Match Recap: OL Reign Splits Points with Houston

OL Reign (6-4-2, 20 points, 2nd place) battled to a scoreless draw against the Houston Dash (4-3-5, 17 points, 7th place) on Saturday evening. The deadlocked match played in nearly 100-degree weather was end-to-end and featured a first half red card for the Dash.

The Reign started the match off strong, creating the first offensive opportunity of the match in the 8th minute. Forward Tziarra King got a shot off, forcing Houston to deflect the ball wide and concede an early corner kick. Though nothing came of the corner, the Reign were on the front foot offensively.

Just five minutes later, OL Reign had another near goal, as defender Alana Cook, who made her milestone 50th regular season start and appearance for the Reign, played a perfectly weighted ball over the top to forward Jordyn Huitema. Huitema’s shot missed the back of the net but sent a firm warning sign to the Dash.

As the game progressed, the Reign were forced to do a bit of defending, but the team was up to the challenge. In the 22nd minute, Houston earned a freekick from around 30 yards out and Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce made a diving save to keep Houston off the scoresheet.

The teams remained locked in a back-and-forth battle, neither willing to concede first. As the second half was winding down, King was fouled by Dash defender Natalie Jacobs. Jacobs was initially issued a yellow card, but the play went to video review, and it was determined that Jacobs denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity, so she was issued a red card. Down to 10 players, the home side saw the match through to halftime with a 0-0 scoreline.

To start the second half, OL Reign immediately earned a corner kick, followed by two shots from Huitema. Forced to work defensively throughout the half, the Reign’s grit showed through as the team persevered through the severe heat.

As legs began to tire, Cook and fellow defender Emily Sonnett did well to shut down Houston’s fresh-legged attack. Into stoppage time, OL Reign had a scary moment in the box as the ball pinged from player to player during one of Houston’s late attacks. In the end, defender Ryanne Brown who subbed onto the field in 77th minute, cleared the ball off the goal line to shut down the play.

Five minutes into stoppage time, midfielder Olivia Athens served a beautiful ball in to forward Elyse Bennett at the top of the six-yard box. Bennett’s shot was deflected just over the bar, winning a corner kick for the Reign. Despite their efforts, the quality needed to take three points from the road match wasn’t found and the night ended in a 0-0 draw.

Key Facts:

· COOK: Defender Alana Cook made her 50th NWSL regular appearance tonight against the Dash. She has started and played every minute of all 50 apps in her career (4,500 min.)

· TULLIS-JOYCE: Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce had five saves - her second most this season. Additionally, she extended her clean sheet record to 13.

· MALONSON: Defender Alyssa Malonson made her first career regular season appearance for the Reign when she subbed in for forward Veronica Latsko in the second half.

UP NEXT: OL Reign travels to San Diego to take on the Wave next Saturday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m. PT.

MATCH SUMMARY

2023 NWSL Regular Season

OL Reign 0 – 0 Houston Dash

Date/Time: Saturday, June 17, 5:30 p.m. PT

Location: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, Texas

Weather: 96, Sunny

Scoring Summary

RGN: None

HOU: None

Discipline

RGN: None

HOU: Jacobs (Red Card – 45+1’)

Lineups

RGN: GK Tullis-Joyce, D Huerta, D Cook, D Sonnett, D Barnes (Brown 77’), M Quinn, M Van der Jagt (Stanton 46’), F Balcer (Athens 55’), F Latsko (Malonson 90+6’), F Huitema, F King (Bennett 54’)

Unused substitutes: GK Ivory, D Hiatt, M Canales, D Holmes

Total Shots: 8 (Huitema – 3)

Shots on Goal: 1 (Huerta – 1)

Fouls: 8 (Quinn – 2)

Offsides: 2

Corner Kicks: 4

Saves: 5 (Tullis-Joyce – 5)

HOU: GK Campbell, D Chapman, D Jacobs, D Lind, M Dydasco, M Sanchez (Gareis 67’), M Schmidt ©, M Anderson, M Hirst (Viggiano 80’), F Ordonez (Salmon 86’), M Alozie (Tucker 67’)

Unused substitutes: GK Alvarado, D Petersen, M Solaun, M Olivieri, D Prisock

Total Shots: 18 (Anderson – 4)

Shots on Goal: 6 (Anderson – 2)

Fouls: 5 (Lind – 2)

Offsides: 0

Corner Kicks: 4

Saves: 1 (Campbell – 1)

Player of the Match: Phallon Tullis-Joyce

Referee: Danielle Chesky

Assistant Referee 1: Tom Felice

Assistant Referee 2: Nicholas Seymour

4th Official: William Hale

VAR: Jorge Gonzalez

AVAR: Emma Richards