Match Forecast: OL Reign Takes on San Diego in Midweek Match at 7:00 p.m.
OL Reign is set to take on San Diego Wave FC in a UKG NWSL Challenge Cup match tonight at 7:00 p.m. This midweek match up marks the Reign’s third Challenge Cup match of the year and San Diego’s second. The Reign sits at the top of their group with four points and the Wave sit directly below the Reign, with three points.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. PT on Wednesday, May 31 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California
WHERE TO WATCH: Fans can tune in to Paramount+ to watch the match or stop by Rough & Tumble Pub in Ballard.
2023 UKG NWSL CHALLENGE CUP RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-L-D): OL Reign: 1-0-1 (4 points, 1st place), San Diego Wave FC: 1-0-0 (3 points, 2nd place)
Key Points Ahead of the Match:
1. LAST MEETING – Most recently, the teams met in an NWSL regular season match up at Lumen Field on April 15 in OL Reign’s home opener. The match was deadlocked at 0-0 for the entirety of the first half, though OL Reign managed twice as many shots as the Wave. In the second half, OL Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce made a couple of strong saves to keep San Diego off the board. On offense, the momentum began to shift in the Reign’s favor as time went on. In a dramatic end to the match, OL Reign midfielder Olivia Van der Jagt smashed the ball into the back of the net following a corner in the fifth minute of stoppage time, earning the 1-0 win for the Reign.
Across all competitions, the teams have met a total of five times. In these five meetings, OL Reign is undefeated against the Wave, earning a record of three wins and two draws. The Reign’s three wins have all been earned at Lumen Field, while both draws were earned on the road in San Diego.
2. SCOUTING SAN DIEGO – Most recently, San Diego played against Portland Thorns FC. For most of the match, both teams went scoreless. The Wave found the back of the net first in the 86th minute of the match, thanks to Sofia Jakobsson. However, the Thorns found an equalizer in the 90th minute of the match, forcing San Diego to split the points at home.
The Wave have only played one Challenge Cup match so far and came away with a 1-0 win over the Thorns. This is the first Challenge Cup action for San Diego since April 19. The 1-0 featured a 65th minute own goal from the Thorns. The Wave managed 45% of possession and had six shots with one on target, compared to Portland’s 18 shots and nine on target.
"I think they are built off being pretty pragmatic. I think they have constantly been a team that has not given up a ton of goals, I think they had a little blip of that last month, but outside of that, I think that's been their identity,” said OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey.
“I think that they try and get in behind you pretty often, so that can be difficult to play against. I think that they have a lot of threats within the team, so you have to be willing to manage that and you need to be able to get at them quickly. I think in all the games that we've played, maybe bar one, it's been a really tight scoring game and I don't doubt that tomorrow will be any different. So, I think that we just have to go into it with the same mindset that we did on Saturday in terms of being good at the foundations of what we are because I don't think that things will change too much with them. I think we can expect a similar thing to what we faced when we faced them before.”
3. CHALLENGE CUP – In the middle of a three-game week, OL Reign is ready for the task of playing a Challenge Cup match on the road midweek. Similar to previous Challenge Cup matches, the Reign will rely on one of their greatest strength – the depth of their roster – as the team navigates many games in a short stretch.
"I mean, even last year, I honestly thought our Challenge Cup group was the toughest. I think that was shown in how tight the games were and I believe that again this year, I think it's the toughest. So, we have to travel a lot, even though the West Coast is, we stay on the same time zone, it's still nearly a three-hour flight to come down here, so I think that it's a challenge and to have Angel City, San Diego and Portland in one week is challenging to anybody. I think we have to just go out and we have to rotate, there's no doubt we have to do that with how tight the turnaround of games are, but we've done that in all of the Challenge Cup games so far and I think it's a good opportunity for one, to see the depth of our roster and two, to prepare ourselves for what potentially the World Cup is going to look like for us."
MultiCare Availability Report:
OUT
Angelina (SEI - knee)
Rose Lavelle (leg)
Phoebe McClernon (D45 - back)
QUESTIONABLE
None