Match Recap: OL Reign Split Points with Portland on the Road

Match Recap: OL Reign Split Points with Portland on the Road

OL Reign (12-7-3) battled to a 1-1 draw against Portland Thorns FC (12-6-4) at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon. This draw leaves the Reign in second place going into the final two matches of the season. With this result, OL Reign went undefeated against their Cascadia rivals in the 2021 NWSL regular season.

OL Reign got off to a slow start, conceding a goal to Portland in the third minute of the match. The Reign box was very disorganized, and Morgan Weaver gained possession of the ball for Portland. She turned and scored with a quick low shot to the near post.

The Reign continued to struggle with finding a rhythm and gave the ball away to Portland in dangerous spaces. As the game progressed, OL Reign began to connect through some passing sequences, but the usual sharpness that the team plays with was not there.

Sarah Bouhaddi, as well as the entire OL Reign backline were tested repeatedly, but held Portland to the one early goal in the first half. In the attack, the Reign only took three shots compared to Portland’s 15. Eugenie Le Sommer nearly scored but could not direct the ball under the crossbar. Jess Fishlock had the only shot on goal, but her header was easily saved by Bella Bixby in the net for Portland. The Reign went to the locker room down 1-0 at the half.

After the break, Portland came on pressing even higher than the first half, forcing the Reign to play quickly. As OL Reign began to advance up the field, they found more shots in the first half, but nearly every shot posed no threat to the Thorn’s goal.

Around the 65th minute, the Reign began to challenge Portland, energized by a series of substitutions. The team created five chances after that before finding a breakthrough. In the 85th minute, Alana Cook hit a shot off the post and Dani Weatherholt followed it up. Weatherholt’s shot was blocked by the hands of Portland midfielder Angela Salem in the box and OL Reign was awarded a penalty kick.

Sure enough, Megan Rapinoe stepped up to the spot to take the kick. Rapinoe confidently shot the ball into the lower right corner of the net to tie the game. Both teams pushed in the final few minutes of the match, desperately trying to claim three points from the rivalry match. Despite flaring tensions, neither team found a game winner and split the points at Providence Park.

The Reign are back home this Saturday, October 16 as they take on the Washington Spirit and look to secure a top-two finish.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• With this draw, OL Reign maintain their second-place position in the NWSL standings and are one point out of first place

• If OL Reign and Portland Thorns FC are tied on points in the standings, OL Reign has the head-to-head tie breaker, as they have a 2-0-1 record against the Thorns

• Megan Rapinoe’s 86th minute goal was her 40th NWSL goal and 10th penalty kick goal

• Alana Cook was named Player of the Match for OL Reign for the first time since joining the team in June