On This Day in Reign History: Megan Rapinoe Allocated to Reign
On January 11, 2012, it was announced the U.S. Women’s National Team star Megan Rapinoe would be allocated to the Reign for the inaugural NWSL season in 2013. Though it was official that she would be joining the Reign, Rapinoe spend the first half of the inaugural NWSL season playing abroad in France, for now majority owner of the Reign, Olympique Lyonnais.
Prior to Rapinoe’s arrival to the team, the Reign had been struggling to find their form, going winless in their first ten games. When the talented forward finally arrived from France, her impact was immediately felt on and off the field. Despite playing only 12 of 22 matches in the season, Rapinoe was the Reign’s leading scorer in 2013, with her five goals. She also added one assist for the Reign and played in every match the Reign won that season, quickly becoming a leader on the team. She also was named to the NWSL Second XI for the 2013 season.
2014 and 2015
Largely considered the two best seasons the Reign has ever played, Rapinoe continued to be a mainstay in the squad through the 2014 and 2015 seasons. She was essential to the team’s NWSL Shield winning campaigns, despite picking up a foot injury early in the 2014 season.
In 2014, she contributed four goals and one assist during the regular season and as always, shined in the big moments. In the Reign’s first ever playoff game, Rapinoe scored a late goal to put the Reign up 2-1 over Washington. The game-winning goal sent the Reign to the NWSL Championship. Though the Reign came up short in the Championship, Rapinoe added the team’s only goal of the game.
In 2015, Rapinoe started the season with a bang, earning her first NWSL hattrick in the first regular season match of the year. She continued to excel for the Reign, ending the season with five goals and five assists and yet again, playing an essential part in sending the Reign to the playoffs for the second consecutive season. In the semifinal match against Washington, Rapinoe scored in her third consecutive playoff match, bagging the second goal in a decisive 3-0 win. The forward again earned a spot on the NWSL Second XI for her performance during the 2015 season.
2016 and 2017
Rapinoe appeared in just five games in the 2016 season, but still managed to make an impact for the Reign. Notably, she scored her lone goal of the season again the Reign’s biggest rival – Portland Thorns FC. She also added one assist in 2016.
In 2017, Rapinoe was the Reign’s leading goal scorer with 12 goals throughout the season. She played over 1,500 minutes during the season and was named to the NWSL Second XI for the third time in her career. She earned three braces during the season and added one hattrick.
2018 and 2019
2018 was another great year for Rapinoe. She contributed more than 1,400 minutes to the Reign’s campaign that saw the team finishing in third place and moving on to the NWSL semifinals. She scored an impressive seven goals and added six assists. The forward played in 16 regular season games and one playoff game throughout the season, starting all of those games but one. Her outstanding 2018 performance earned her a spot on the NWSL Best XI for 2018.
In 2019, Rapinoe was away for a portion of the season, winning the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup with the U.S. Women’s National Team. Upon her return to NWSL play, she played in five regular season matches for the Reign and one playoff match. Though the Reign did not come away with a win in semifinal match against North Carolina, Rapinoe played all 120 minutes of the match and was named to the NWSL Second XI.
2021
During 2021, Rapinoe played in two NWSL Challenge Cup matches, 11 regular season matches and OL Reign’s one playoff match. She scored a total of six goals, including two braces in August and added two regular season assists and one in the playoffs. She was the only player to score in each of the Reign’s regular season matches against the Portland Thorns. Her four-goal performance in August earned her NWSL Player of the Month honors.