History Repeating: OL Reign Set to Take on a Familiar Foe

Over the weekend, the Washington Spirit and North Carolina Courage battled in the first round of the 2021 NWSL Playoffs to determine who would move onto the semifinal match against OL Reign on Sunday, November 14 at Cheney Stadium. OL Reign placed second in the NWSL regular season standings, so the team earned a first round bye.

The Washington Spirit vs. North Carolina match went scoreless in the first 90 minutes and was forced to go to extra time. 2021 NWSL Golden Boot winner, Ashley Hatch was the difference maker in the match. She scored the game winning goal in the 113th minute to send Washington to the Semifinal to take on OL Reign.

The match on the 14th is the first playoff game that OL Reign are hosting since 2015, when they beat Washington to move onto the championship game. OL Reign and the Washington Spirit have a history of meeting in the NWSL playoffs, more specifically the semifinals. The Reign are one of three teams to have beaten a specific opponent in multiple NWSL postseason games, with their victories over the Spirit in the 2014 semifinal and 2015 semifinal. They will be looking to continue that streak against the Spirit in the 2021 semifinal on Sunday.

2014 Semifinal

The Reign and Spirit first met in the playoffs in the 2014 NWSL semifinal match. Even with the home field advantage at Memorial Stadium in Seattle, the Reign were not the dominant team for the first 70 minutes of the semifinal match.

The game was deadlocked at zeroes until Washington got on the board in the 65th minute of the match. Diana Matheson cut back a pass from the end line to midfielder Veronica Perez, who had subbed in just a few minutes earlier. Perez took one touch before burying a shot past Reign goalkeeper Hope Solo to give the Spirit a 1-0 lead.

With less than half an hour left to play, it was looking like the Spirit would advance to the Final, but then the momentum shifted in favor of the Reign at the 70-minute mark. It all started with forward Sydney Leroux creating a scoring opportunity inside the box, forcing Spirit defender Toni Pressley to concede a penalty kick for a handball in the box.

Kim Little, winner of the NWSL Golden Boot that season, stepped up to the spot to take the kick. She confidently buried the ball into the back of the net, but the whistle sounded for a retake, as a player stepped into the box before the kick was taken. Though this gave Washington another chance to maintain their lead, Little was poised from 12-yards out and again sent the shot past Harris in goal to tie the game 1-1.

In the 78th minute, things took a turn for the worse for the Reign. This time, it was the home team called for a handball in the box, giving the Spirit an opportunity to retake the lead. Diana Matheson stepped up to take the penalty, but Solo game up huge and saved the shot. After scoring the equalizer and saving a penalty kick, the Reign were energized and took firm control of the match.

The game winning goal was scored in the 82nd minute of the match by none other than Megan Rapinoe. Rapinoe had been dangerous all match long but had not yet found the back of the net. After dispossessing a Washington defender, Rapinoe dribbled into the box and hit a quality shot past Harris in the net to put the Reign up 2-1.

The Reign held onto the lead through the final minutes of the match, securing their place in the NWSL Championship for the first time.

2015 Semifinal

The teams met for a second time the following year, in the 2015 NWSL semifinal match, where the Reign won 3-0. Despite a first half packed with action and goal scoring opportunities for both sides, the teams went into the halftime tied 0-0, much like the previous year.

Beverly Yanez came into the match for the Reign in 70th minute and immediately made a huge impact on the game. In the 71st minute, Rapinoe set up Yanez for a goal with a cross into the center of the six-yard box where Yanez ran onto the ball and poked it into the back of the net to put the Reign up 1-0.

In the 75th minute, the Reign doubled their lead. This time, Rapinoe scored a goal of her own. She got the ball from Little and found space down the left side and took a beautifully placed shot into the top of the goal to beat the goalkeeper and earn the second goal of the match.

The Reign were not content to stop there, though. Mariah Bullock subbed onto the field for Rapinoe in the 88th minute of the match and found the Reign’s third goal just one minute later.  She chested down the ball after a corner and smashed a shot past Harris to put the Reign up 3-0.

At the final whistle, the Reign claimed the victory for the second year in a row and remain undefeated against the Spirit in the NWSL semifinals to move onto the Championship match for the second year in a row.

Quick Facts

• Both semifinal meetings between the Reign and Spirit went scoreless in the first half

• Both games featured goals from players that subbed on after the 60th minute – Veronica Perez subbed in for Washington in the 61st minute in the 2014 match and scored in the 65th, Beverly Yanez subbed in for the Reign in the 70th minute in the 2015 match and scored in the 71st minute, Mariah Bullock subbed in for the Reign in the 88th minute of the match in 2015 and scored in the 89th minute

• The Reign hosted both the 2014 and 2015 semifinal match. The semifinal match on Sunday will be the first playoff match the Reign are hosting since the 2015 semifinal against Washington

• The Reign are one of three teams to beat a specific opponent in multiple NWSL postseason games, along with the Courage (3 wins over Chicago) and FC Kansas City (2 wins over the Reign).

• The semifinal matches between the Reign and Spirit have featured the Golden Boot winner of that season each year – Kim Little in 2014, Crystal Dunn in 2015 and now Ashley Hatch in 2021