Seattle, WA - In their first meeting ever, the OL Reign dominated the San Diego Wave FC in a 3-1 victory. The Reign goals all came within the first ten minutes of the match, which is an NWSL record across all competitions. Nikki Stanton, Bethany Balcer, and Sam Hiatt all scored, in that order. Stanton and Hiatt recorded their first goals as Reign players, and in the NWSL. It was a night for history making, in front of a Lumen field crowd of 4,803. Considering that it was a Thursday night in chilly conditions, that’s a solid number and it’s exciting to imagine how that'll grow when regular season arrives.
Reign defender Sam Hiatt scored her first goal of her career
There were three Washington born players that started for the Reign, as Nikki Stanton, Sam Hiatt, and Olivia Van Der Jagt were all in the starting lineup. It was Van Der Jagt’s first professional start, as she would record an assist. All three of those players had a hand in the three goals, as Stanton and Hiatt scored while Van Der Jagt’s assist came on Balcer’s goal. With the Washington Husky Women’s soccer team in attendance, Van Der Jagt was impressive in her first career start, earning the praise of head coach Laura Harvey. Here is what Van Der Jagt had to say about having her teammates in the stands.”
“It was an amazing feeling; I was really happy that they could make it out. I think I've told you this before, when the Reign were at Memorial stadium, we used to go to all the games. Now that we’re back in Seattle, it feels great that they can come support, it’s an easy drive. It felt really good to see all of them, see my coaches. It was awesome that they could make it out,” Van Der Jagt reflected.
On the defensive side of things, although the shots were similar for both clubs, the Reign did not really seem to have much issue. San Diego looked messy from the beginning of the match, with several attacks and passes in general being intercepted with ease. Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce had another solid day, with the Alex Morgan goal not being her fault. Morgan was able to slide past the defensive back line, with what appeared initially to be a hand ball, to put a goal away for the Wave. The goal was San Diego’s lone bright spot, as they looked like any standard expansion team does: trying to build chemistry and generally struggling.
The Reign celebrate Sam Hiatt's goal
The Reign have played well in their four matches of the 2022 Challenge Cup, and have done so while also being able to get their depth involved. With at least four starters out of the starting lineup, the Reign were able to handle San Diego and did so with an explosive start. New additions have made splashes, and we haven’t even technically seen this squad at full strength yet as Megan Rapinoe is still rehabbing her calf injury. The Reign are putting together another special group this year, and it promises to be another fun season.
The Reign’s next matchup is on Sunday, April 17th at Lumen Field against Angel City FC. This will be the second meeting between the two clubs, with the Reign defeating Angel City 3-1. Christen Press and Angel City are looking to get their first win in this year's challenge cup, and their first win in club history. The match kicks off at 3PM PST and will be on the CBS Sports network.
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