Match Forecast: OL Reign Continue Road Stretch in Louisville
OL Reign and Racing Louisville are set to meet for the first time since May, at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville tonight. OL Reign pulled off an incredible comeback win against Angel City FC on Saturday and are prepared to take on Louisville, despite the quick turnaround.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 5:00 p.m. PT on Tuesday, August 2 at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be available on Paramount+ and Twitch internationally.
2022 REGULAR SEASON RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-L-D): OL Reign: 5-3-5 (20 points, 5th place), Racing Louisville FC: 2-6-5 (11 points, 11th place)
Key Points Ahead of the Match:
1. LAST MEETING – OL Reign and Racing Louisville last met on May 8 at Lumen Field. The game ended in a 2-2 draw. Louisville found the back of the net first on a Jess McDonald goal, but forward Tziarra King equalized in the 33rd minute. Just four minutes later, King struck again, completing her brace. She is just one of five players this season to record a pair of goals in the same match. OL Reign went into halftime up 2-1, but in the 60th minute, Louisville found an equalizer of their own off a freekick.
2. SCOUTING RACING LOUISVILLE – Currently, Racing Louisville are in 11th place in the NWSL standings, with 11 points. They most recently fell to the Thorns by a score of 2-1. Sophia Smith opened the scoring early for Portland, putting the team ahead in the seventh minute. Alex Chidiac’s equalized for Louisville at the half-hour mark, but in the second half, Hina Sugita scored in the 74th minute, securing the win for Portland. With this loss, Louisville’s winless streak moved to eight matches.
3. FOCUSED ON US – OL Reign has taken on Louisville already this season, but for the team, it’s less about what Louisville will do and more about focusing on themselves.
“We didn't really talk about it, to be honest,” said OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey about Louisville’s record this season. “I'm being honest, I don't really talk about it because I think we have to focus on us. We have to make it about us. I said this before the LA game. You can get caught up in what another team's going through and then you take away the focus on you and I think that we're a team that when we focus on ourselves and we get what we want to be right, I believe we can beat anybody. So, I think we have to take that mindset into tomorrow's game, too."
4. LOCKED IN – After an exciting 3-2 comeback win on Saturday, the team has been preparing to play again tonight. Though the short turnaround is not ideal, the team is ready for the challenge.
"I think we feel like we should have won that one. So, it'll be good to get a second chance to play them and, hopefully, we can show our quality and take care of business this time,” said OL Reign forward Tziarra King.
“We went over the game against Angel City, we looked at the things that we need to improve on, the things that we're proud of that we want to continue to carry into the next game. So, I think we're over it now. It was great. We enjoyed it and now we refocus ourselves on tomorrow's game and with such a short turnaround, you don't have a choice, you have to have almost like a short-term memory and just keep going.”
"I think something that we really want to focus on is going to away games and making sure that we set the tone, rather than allowing the atmosphere and the environment to take its toll on us. So, I think it's just a matter of us going in, setting the tone early, kind of blocking out all the lights and whistles and things and just really focusing on our game plan and what we need to do to get the job done."
MultiCare Availability Report:
OUT
Bethany Balcer (Illness)
QUESTIONABLE
None
INTERNATIONAL
Angelina (BRA)