Match Recap: OL Reign Earns Home Win Against Kansas City

OL Reign (6-4-1, 19 points, 4th place) defeated the Kansas City Current (3-8-0, 12th place) 2-1 in their Pride Match Presented by Starbucks. In front of their fourth largest standalone crowd in club history, the Reign dominated the Current, taking all three points from the Saturday night clash. Defender and Captain Lu Barnes started in the match and played all 90 minutes, becoming the first NWSL player to make 200 regular season appearances.

The night got off to an unfortunate start for the Reign, when forward Megan Rapinoe went down injured just five minutes into the match and had to be subbed off the field two minutes later. Despite this set back, Reign continued to push on.

The match was physical from the start, resulting in OL Reign midfielder Emily Sonnett and defender Alana Cook earning back-to-back yellow cards less than 20 minutes into the match, and setting a physical tone for the rest of the night. Once the game settled down, the Reign held Kansas City to one shot before scoring the first goal of the match.

In the 34th minute of the match, Kansas City was whistled for a handball in the box and conceded a penalty kick. Usually, Rapinoe would step up to take the kick, but as she subbed off the field, defender Sofia Huerta stepped up to the spot. Confidence and calmness on display, Huerta shot the ball low and to the left, finding the back of the net.

Huerta’s penalty kick goal was the difference maker at the half, sending the Reign into the locker room up a goal in front of their home crowd.

At the start of the second half, the Reign make no subs and continued to challenge the Current on both ends of the field. In the 51st minute, it looked like the Reign were set to double their lead, but Latsko’s shot went high. Just one minute later, forward Elyse Bennett had a chance of her own, sending the ball toward an open net, but KC defender Croix Soto sprinted to the goal line to make the save.

In the 59th minute, it seemed KC had pulled even, but the eventually a video review of the goal determined that there was an offside prior to the goal, so the goal was disallowed. Less than 10 minutes later, it was OL Reign’s turn to find the back of the net. Huerta, already on a goal of her own, looped a ball into the box for forward Jordyn Huitema. Huitema used her head to beat Cassie Miller in goal for KC and double OL Reign’s lead.

As the match was winding down, the referees added a minimum of five minutes of stoppage time to the match. In the first minute of stoppage time, Kansas City found their lone goal of the match. Substitutes Mimmi Larsson and Izzy Rodriguez connected to notch the goal. However, it wasn’t enough for Kansas City, as OL Reign took all three points just minutes later as the final whistle sounded.

Key Facts:

· SERIES: The win brings the all-time series to 5-3-0 between the Reign and Kansas City Current

· GOALS GALORE: Defender Sofia Huerta became the ninth player on the team to score in the 2023 regular season. OL Reign has the second-most players with a goal in the league this season.

· HOME SWEET HOME: Tonight’s 2-1 victory is the team’s fifth win at home in the 2023 regular season. No other team in the league has more than three wins at home this season.

· LAUREN BARNES: Captain Lauren Barnes made her 200th regular-season appearance, becoming the first player in NWSL history to reach the milestone. Since entering the league in 2013, Barnes has played in 200 of the club’s 214 matches (not including the club’s forfeit win in 2021). The defender has been a part of 58 of the club’s 62 clean sheets.

· SOFIA HUERTA: Defender Sofia Huerta scored the opening goal in the 36th minute from the penalty spot, her first penalty-kick goal since 2018. The defender assisted the second goal of the match off a cross to forward Jordyn Huitema in the 68th minute, Huerta’s first assist of the season. Huerta has 35 regular-season goals and 30 assists all-time. Huerta ranks 17th in goals and second in assists in league history.

· JORDYN HUITEMA: Forward Jordyn Huitema scored in the 68th minute off her head, extending the team’s lead, 2-0. The Canadian has scored in four of the team’s last seven matches in the regular season. Huitema finished the match Huitema has a team-leading four goals this season, with a league-leading three from her head.

UP NEXT: OL Reign travels to Houston to take on the Dash next Saturday, June 17 at 5:30 p.m. PT.

MATCH SUMMARY

2023 NWSL Regular Season

OL Reign 2 – 1 Kansas City Current

Date/Time: Saturday, June 10, 7:00 p.m. PT

Location: Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Weather: 61, cloudy

Scoring Summary

 RGN: Huerta – 36’, Huitema – 68’

KC: Rodriguez – 90+1’

Discipline

RGN: Sonnett (Caution – 16’), Cook (Caution – 19’)

KC: Debinha (Caution – 90+5’)

Lineups

RGN: GK Tullis-Joyce, D Huerta, D Cook, D Hiatt, D Barnes, M Sonnett, M Van der Jagt (Quinn 62’), F Huitema, F King (Stanton 83’), F Bennett (Balcer 62’), F Rapinoe (Latsko 7’)

Unused substitutes: GK Dickey, M Angelina, M Canales, D Brown, D Holmes

Total Shots: 11 (Huitema – 4)

Shots on Goal: 6 (Huitema – 3)

Fouls: 12 (Sonnett – 4)

Offsides: 1

Corner Kicks: 5

Saves: 2 (Tullis-Joyce – 2)

KC: GK Miller, D Soto, D Robinson, D Merrick, D Del Fava, M Mace, M DiBernardo, M Debinha, M Curran, F Kizer, F Hamilton

Unused substitutes: GK Franch, D Winebrenner, F Spaanstra, M Childers

Total Shots: 6 (DiBernardo – 2)

Shots on Goal: 3 (DiBernardo, Kizer – 1)

Fouls: 9 (Debinha, Mace – 2)

Offsides: 1

Corner Kicks: 2

Saves: 4 (Miller – 4)

Player of the Match: Sofia Huerta

Referee: Elijio Arreguin

Assistant Referee 1: Darren Bandy

Assistant Referee 2: Ricardo Ocampo

4th Official: Jaclyn Metz

VAR: Adorae Monroy

AVAR: Katherine McCormick