Match Forecast: OL Reign Set to Battle Washington
OL Reign and the Washington Spirit are set to meet for the third time this month, but the first time at Lumen Field. This budding rivalry match will be the second time the teams meet in the 2022 regular season. The Reign are looking to pick up their first win of the season against a Washington side that previously got the better of them twice.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 3:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, May 22 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be available on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Twitch internationally
2022 REGULAR SEASON RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-L-D): OL Reign: 0-1-2 (2 points, 10th place), Washington Spirit 1-1-1 (4 points, 7th place)
Key Points Ahead of the Match:
1. LAST MEETING – OL Reign and the Washington Spirit have already met twice in 2022. Both matches occurred early this month, just a few days apart. They first met in their regular season opener on May 1, at Audi Field. Washington opened the scoring of the match in the 14th minute, when Ashely Sanchez nailed a shot from the top of the box into the back of the net. In the 53rd minute, Balcer did well to win possession for the Reign and played Watt out wide. Watt got to the end line to play a cross into the box. Kingsbury made the initial save but could not hold onto the ball. Lavelle was already there waiting and tapped the ball into the back of the net to open OL Reign’s scoring in the 2022 season. The Reign couldn't quite hold onto the draw though, as Washington found a game winner in the 66th minute of the match.
Just a few days later, the teams met again, this time in the Challenge Cup semifinal. Though they were the number one seed in the tournament, OL Reign had to play the game in Washington, D.C. rather than hosting. The match was intense and OL Reign looked solid. The team was just missing that finishing touch to put the ball in the back of the net. Regulation ended 0-0 and the match was forced to go to penalty kicks. In a grueling shootout, OL Reign fell 8-9 to Washington
2. SCOUTING WASHINGTON– Three games into the regular season, Washington has a record of one win, one loss and one draw. Most recently, the team took on the Portland Thorns at Providence Park in Portland. In a game that only increased in intensity as it progressed, the teams split the points in a 1-1 draw.
The first goal of the match was not scored until the 57th minute. The Thorns got on the board and took the lead when forward Sophia Smith took on a Washington defender and found enough space to get a shot off and into the back of the net. It didn’t take long for Washington to find an equalizer, though. It was forward Ashley Hatch to level the score with a header in the 63rd minute. Both teams fought to find the game winning goal, but neither side was successful and the heated match ended 1-1.
3. GROWING RIVALRY – OL Reign and the Washington Spirit are not rivals by proximity, but an organic rivalry has grown between the two teams nevertheless. Whether it’s Challenge Cup or regular season, the two sides have a history of meeting in semifinal matches. This budding rivalry has especially heated up through 2021 and 2022.
“It’s no secret that I love to deal with rivalries,” said Harvey. “I will use it to any advantage you can get out of it. I think the biggest thing is that both teams try to play good, exciting styles of play. Both teams have game winners. The games that we play always tend to be close, in score line or just in how the games end up flowing.”
4. SQUAD ROTATION – OL Reign has had a packed schedule through 2022 and this week is no exception. This match against Washington marks the start of three games in one week for the Reign. The team has excellent depth to their roster, as displayed throughout the Challenge Cup, and will lean on the depth this week.
“We have to think about rotating a little bit. These are the times where you want to try and look at that, definitely. Having this last week has been really good for us to get everyone on the same page. Those players who hadn’t played a ton of minutes leading up to this week actually got a 90-minute game under their belt on Wednesday, so that was positive,” said Harvey. “We always try to look to rotate wherever possible, but obviously getting three points in each of those games is the biggest priority.”
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