The day had finally arrived, August 29th 2021. Reign vs Thorns, followed by Sounders vs Timbers. A historic doubleheader, and a rivalry one at that. The Reign coming into this game winning 4 of their last 5, Portland coming into this match having not lost in their last 5 matches (4 wins, 1 draw) and winning the 2021 Women's International Champions cup final on the 21st of August. Both teams came into this huge match with lots of momentum, leaving us with a "something has to budge" scenario between the Cascadia rivals. CSS was in the building for this match, from the Gary Wright press box.
Pre-game
Last weeks recap: In last weeks match against NY/NJ Gotham FC, the Reign were finally able to beat the NY/NJ club this season, off of the back of Megan Rapinoe's 2 goal, 1 assist performance. It was a wild game, as all of the Reign goals came in the second half and Megan Rapinoe's two goals came off of penalty kicks after the 75th minute. Ifeoma Onumonu, who has been Reign kryptonite this season scoring 3 goals against the Reign in 4 matches, scored two goals in the first half, but the Reign remained resilient. They spoiled Carli Lloyds last match in Tacoma, and would win that match to jump up to 4th place in the NWSL table after that night, with a 7-7-1 record.
Injury report:
OUT:
Ally Watt - Right knee injury
Watt is out for this match, but has taken a big step in her recovery as she is now training with the team. Congratulations to Ally!
Rosie White - Illness
QUESTIONABLE:
None
Key points to the game:
Strike early: As has been evident for this Reign team all year, scoring early and getting the attack going in the early part of the match is key for winning matches for this years Reign squad. Last match against Gotham is an outlier, as all but two of the Reigns wins have come when they scored first. Getting out in front early, similar to last match against the Thorns where both goals came in the first 15 minutes.
Stay in front of Portland's speedy forwards: The Thorns have several dangerous players, from Crystal Dunn, Lindsey Horan, Sophia Smith. This is a fast team that has several different players that can hurt teams, as evident by the fact that Portland is on the top of the NWSL table. It will be key for this backline to keep everything in front of them, but that is obviously easier said than done. Staying fundamentally strong defensively against these Thorns will be key to hopefully minimizing any sort of damage that they may cause.
Show out on the biggest Cascadia stage: This match is huge, let alone how big the doubleheader as a whole is. The Reign are playing back in Seattle again, and doing so against Portland. The roster was essentially at full strength, except for Sam Hiatt for reasons currently unknown, and this match has NWSL table implications as well, outside of the obvious regional bragging rights. Keep the momentum rolling, control the controllable. This is a huge moment, and it will go down in history regardless of the scoring outcome.
Starting lineup:
Goalkeeper: Sarah Bouhaddi would be the starting goalkeeper for this match against Portland. Last time the Reign faced Portland down in Providence park, Karen Bardsley was in goal. Bouhaddi faces Portland for the first time in her career.
Backline: The starting backline would be made up of captain Lauren Barnes, Alana Cook, Kristen McNabb, and Quinn.
It is interesting to see Quinn and Kristen McNabb starting on the backline for this contest. Sam Hiatt was not medically inactive for this match, so it is interesting to see her not starting.
Midfield: The midfield unit would see Jess Fishlock joined by Rose Lavelle and Dzsenifer Marozsan. This is an experienced group that looks to facilitate the ball well and get it to its attacking front to beat a top of the table Thorns team.
Attacking front: The attacking group would be composed of Megan Rapinoe, Eugenie Le Sommer, and Sofia Huerta.
Rapinoe is coming off of a two goal performance against Gotham last match.
Bench: The bench unit would be made up of Angelina, Bethany Balcer, Amber Brooks, Celia, Steph Cox, Shirley Cruz, Madison Hammond, Phalon Tullis-Joyce, and Dani Weatherholt.
It is interesting to not see Sam Hiatt in the starting lineup OR the bench, considering that she was medically cleared for this match, after missing the last match with a back issue.
