Your OL Reign come into this match on Saturday, August 7th, on the momentum of 3 wins in their last 4 matches. Looking to avenge their loss 0-2 loss in Houston from the second of July, the team would still be without bronze medalists Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle, as well as gold medalist Quinn. A bright sunshiny day in Tacoma, Washington would be the scene for this rematch against sixth place Houston, the first time that Jasmyne Spencer will be returning to Cheney Stadium as part of the Dash. With a win, and an Orlando Pride loss to the Chicago Red Stars on August 8th, the Reign could leapfrog Orlando, Houston, and Washington and move up to 5th place, with 19th points. But, there still was a game to be played.
Pregame
Olympians: Major congratulations to all of the Reign's medal winners, but especially to Quinn as they win gold with Canada and are the first openly transgender player to win a gold medal. Very proud of them, as well as for team Canada. Hopefully all of the Olympians (including Angelina and Nicole Momiki, who did not win medals but did play in the Olympics) are able to get some rest before heading back to their respective clubs, as Nicole Momiki is heading off on loan from the Reign.
Quinn and Megan Rapinoe at the medal ceremony
Last weeks recap: Last weeks match against Louisville saw Eugenie Le Sommer finally break down the wall and score her first NWSL goal, which was then followed up by her second NWSL goal in the same half. Those two goals came in the 27th minute (assist by Dzsenifer Marozsan, first name pronounced as Jennifer) and 43rd minute (assisted by Jess Fishlock) and really helped convert the effort that Le Sommer had displayed in previous matches into goals finally. The Reign were able to hold on from there, keeping their streak of wins when scoring multiple goals in a match alive and pushing their record to 5-6-1.
Injury report:
OUT:
Ally Watt: Right Knee
Rosie White: Illness
Rosie White was seen practicing with the club over the week, but was still out for this match.
Questionable: Nobody was listed questionable for this match
Olympic duty: Megan Rapinoe, Quinn, and Rose Lavelle were all still out of Olympic duty for the August 7th contest.
Key points to watch:
Feed Le Sommer and Balcer: It will again be crucial to see the Reign midfield feed Le Sommer and Balcer the ball in positions to succeed. Coming off of Le Sommers brace, I would be surprised if she didn't attempt to keep up her mojo and continue to attack the Dash back line and keeper Lindsey Harris. Balcer is your leading scorer on the team with four goals, and the Reign should continue to let the 2019 NWSL rookie of the year terrorize opposing defenders.
Don't let Spencer have a revenge game on home turf: Jasmyne Spencer spent 2018-2021 with the Reign, and her trade to Houston was the second of the season that saw another veteran get moved from the Reign. She played her 100th cap in the NWSL with the club, but now she's with Houston. In the July 2nd match in Houston, she broke the scoreless tie with a breakaway goal in the 50th minute. It would be crucial to see the backline stay strong and keep Houston out of the goal.
Just like last week, keep on rolling: The Reign come in with a 2-game win streak and are playing their second straight game at home, so it would be great to keep this going and beat Houston at home in front of the home crowd of Cheney stadium.
Starting lineup:
Goalkeeper: Sarah Bouhaddi would be your starter in goal for this contest. The 34 year old French born keeper makes her 9th straight start in goal since first being in the lineup for the June 19th match against the Courage in North Carolina
Backline: The defensive unit would feature Celia, Alana Cook, Sam Hiatt, and captain Lauren Barnes.
Midfield: Dzsenifer Marozsan, Jess Fishlock, and Dani Weatherholt would make up your midfield for this match, with Weatherholt and Marozsan playing more near the backline and Fishlock playing higher up.
Attacking front: The attacking front would be made up of Eugenie Le Sommer on the left side, Bethany Balcer in the middle, and Sofia Huerta shoring up the right.
The connection of Huerta and Balcer looks to continue to score goals after Huerta had found Balcer twice on crosses for goals earlier in the season.
Bench: The bench unit for this match would consist of Ella Dederick, Amber Brooks, Angelina (coming back from the Olympics), Kristen McNabb, Leah Pruitt, Tziarra King, Jimena Lopez, Shirley Cruz, and Kelcie Hedge
It is notable to see that Madison Hammond, a starter for a good part of the season, is not in the starting lineup or on the bench. Jimena Lopez has the potential to make her first appearance with the Reign.
