Match Recap: OL Reign Flips the Script Against Angel City FC
OL Reign (5-3-1, 16 points, 2nd place) pulled off a 4-1 comeback win against Angel City FC (2-4-3, 9 points, 10th place) at Lumen Field this Saturday. After initially going down 1-0, OL Reign showed out in the second half, scoring three goals to secure three points at home and break their two-game losing streak.
OL Reign was on the front foot to start the match, hungry to get back in the win column clearly on display. In the first 25 minutes of the match, the Reign notched six shots, but none were too challenging for Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haračić to handle. Against the momentum of the match, Angel City FC scored the opening goal of the match in 27th minute. After the team won a corner kick, forward Claire Emslie curled the ball directly into the back of the net.
Less than ten minutes later, OL Reign found an equalizer. Forward Megan Rapinoe received the ball out wide on the right and took one touch down the line before serving the ball into the box. Forward Elyse Bennett made a run into the six-yard box and connected with the ball, finding the back of the net to score her first OL Reign goal at the near post. The 1-1 scoreline held as the team went into the locker room at halftime.
Coming back from halftime, OL Reign maintained their energy. It didn’t take long for the home side to find a game-winning goal, assisted once again by Rapinoe. The veteran forward fed forward Veronica Latsko a ball outside the top of the box. Latsko took one touch before ripping a shot to the top right corner of the goal.
Latsko immediately proved to be a difference maker once again. Just two minutes later midfielder Jess Fishlock spurred an offensive passing sequence, receiving the ball in the middle of the field before quickly finding the feet of Rapinoe out wide. Rapinoe one touched the ball across the box to a waiting Latsko, who made no mistakes as she directed the ball into the goal.
The Reign continued to control the match with their two-goal lead but weren’t done scoring yet. To top off the win, OL Reign midfielder Quinn scored their first ever NWSL goal in the 82nd minute. After a series of quick one and two-touch passes, Quinn received the ball and elected to take their space at the top of the box and fire a laser of a shot into the upper right corner of the net.
After going down 1-0 initially, the Reign pulled off a Hollywood ending to break their two-game losing streak in front of an energetic crowd at Lumen Field.
Key Facts:
· IT’S REIGN-ING SHOTS: OL Reign finished the match with 24 total shots (ex. blocks), their most shots in a single game since the 2016 season.
· THE STREAK CONTINUES: OL Reign extended its unbeaten streak to seven games against Angel City FC (6-0-1), having never lost to the second-year club across all competitions.
· ELYSE BENNETT: Forward Elyse Bennett scored the team’s first goal in the 34th minute to tie the match, 1-1. The goal marks the second-year forward’s first with the Reign and fourth all-time. Bennett finished with a career-high five shots.
· Bennett is one of four players on the Reign to record at least one goal and one assist in 2023.
· VERONICA LATSKO: Forward Veronica Latsko recorded her first-ever brace since entering the league in 2018. The goals were 2 minutes at 16 seconds apart, making her the second-fastest player to record a brace for the Reign since Nahomi Kawasumi in 2014 (2:13). Latsko finished the match with a career-high six shots.
· Latsko has three goals in 2023, which is tied for the most on the team. The fifth-year veteran has 11 goals all-time.
· QUINN: Midfielder Quinn recorded their first-ever NWSL goal to close out the game, 4-1. The Canadian midfielder scored within five minutes of entering the match.
· MEGAN RAPINOE: For the first time in her career, forward Megan Rapinoe recorded three assists in the same match. The last time the veteran recorded multiple assists in a game was in 2018. Rapinoe is the fourth player in league history to record a three-assist game in regular season play and the second player in club history, joining former teammate Nahomi Kawasumi (2017).
· Rapinoe has 25 assists all-time, which is the most in club history and the fifth most in league history.
· SERIES: The win brings the all-time series to 6-0-1 between the Reign and Angel City FC.
UP NEXT: OL Reign travels to San Diego to take on the Wave in midweek Challenge Cup match this Wednesday, May 31. Fans get tickets to support the team on the road HERE or tune in to Paramount+ to support from home.
MATCH SUMMARY
2023 NWSL Regular Season
OL Reign 4 – 1 Angel City FC
Date/Time: Saturday, May 27, 12:30 p.m. PT
Location: Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
Weather: 66, sunny
Scoring Summary
RGN: Bennett – 34’, Latsko – 52’,55’, Quinn – 82’
ACFC: Emslie – 27’
Discipline
RGN: None
ACFC: Weatherholt (Caution – 22’), Le Bihan (Caution – 61’)
Lineups
RGN: GK Tullis-Joyce, D Huerta, D Cook, D Hiatt, D Barnes ©, M Fishlock, M Sonnett (Quinn 77’), M Balcer (Stanton 69’), F Latsko (Van der Jagt 81’), F Bennett (Huitema 68’), F Rapinoe (King 81’)
Unused substitutes: GK Dickey, M Athens, D Brown, D Holmes
Total Shots: 25 (Latsko – 6)
Shots on Goal: 11 (Latsko – 4)
Fouls: 11 (Latsko – 3)
Offsides: 1
Corner Kicks: 2
Saves: 1 (Tullis-Joyce – 1)
ACFC: GK Haracic, D Spencer (Le Bihan 59’), D Reid, D Gorden, D Endo (Riley 53’), M Hammond, M Weatherholt © (Nabet 59’), M McCaskill, F Thompson, F Johnson (Camberos 69’), F Emslie
Unused substitutes: GK Isenhour, M Anderson, M Pluck, M Ertz, F Leroux
Total Shots: 7 (Camberos, Emslie – 2)
Shots on Goal: 2 (Emslie – 2)
Fouls: 10 (Emslie – 3)
Offsides: 0
Corner Kicks: 8
Saves: 7 (Haracic – 7)
Player of the Match: Veronica Latsko
Referee: Thomas Snyder
Assistant Referee 1: Seth Martin
Assistant Referee 2: Melissa Beck
4th Official: Christopher Calderon
VAR: Carol Anne Chenard
AVAR: Kaili Terry