Match Forecast: OL Reign Take on Chicago Red Stars on the Road
OL Reign and the Chicago Red Stars are set to meet for the first time in 2022 as the Reign hit the road after playing three consecutive games at Lumen Field. The Reign will be looking to continue their shutout streak and find their third win of the season.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 12:00 p.m. PT on Saturday, June 4 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be available on Twitch
2022 REGULAR SEASON RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-L-D): OL Reign: 2-1-3 (9 points, 4th place), Chicago Red Stars 2-1-2 (8 points, 6th place)
Key Points Ahead of the Match:
1. LAST MEETING – OL Reign and the Chicago Red Stars are set to meet for the first time in 2022. The last meeting between the two sides was in October 2021, at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington. The visitors opened the scoring in the 14th minute of match when Mallory Pugh took a shot from the top of the 18-yard box. The ball took a deflection and found the back of the net. However, Jess Fishlock notched a brace before the first half ended to send the Reign into the break up 2-1, combining with Sofia Huerta both times.
At the start of the second half, OL Reign found one more goal, this time from the foot of Rose Lavelle. The goal was Lavelle's first with the Reign. Despite OL Reign having 60.9% of possession in the second half, Chicago found a second goal in the 69th minute, when Tatum Milazzo finished a rebounded ball from the top of the 18-yard box but were not able to equalize. With the 3-2 win over the Red Stars, OL Reign clinched their spot in the 2021 NWSL playoffs in front of a home crowd.
2. SCOUTING CHICAGO – The Red Stars played a midweek match up against the Washington Spirit and earned a 1-1 draw. Chicago had the momentum early on with Ella Stevens scoring in the 10th minute but were ultimately unable to hold onto the lead. It took 86 minutes before Sam Staab found the equalizer for Washington. Ella Stevens' goal marked the third time this season that the Red Stars have scored in the first 10 minutes of a league match after doing so just twice last season.
3. FOCUSED – OL Reign most recently took on San Diego Wave FC at Lumen Field in Seattle and came away with all three points. The one goal game was decided by Rose Lavelle's diving header goal on a set-piece served into the box by Sofia Huerta. The Reign also picked up another shutout on the season, bringing their streak to four. Should the team earn a shutout against Chicago, they will tie the NWSL record of five. Sofia Huerta is a player to watch, as she served the game winning assist in OL Reign's two back-to-back 1-0 wins last week.
“I think coming off that last week where we really focused on ourselves and what makes us good and finishing our chances is, really, the big thing. Again, I think we do have confidence coming off that week and we finally are coming together and putting everything together, which I feel like in the beginning of the season, and don't get me wrong, it's a long season, but the first couple games, I think there was a little bit of some question marks; what's our identity? What are we trying to do here? So, just staying focused on that is definitely our game plan going to Chicago," said OL Reign defender Sofia Huerta.
4. PREPARED– Against Chicago, OL Reign will need to exploit the weaknesses of the Red Stars in addition to keeping their composure and continuing to find the back of the net as they have the last couple of games.
“I think for us, like Sofia touched on earlier, we always prepare for the opponent, but we have to make sure that we prepare highlighting the strengths that we need to expose on them, so that's a big thing for us. We've, obviously, played multiple teams this year that have played with a back three, back five. So, I think we're used to playing against that, having played Portland quite a lot and Kansas came up and played that way, so I think we're prepared for what that could look like and why we can hurt an opponent when they play with that formation," said OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey.
MultiCare Availability Report:
OUT
Jess Fishlock (left leg)
Megan Rapinoe (back)
QUESTIONABLE
None