Deep Reign drop shallow Wave

On July 28, 2023, the OL Reign returned from their break to play their fifth Challenge Cup game of the season against the San Diego Wave. Coming into that day, the Reign were one Challenge Cup win away from clinching the Western division of the Challenge Cup and securing a spot in the Challenge Cup semifinals.

However, the Reign had eight players out playing in the Women’s World Cup: Angelina for Brazil, Quinn and Jordyn Huitema for Canada, and Megan Rapinoe, Emily Sonnett, Rose Lavelle, Sofia Huerta, and Alana Cook for the United States. In addition, Jess Fishlock was unavailable due to a leg injury. However, the Wave were also missing five players due to the World Cup, including forward Alex Morgan, as well as another, Kristen McNabb, due to a hip injury.

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Early in the game, Reign goalie Claudia Dickey prevented an early goal, diving to deflect a shot from Wave forward Makenzy Doniak in the 9^th minute. After that, Dickey and the Reign defense were rock solid, preventing the Wave from creating many threats. Any shots that the Wave did manage to get into the box were handily scooped up by Reign goaltender Claudia Dickey.

However, while the Reign created more offensive threats than the Wave did, they were still unable to score during the first half. Their best chance of the half came during the 19^th minute, when the Reign had a free kick just outside the San Diego penalty box that deflected off a Wave player behind the line, giving the Reign a corner kick that led to some minor action near the box.

The second half began similarly, as Claudia Dickey and the Reign defense sealed the goal while the Reign offense would make pushes every now and then that would not result in goals. But unlike in the first half, the Reign’s pressure paid off. In the 69^th minute, Ryanne Brown drew a foul in the Wave box, setting up a penalty kick that forward Bethany Balcer drove into the upper right corner of the net, making it 1-0 Reign. The score would remain unchanged for the rest of the game, giving the Reign a 1-0 win.

Bethany Balcer attributed the Reign’s victory to their outstanding depth and said that the Women’s World Cup provides an opportunity for that depth to shine.

“I think [eight players out] just gives a good opportunity for people who maybe don’t get a lot of minutes in the regular season to just step up and show the depth of this team,” she said. “I think it’s just a testament to the team culture that we have, every starting spot is so highly competed for … we’re able to put two teams on the field that can compete at the same level, and I think that’s really dangerous to have, and that’s why we’re having the success that we do.”

The depth that the team possesses is important for their long-term prospects, since, as head coach Laura Harvey pointed out, some of the best players on the team are older.

“It’s no secret, Lu [Lauren Barnes], Jess [Fishlock], and Pinoe [Megan Rapinoe] aren’t going to be here forever. I’ve said this a few times, there’s a group here I could see the future of this club in,” she stated. “It’s a scary thought, that thinking about them three not being here, but it’s also reality, we have to prepare.”

The Reign’s victory on Friday brought them to 13 points in the NWSL Challenge Cup standings, clinching the Challenge Cup’s West division with one Challenge Cup game remaining, on August 6^th at home against the Portland Thorns. Even though the Reign have secured a Challenge Cup playoff spot, the August 6^th game still matters for two reasons. The first is that a win would secure the top seed in the Challenge Cup playoffs. The second, and perhaps more important, is that of the Cascadian rivalry, and Bethany Balcer summed it up quite well.

“Well, we hate Portland,” she said, eliciting a chuckle from Claudia Dickey. “I mean, it’s Portland-Seattle, and we have to play them a bajillion times this year, and every game, it’s a dog fight, you know, you kind of just throw tactics out the window and it’s just a bloodbath, but that’s what makes the rivalry so special.”

After the Challenge Cup game on the 6^th, the next regular season game for the Reign is on August 18^th in Kansas City against the Current. The Reign are fourth in the NWSL standings, with 24 points and a 7-5-3 record, while the Current are dead last, with 15 points and a 5-10-0 record.

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