Match Recap: OL Reign Sets NWSL Attendance Record and Celebrates Megan Rapinoe in Draw with Washington
OL Reign (8-8-5, 29 points, 6th place) earned another point against the Washington Spirit (7-5-9, 30 points, 4th place) in front of a record-breaking crowd gathered at Lumen Field to celebrate OL Reign forward and legend, Megan Rapinoe.
The historic match started with a strong half from the Reign. The team was stringing passes together all around the field but did not find the back of the net. The home side found their first shot on goal seven minutes into the match, courtesy of forward Veronica Latsko.
The Reign continued to press on, challenging Washington with a total of eight shots in the first half but couldn’t quite get the ball past goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury. OL Reign also held the majority of possession in the first half, looking sharp on the ball.
To round out the half, the Reign had three shots, one apiece from forward Veronica Latsko, and midfielders Olivia Van der Jagt and Jess Fishlock. Though Van der Jagt’s was on target, the half ended scoreless.
In the second half, the Reign brought the same energy but were less clean with their passing. Goalkeeper Claudia Dickey was a key player for the Reign in the second half, notching her first essential save of the match in the 52nd minute.
Forward and captain Megan Rapinoe had three shots in the second half, two of which were on target. She was hungry for a goal as she challenged Kingsbury to keep a clean sheet. As the match was winding down, Dickey made three more crucial saves for the Reign to keep the game level at zero.
At the final whistle, the teams tied 0-0 for the fifth time in their head-to-head history.
After the match, Rapinoe’s friends and family, as well as OL Reign fans celebrated her iconic career in a post-match ceremony. The record-breaking crowd made their love for the legend clear as they cheered her on for her final regular season performance at Lumen Field.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
SHOW UP SEATTLE – OL Reign broke the all-time NWSL attendance record at the match with 34,130 fans in attendance.
UP NEXT: OL Reign has their final regular season match in Chicago on Sunday, October 15.
MATCH SUMMARY
2023 NWSL Regular Season
OL Reign 0 – 0 Washington Spirit
Date/Time: Friday, October 6, 5:00 p.m. PT
Location: Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington
Weather: 66, clear
Scoring Summary
RGN: None
WAS: None
Discipline
RGN: Sonnett (Caution– 56’), Latsko (Caution – 84’)
WAS: Staab (Caution – 42'), Sarr (Caution – 46'), Sullivan (Caution – 66'), McKeown (90+7’)
Lineups
RGN: GK Dickey, D McClernon, D Sonnett, D Brown, (Bennett 74’) D Barnes, M Quinn, M Van der Jagt, M Fishlock, F Latsko, F Balcer (Huitema 66’), F Rapinoe ©
Unused substitutes: GK Ivory, M Angelina, M Athens, D Hiatt, D Malonson, F King, D Holmes
Total Shots: 13 (Fishlock, Latsko, Rapinoe – 3)
Shots on Goal: 3 (Rapinoe – 2)
Fouls: 6 (McClernon – 2)
Offsides: 2
Corner Kicks: 4
Saves: 5 (Dickey – 5)
WAS: GK Kingsbury, D Staab, D Butel, D McKeown, D Carle, M Sanchez (Bailey 83’), M Sullivan, M Metayer, F Rodman, F Sarr (Biegalski 65’), F Hatch
Unused substitutes: GK Barnhart, D Elwell, D Brooks, M Huster, M Sheva, M Ricketts
Total Shots: 17 (Rodman – 8)
Shots on Goal: 5 (Rodman – 4)
Fouls: 11 (Rodman – 3)
Offsides: 2
Corner Kicks: 5
Saves: 3 (Kingsbury – 3)
Player of the Match: Megan Rapinoe
Referee: Thomas Snyder
Assistant Referee 1: Bennett Savage
Assistant Referee 2: Jeffrey Skinker
4th Official: Dion Coxe-Trieger
VAR: Adorae Monroy
AVAR: Maggie Short