Bonfires are back Tifo pre-kickoff
First half: Portland would start this match off as the obvious attacking aggressors. They continuously put shots on Bouhaddi, with some just missing the goal and others being easy catches for the French keeper. The Reign wouldn't get their first real shot off until the 10th minute on a roller by Le Sommer that did not have much behind it. Portland pushed the pressure continously, but after the Le Sommer's shot, the Reign seemingly got their feet under them. In the 12th minute, the Reign would get back to back crosses off to no avail, but shortly after in the 16th minute on a counter attack from a Bouhaddi save, Jess Fishlock would find Megan Rapinoe on a through ball, where Megan would then sidestep a Portland defender and fire a lazer into the bottom corner of the net for a Reign goal to go up 1-0! The Reign would get an incredible attempt in the 21st minute when Jess Fishlock would attempt a bicycle kick, but the shot would careen to the left of Portland keeper Bella Bixby. There would be a lull in any real sorts of action until the 40th minute, when Portland would get a hand ball in their own box, resulting in a Reign penalty kick, taken by Megan Rapinoe who would bury that ball into the net, putting the Reign up 2-0 in the 40th minute! Rapinoe almost notched a first half hat trick off of a cross from Rose Lavelle, but Rapinoe's shot would hit one of the pyrotechnic pillars. There would be three minutes of stoppage time, and Portland would take advantage of those three minutes as Angela Salem would volley in a cross on a corner kick and score a top right goal, giving us the halftime score of OL Reign 2, Portland Thorns 1.
Megan Rapinoe's second goal!
Halftime adjustments and notes: Portland and the Reign seemed to have an evenly matched attack as we reach the midway point of this match. The Thorns started off this half as the attacking aggressors, and they end the half the same but the end of the half results in them putting a shot in the net. Portland currently leads the Reign 9 shots to 7, as well as crosses with 12 to 9. It will be important that the Reign get some insurance goals, as a goal lead is never safe in the NWSL, let alone Portland. Interestingly enough, the score from this first half matches the last match against Portland this season. The Reign need to work on getting Bethany Balcer mixed into this second half, keep the pressure on all second half, and work on denying the Thorns second and third chances off of the first corner kick.
Second half: The second half started off in very similar fashion to the way the beginning of the match began, and that would be with Portland coming out strong and aggressive. After an initial rush of sorts, the Reign would dominate the chances from the 52nd minute when Rose Lavelle would have her shot blocked to the 66th when Le Sommer would have her shot deflected for a corner that did not result in anything. We would see back and forth attempts, but no real attempts on either goal would be made throughout this second half. Both sides did a great job of keeping the other off balance whenever they would make an offensive attempt, and it would mean the Reign would be able to hold on to their 2-1 lead and move to a record of 8 wins, 7 losses, and 1 draw.
Reign substitutions in this match:
81st minute: Megan Rapinoe comes off for Bethany Balcer
86th minute: Dzsenifer Marozsan comes off for Angelina
91st minute: Eugenie Le Sommer comes off for Steph Cox
Post-match thoughts: With 27, 248 fans in attendance for this match, what a platform to have two of the leagues best and Cascadia rivals battle it out on. Portland statistically dominated the stat sheet leading shots by 4, shots on goal by 2, pass accuracy by just under 9%, and possession by nearly 20%. What ultimately played the biggest factor was that the Reign were able to minimize the dangerous chances and take advantage of that hand ball that Portland suffered within their own box. It is a huge victory for the Reign, especially at this point in the season. At the time of the win (around 6pm PST on the 29th), the Reign would sit at 3rd in the NWSL with 25 points. A great match, and there are still things to work on with all things considered, but a result that the Reign will gladly accept. Moving forward, as both Jess Fishlock and Megan Rapinoe hammered home in the post-match press conference, it would be amazing for the Reign to have more opportunities to play in Lumen field. The crowd was into it, and if they made this a more consistent thing I guarantee you that more and more fans would show up. Here is hoping for more Reign matches in Seattle/ a larger venue.
Player of the game:
OL Reign player of the game: F Megan Rapinoe
Charles' player of the game: F Megan Rapinoe
Stat-line: 7 shots, 2 on target, 2 goals
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