OL Reign 1
North Carolina Courage 1
October 1, 2023
Lumen Field – Seattle, WA
NWSL Regular Season
A congested NWSL regular season table and only a few matches remain as OL Reign hosted North Carolina Courage in Seattle on Sunday evening.
Both sides currently reside above the playoff line entering the match. With the teams below the match only a few points behind it was even more important to get and not drop points.
North Carolina traveled across the country looking to build on the place in the standings with a challenge cup trophy already in the case for 2023.
Recent matches have seen OL Reign sliding down the table as points have been dropped. The Reign face a huge week of matches at home; with extra drama and crowds from the imminent retirement of Megan Rapinoe, and sitting at sixth in the table with no room for error left.
The hosts opened the match down two starters, with both Sofia Huerta and Rose Lavelle not available. The Courage went right at the Reign off the opening whistle. An early attack from Kerolin showcased the Carolina speed and nearly opened the first moments of the match with a goal. The Brazilian was a dynamic force in the attack.
The early stages were played with both clubs fully on the front foot. Only an early stoppage in play seeming to slow things down.
The Seattle side was the first to break through in the twenty-first minute. Megan Rapinoe launched a far post corner from the left side and Bethany Balcer got a head on it, spiking in down and past Courage keeper Casey Murphy.
Goals change games. But the Balcer goal did not seem to alter either side’s approach. Carolina continued to put pressure, pushing forward whenever possible and the Reign did not turn to sit back and hold their lead playing defensively.
Kerolin brought the match level before the half. Reign keeper Claudia Dickey was drawn out of the box and Kerolin was able to win the ball and beat the swarming Reign defense in the forty-third minute. VAR would look long and hard at the possible offside, but the goal stood.
Alana Cook would get a straight red for a lunging tackle on Kerolin in first half stoppage time, giving the Courage a late chance to go into the half ahead. The outside the box free kick went into the wall and the two sides went in to the locker rooms level, but with the Reign facing a second half playing with ten.
The Reign would not make big changes coming out of the locker room. Emily Sonnett would drop back into the central defense to start the second half. The Courage would go right at the Reign, getting shots on goal on Dickey in the early minutes of the second half, but not immediately breaking the deadlock.
Rapinoe would nearly steal a lead for the Reign in the fifty-fourth minute, launching from long range and forcing Murphy to push the ball wide for a corner. The audacious attempt by Pinoe was the sort of play she has pulled off many times over her career, but not in this case.
Dickey would come up big for the Reign in the eighty-sceond minute. Haley Hopkins would break through, but her left footed shot would be deflected over the bar. The Courage attack was still pushing forward at every opportunity, pressing the ten player Reign back on their heels throughout much of the second half, but not yet breaking the deadlock.
The Courage never let up, keeping their attacking approach for the full ninety minutes. The second goal simply didn’t happen.
The Reign defense did not break in the second half, even playing with ten. Seattle did give up some of the space up front and found fewer opportunities to attack but they didn’t alter their defensive approach or shape. As Coach Laura Harvey would say after the match, “You have to give something up when you are down to ten.”
The match would end 1-1, leaving both sides still above the playoff line.
In the cluttered NWSL table, single points are something, but more like two points dropped. The final match days of the NWSL season will be filled with season defining drama.
LINK For Photog Album Paul Kahl
LINK For Photog Album Nate Koppelman
BOX
Scoring
RGN: Balcer – 21′
NCC: Kerolin – 43′
Discipline
RGN: Cook (Red card – 45+7’), Stanton (Caution – 67′), Huitema (90+2’)
NCC: Matsukubo (Caution – 90′)
Lineups
RGN: GK Dickey, D McClernon, D Cook, D Holmes (Latsko 71’), D Barnes ©, M Sonnett, M Van der Jagt (Quinn 88’), M Stanton, M Fishlock (Angelina 90+5’), F Balcer (Huitema 71’), F Rapinoe
Unused substitutes: GK Ivory, M Athens, D Hiatt, F King, F Bennett
Total Shots: 5 (Balcer, Rapinoe – 2)
Shots on Goal: 2 (Balcer, Rapinoe – 1)
Fouls: 10 (Stanton – 3)
Offsides: 2
Corner Kicks: 3
Saves: 6 (Dickey – 6)
NCC: GK Murphy, D Kurtz, D Collins, D Williams, D Fox, M Matsukubo, M O’Sullivan ©, M Miura, F Kerolin, F Boade (Hopkins 72’), F Lussi (Gejl 65’)
Unused substitutes: GK Rowland, M Pinto, D K. Pickett, F Ratcliffe, M Tagliaferri, M V. Pickett, F Madsen
Total Shots: 25 (Kerolin– 7)
Shots on Goal: 7 (Kerolin – 2)
Fouls: 9 (Hopkins – 2)
Offsides: 1
Corner Kicks: 9
Saves: 1 (Murphy – 1)
Referee: Elton Garcia
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Schwartz
Assistant Referee 2: Austin Holt
4th Official: Aidan Velasco
VAR: Shawn Tehini
AVAR: Tom Felice
