goal from outside the box to put North Carolina up 2-1.  Later, Trinity Rodman was fouled in the box and the third penalty kick of the match was called. Ashley Hatch stepped up to the spot and found the back of the net, securing the 2-2 draw for Washington.

3. BACK-TO-BACK GAMES – OL Reign and Washington are in a unique situation, as the teams met just a few days ago in a regular season match up. As both teams likely strategized on Sunday with today’s match in mind, the game could look different.

“The first part of the game will be a little bit of a chess match, to see how the other team solves the problems that we posed each other in the last game,” said OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey.

Additionally, OL Reign has every player available for selection tonight, which could impact the lineup they put out. All previously injured players have recovered.

4. HISTORY – OL Reign and the Washington Spirit have a history of meeting in semifinal matches. This marks the fourth meeting between the teams in a semifinal match. Most recently, the teams met in the 2021 NWSL semifinal. OL Reign hosted the semifinal at Cheney Stadium, but ultimately fell to Washington 2-1.

The teams also met in the 2014 and 2015 NWSL semifinals and OL Reign came away with the win in both of those matches. In 2015, the Reign secured a dominate 3-0 win, featuring goals from Beverly Yanez, Megan Rapinoe and Mariah Bullock. In 2014, the game was closer. The Reign came back from a 1-0 deficit thanks to an equalizer form Kim Little and a game winning goal scored in the 82nd minute of the match by none other than Megan Rapinoe.

MultiCare Injury Report:

OUT

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QUESTIONABLE

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