Match Forecast: OL Reign Prepared for Rematch with San Diego

OL Reign and San Diego Wave FC are set to meet for the second time in the 2022 regular season. The teams met previously on May 29 and prior to that, twice in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup. The Reign are undefeated against San Diego.

WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 2:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, June 12 at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California     

WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be available on Paramount+ in the United States and Twitch internationally.

2022 REGULAR SEASON RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-L-D): OL Reign: 2-2-3 (9 points, 6th place), San Diego Wave FC  4-2-2 (14 points, 1st place)

Key Points Ahead of the Match:

1. LAST MEETING – OL Reign and San Diego Wave FC most recently met in a regular season match on May 29 at Lumen Field. The Reign came away with a 1-0 win to remain undefeated against the Wave. OL Reign controlled the game throughout but did not find the game-winning goal until the 75th minute. Defender Sofia Huerta swung the ball into the box off a set piece, perfectly placed for Rose Lavelle to score a diving header to put the Reign in front. OL Reign continue to press through the final whistle to earn the three points and a shutout against the first-place team in the league.

2. SCOUTING SAN DIEGO – San Diego played against the Portland Thorns on Wednesday and overcame a two-goal deficit to take a point away from the match. The 2-2 draw featured a brace from midfielder Taylor Kornieck. Her first goal came in the 81st minute off a corner kick that was bouncing around in the box. Kornieck got the ball to her feet and blasted a shot into the back of the net. Her second goal was scored just minutes later, in the 88th minute, when defender Christen Westphal served a cross into the box and found Kornieck’s head. With that point, the Wave remain in first place in the NWSL standings.

OL Reign haven't allowed a goal in the final 15 minutes of a match this season, while the Wave have scored six goals in the final 15 minutes of their eight games played - their highest total of goals within each 15-minute increment of a match.

3. CONTROL THE GAME – “We've played each other now three times and this will be our fourth time playing each other this season. So, I think that each time that we've played each other there's been different tactical elements of the game that have been slightly different for both teams,” said OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey. “I think, probably, our most dominant performance against them was the last game, even though the score line when we played them at home was, obviously, we scored three goals in 10 minutes and it was great.”

“I think that we really reduced their opportunities in the previous game, which I think for one of the things that they've set their stall out this year is that they create a lot of chances. I think we've done a good job to date of trying to nullify that. I don't know the stat, but if I was to look it up, I bet we're one of the teams that has reduced them to minimal chances when we played each other, which I think against a team like San Diego, with the threats that they have, that's a really important aspect of the game whilst being a threat yourself. I think that we really found that balance in the last game. I thought our backline and the holding midfielders did an excellent job of nullifying them and our front five and six did an excellent job of being a threat against them. We should've scored more goals in that game,” said Harvey.

4. PERFORMANCE – The Clash of the Coolers series continues to be in favor of the Reign as they remain undefeated all-time against San Diego in three matches played (2-0-1). With a win in San Diego, OL Reign will have won its first away match of the 2022 regular season, which would also be the Wave's first home loss of the 2022 regular season.

This match features a battle between seven of the eleven players named to the NWSL Best XI for May, including four OL Reign four players – defenders Alana Cook and Sofia Huerta, midfielder Rose Lavelle, and goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. San Diego had three players named to the team – defender Naomi Girma, midfielder Taylor Kornieck, and forward Alex Morgan.

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