By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In what would be an eventful day, the OL Reign essentially got two wins. The one on the pitch would be a 1-0 victory over top of the table San Diego Wave FC, thanks to Rose Lavelle’s 75th minute header goal. The other win of the day? At halftime, the club announced that Kim Little would be returning on loan, having previously spent 2014-2016 with the Reign. Add those on top of the fact that Jess Fishlock was honored for playing in her 150th NWSL Regular season match, and you have a pretty solid day.
Photo by Emma Ottosen
Similar story for the Reign, but a win regardless
The Reign have had trouble scoring in 2022, for all of the regular season and parts of the Challenge Cup. Granted, the Reign advanced to the semifinal stage of this year's challenge cup and have won two of their last three. But, with that being said, the Reign have scored five goals in six matches, and last scored more than two goals back on April 14th. On the season, the Reign have racked up 81 shots, 36 of them on goal, and have only scored five goals. That would not matter, just like it didn’t last game, as the Reign kept their opponent scoreless and a late goal sealed a win.
Olivia Van Der Jagt goes for a header (Photo by Emma Ottosen)
On the defensive side of things, the Reign have held their last four opponents off of the score sheet, and haven’t allowed a goal in their last 412 minutes give or take. The backline that consists of Alana Cook, Sam Hiatt, Sofia Huerta, and Lauren Barnes (with some others rotated in) has been a brick wall so far. Add young star Phallon Tullis-Joyce to that mix? You have a defensive unit that is doing their part towards achieving three points each match, all the Reign need is to improve their finishing.
Off the pitch notes just as important as the on field victory
In addition to securing three points, the Reign had two significant headlines take place during the match. Right before the match, the Reign recognized midfielder and team captain (Lu Barnes did not play today, so Jess wore the captain's armband) Jess Fishlock for reaching 150 regular season NWSL appearances. Fishlock was joined by her host family, teammate Lauren Barnes, as well as Reign general manager Nick Perera. Fishlock’s partner and teammate, Tziarra King, watched from the sideline as the ceremony took place and Fishlock was present with a framed jersey.
Made by @DaneroDZN on Twitter for Circling Seattle Sports
The other big piece of information, which was announced at halftime, was that the club will be welcoming midfielder Kim Little back! Little previously spent time with the Reign when they were the “Seattle Reign,” playing in Memorial stadium. Little was with the club from 2014-2016, and was an instant fan favorite. Little scored 32 goals in 63 appearances with the club. From 2015-2016, she was loaned to Melbourne City, and since then has spent time from 2017 to now with Arsenal. Most notably, Little was named league MVP in her first season with the Reign and helped the club to two NWSL Shields.
Reflecting on the week
The Reign came out of their three match week with seven points, and all things considered? That’s a good result. Packing three matches into a week is difficult on its own, having to play the reigning league champions and the top team of the table is downright brutal. Performances by players filling in on a “next woman up” mentality helped the Reign jettison themselves from eleventh in the table at the beginning of the week to third in the table by the end of the win over San Diego.
The Reign's next match comes on Saturday, June 4th with a noon PST kickoff time. The Reign battle the Chicago Red Stars for the first time since their preseason matchup in Portland. The Reign look to continue their win streak as they play the first of two road matches.
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