Match Forecast: OL Reign Set to Open Regular Season Against Washington Spirit

OL Reign is set to play its first 2023 regular season match, on the road against the Washington Spirit at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. This is the first regular season match for both teams and the first time the two sides have met since May 2022.

WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 26 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. 

WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be available on FOX 13+ in the Seattle area, Paramount+ in the U.S. and locally at Rough & Tumble Pub

2023 NWSL REGULAR SEASON RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-L-D): OL Reign: 0-0-0, Washington Spirit 0-0-0

Key Points Ahead of the Match:

1. LAST MEETING – Most recently, the teams met in a regular season match on May 22, 2022. The teams battled to a 0-0 draw despite OL Reign being the dominant team throughout the entire match. Captain and defender Lu Barnes reached the 15,000-minute milestone during the match. Read the full recap of that match or watch the highlights here.

Historically, the Reign has faced off against the Spirit in two season openers. The first was in 2018, when the team hosted Washington and claimed a 2-1 victory. The second was in 2022, when the Reign traveled to Washington, D.C. and lost 1-2. 

2. SCOUTING WASHINGTON – Like OL Reign, this is Washington’s first match of the 2023 regular season. The team finished the 2022 season in 11th place but has seen many changes over the offseason.

In addition to retaining 17 players from 2022, the Spirit has added a flurry of new players, including five players from the NWSL Draft, two player who initially joined the team for preseason as non-roster invitees and two players who were playing with teams abroad. Notably, the Spirit signed 15-year-old Chloe Ricketts to a first-team contract through the league’s new Under-18 Entry Mechanism. At the time of her signing, she was the youngest ever player to enter the NWSL. The team also signed midfielder Inès Jaurena from Olympique Lyonnais.

“I feel like the narrative around the Spirit is not accurate,” said OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey. “I feel like everyone is saying that they are making changes that aren't to win now. I don't think that. I think they have made changes to do exactly what they think they need to do to win now. So, I don't quite agree with the narrative that it's this big rotational thing to have a future because I know one thing about (Spirit head coach) Mark (Parsons) - he knows how to win in this league and they have players on the field who can score goals, so I think that that's what we expect.”

3.  HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY – In total, OL Reign and the Washington Spirit have met in 28 matches. The Reign have gotten the better of the Spirit, winning 13 matches, drawing six matches and losing nine matches. The Reign have a positive 12 goals differential in the series, having scored 44 goals and conceded 32. The Reign have earned eight total clean sheet against Washington, including four shutout wins.

The Reign and Spirit have a long history of heated battles between the teams, often meeting in high stakes matches. Notably, the teams have clashed in three NWSL semifinal matches and one NWSL Challenge Cup semifinal match. Between the four matches, the Reign have come away with two wins and two losses.

The 2014 and 2015 semifinal matches saw the Reign advance to the final, with a 2-1 comeback win and decisive 3-0 win in back-to-back years. The teams did not meet in the playoffs again until 2021, when the Reign lost by one goal. The very next season, the teams met in the Challenge Cup semifinal. The intense game featured a strong physical presence from both teams. The game went scoreless in regulation and had to be decided by a penalty kick shootout, which OL Reign eventually lost 8-9.

“We expect a team that's going to be hard to beat because they're always a threat. They have players on the field that have proven that for a while now who can compete and be successful at this level. I think for us, they've been a team that we found it hard to beat. Since I've come back, we haven't beaten them,” said Harvey.

“So, I think that we know that we've maybe performed well in games against them, but we haven't got the result that we want in any of those games, so I think our mentality is that we expect a really tough game out of them, with a coach who knows how to win in this league and we have to go out and get a result tomorrow. I think that's the most important thing to us.”

MultiCare Availability Report:

OUT

Angelina (SEI - knee)

Phoebe McClernon (back)

Megan Rapinoe (calf)

QUESTIONABLE

Quinn (lower upper body)