Match Recap: OL Reign Claims First Victory of the Season Over Gotham FC
OL Reign (1-1-0, 3 points, 5th place) picked up their first victory of the 2023 NWSL season tonight over NJ/NY Gotham FC (1-1-0, 3 points, 6th place). After an hour and a half weather delay pushed kickoff to 6:13 p.m. PT, the Reign controlled the match, truly earning their first victory of the season.
From the first whistle, OL Reign looked solid, creating opportunities almost immediately. Pressing Gotham FC into their own box, the Reign’s first shot came in the seventh minute, though it was blocked before it could truly be threatening.
OL Reign found great success in the midfield, intercepting many passes from Gotham, shutting down plays before they could truly begin. The opponents made clear attempts to shut OL Reign down by keeping the team compact, but the Reign showed great determination and patience, passing the ball around and holding possession long enough to control the match.
In the 12th minute of the match, midfielder Jess Fishlock displayed her skill, nearly finding forward Jordyn Huitema with a through ball past Gotham’s defense but was just shy of connecting. On the other end of the field, Gotham had a few attacking chances, but the Reign defense did enough to keep them off the board.
The Reign held onto possession of the ball, very comfortably passing it around the backline and midfield, making Gotham’s offensive players chase it down. All of this patience paid off for the Reign in the 31st minute of the match.
Defender Sofia Huerta played a ball in to midfielder Rose Lavelle in the middle of the pitch, allowing Lavelle to play a quick through ball to Fishlock just inside the 18-yard box. Fishlock’s veteran skill was on full display as she made no mistakes firing the ball into the right corner of the net to put OL Reign up 1-0. The Reign maintained the 1-0 lead into halftime.
The second half started back and forth, with the ball on both ends of the field. Slowly but surely, the Reign began to take control of the match once again. With offensive threat building, Lavelle registered a shot on target in the 61st minute and then was called on to take a corner kick.
Lavelle lofted the ball into the box, causing chaos as Gotham struggled to clear the ball. Forward Bethany Balcer was in the perfect place at the back post, tapping the ball into the back of the net to double OL Reign’s lead in 62nd minute.
Just two minutes later, Balcer nearly doubled her tally and brought the Reign’s lead to 3-0, but her curling effort was just off frame.
OL Reign displayed their tenacity and grit through the rest of match, defending every Gotham FC attack to keep them off the board at their home field. At the final whistle, the Reign came away with their first win of the season, with two goals and a clean sheet.
Key Facts:
· The win brings the all-time series to 12-7-7 between the Reign and the NJ/NY Gotham FC.
· With tonight’s win, OL Reign has gone 40 regular season games without losing back-to-back, a streak that dates back to June 2021.
· Forward Bethany Balcer scored the second goal of the night for OL Reign in the 62nd minute. Balcer finished the game with one goal and three shots. Balcer has 23 goals all-time in the regular season since she first entered the league in 2019, which is tied for third all-time.
· Midfielder Jess Fishlock scored the opening goal of the season for OL Reign in the 31st minute, assisted by midfielder Rose Lavelle. The last time Fishlock scored the first goal of the season for OL Reign was in 2015, when the Reign went on to win the NWSL Shield. The 36-year-old finished the game with one goal and three shots.
· Fishlock became the first player in the league to record a goal in every NWSL regular season since the league’s inaugural season in 2013. The midfielder now has 39 goals all-time in the regular season.
· Midfielder Rose Lavelle provided the assist to midfielder Jess Fishlock’s opening goal of the season, marking her fifth assist all-time. Lavelle finished the match with one assist, three shots and two chances created.
· Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce started in her 24th consecutive game with OL Reign, earning her first clean sheet of the season. The goalkeeper ended the 2022 season tied for the most clean sheets (nine) in the league.
· Tullis-Joyce’s 10 clean sheets all-time makes her one clean sheet shy of tying the club record set by three former Reign goalkeepers: Haley Kopmeyer, Hope Solo and Lydia Williams – all with 11 shutouts.
· Midfielder Olivia Van der Jagt made her 23rd consecutive regular season appearance. After missing the 2022 season opener, the Kent, WA native has since appeared in every regular season game for the club, dating back to May 8, 2022.
UP NEXT: OL Reign is at home for the first time this year on Saturday, April 15 at 7:00 p.m. PT as they take on San Diego Wave FC.
MATCH SUMMARY
2023 NWSL Regular Season
NJ/NY Gotham FC 0-2 OL Reign
Date/Time: Saturday, April 1, 4:30 p.m. PT (delayed until 6:13 p.m. PT)
Location: Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ
Weather: 57, Storms and rain
Scoring Summary
OL Reign
2
NJ/NY Gotham FC
0
RGN: Fishlock – 31’, Balcer – 62’
NJNY: None
Discipline
RGN: None
NJNY: Long (Caution – 75’), Purce (Caution – 90+4’)
Lineups
RGN: GK Tullis-Joyce, D Barnes, D Hiatt, D Cook, D Huerta (Stanton 90+3), D Sonnett, M Fishlock, M Van der Jagt, M Lavelle (Athens 90+3’), F Balcer (Latsko 80’), F Huitema (Bennett 88’)
Unused substitutes: GK Dickey, M Canales, D Brown, D Holmes, F King
Total Shots: 9 (Three tied with – 3)
Shots on Goal: 5 (Balcer, Lavelle – 2)
Fouls: 9 (Huerta, Sonnett – 2)
Offsides: 3
Corner Kicks: 5
Saves: 0
NJNY: GK Smith, D O'Hara (Zerboni 58’), D Edmonds, D Freeman (Pickett 58’), D Bruninha (Farrelly 70’), M Ryan (Smith 70’), M Long, M Mewis, F Purce, F Gudmundsdóttir (Nighswonger 46’), F Williams
Unused substitutes: GK Haught, D Dorsey, M Sheehan, M Kawasumi
Total Shots: 10 (Mewis – 5)
Shots on Goal: 0
Fouls: 11 (Zerboni – 3)
Offsides: 0
Corner Kicks: 7
Saves: 3 (Smith – 3)
Player of the Match: Jess Fishlock
Referee: Brad Jensen
Assistant Referee 1: Tiffini Turpin
Assistant Referee 2: Seth Barton
4th Official: Marie Durr
VAR: Kevin Broadley
AVAR: Maggie Short