It is also good to welcome back Angelina, who is returning to the club from the Olympics and the Brazilian women's national team
First half: Bethany Balcer, or if you want to call her by her nickname of Boats, started the Reign attack in this match early with an attempt on goal just twenty seconds into the match. The Reign would keep the pressure on with a corner kick at the 4:25 mark, which would then be cleared. Another corner would find Jess Fishlock, who would sky the ball on a high cross to Bethany Balcer in the box, who would head the ball in for the first goal of the match! 1-0 Reign thanks to boats just five minutes in. Nine minutes after her goal, Bethany Balcer would get another cross into the box, but her header would be saved by the right hand of Houston keeper Lindsey Harris. A wide open Sofia Huerta would field a cross by Eugenie Le Sommer, and she fired a shot that would get by Harris and find the back of the net, making it 2-0 Reign! Houston would finally start to fire back offensively, getting a shot on Bouhaddi courtesy of Gabby Seiler. That would lead to a corner kick, which would be cleared out. The ball would eventually find Shea Groom of the Dash, whos shot would glance off of Alana Cook, and find the back of the net after no attempt by Sarah Bouhaddi, making it 2-1 in favor of the Reign. Own goal again comes back to bite the Reign, this time in the 29th minute of their match against Houston. Five minutes after that goal, the Reign attack would continue as a shot on the goal would be saved by Lindsey Harris of Houston, and Eugenie Le Sommer would keep playing till the whistle as she takes the ricochet of the save and puts it into the back of the net! 3-1 Reign! After a few unsuccessful chances from the home side, in the 41st minute, Jess Fishlock fires a BEAM from outside of the box and finds the top corner of the net for the Reign! The home front is up 4-1 at this point! IT JUST CONTINUES! The Reign keep the AGGRESSION up with Jess Fishlock finding Bethany Balcer in the box, who's right footed shot finds the back of the net, the Reign score their fifth goal in the 45th minute!
The team celebrates after Bethany Balcers first goal
Halftime adjustments and notes: After a five goal first half, it is really hard to find much to be upset about. The main point I would speak on is the own goal that hit off of Alana Cook and that we did not see an attempt at a save, but the offense has really been clicking on all fronts and the only thing that needs to happen in the second half is to finish out strong and make sure anybody who is winded finds a substitution, and that certainly would not be a problem considering that you have Angelina, Tziarra King, and Shirley Cruz on the bench. So, main points: Keep the pressure on, keep your players fresh, and avoid mistakes from your backline. What a first half.
Second half: The second half saw the Reign do exactly what they did in their last match against Louisville: Finish out the game strong while also continuing the pressure. The Reign saw several corner kicks, but were not able to put any in the goal. The Reign held onto the four goal lead, and held on to win 5-1! It would be the first time since the July 22nd match in 2017 against then Skyblue FC, when the then Seattle Reign won 5-4 at Memorial stadium. A certainly unique game, seeing an own goal as the only goal the Reign conceded, and Bethany Balcer scoring twice, Sofia Huerta, Jess Fishlock, and Eugenie Le Sommer all scoring once. The Reign now move to 19 points, and as of the night of August 7th the Reign are in 5th place in the NWSL table. An Orlando Pride loss against Chicago tomorrow (August the 8th) would keep the Reign there. If the Pride beat Chicago, the Pride would move to 5th and the Reign down to 6th.
Reign substitutions in this match:
In the 64th minute, Dzsenifer Marozsan comes off for Angelina Costantino
In the 70th minute, Jess Fishlock comes off for Shirley Cruz
Also in the 70th minute, Celia comes off for Tziarra King
In the 81st minute, Lauren Barnes comes off for Jimena Lopez. Eugenie Le Sommer comes off for Kelcie Hedge
Post game thoughts: The Reign had their best match of the year, EASILY. The five goal barrage, all of them being scored in the first half, would be the first time that the Reign had scored 5 goals since 2017, when both teams in that match were called the Seattle Reign and Skyblue FC. To go another step forward, it was the first time that the Reign scored 4 or more goals since 2018. The Reign continue to stay red hot, having won four of their last five matches. They (as of the night of August 7th) sit at 5th in the NWSL table with 19 points, 1 behind both the Chicago Red Stars and Gotham FC. Bethany Balcer is now tied with the Washington Spirits Ashley Hatch as the leading goal scorer in the NWSL with 6 goals. The Reign will look to continue their hot streak on the road in Kansas City on August 14th at 5:00pm. That match will be on Paramount +. This will be a really good chance for the Reign to keep their winning ways going as Kansas City is ranked dead last in the NWSL table with league worsts in points (4), wins (0), and goal differential (-12). It would be a really big shock to drop this game to Kansas City or even draw, but this is the NWSL and crazy things happen every single match, let alone every week.
Player of the game:
Reign player of the game: F Sofia Huerta
Charles' player of the game: F Bethany Balcer
Statline: 2 goals on 7 shots, 3 shots on goal
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