OL Reign 0
Racing Louisville FC 1
September 6, 2023
Lumen Field – Seattle, WA
NWSL Challenge Cup Semifinal
Seattle’s Lumen Field hosted an NWSL Challenge Cup Semifinal Wednesday evening between OL Reign and Racing Louisville FC.
Louisville earned the fourth seed as the wild card best second place team in the group phase. For the club, it is a big opportunity to compete in a knock out round of an official NWSL competition for the first time.
Top seed OL Reign earned the right to host the semifinal, but because of stadium availability will have to go on the road for the final with a win. The Reign also entered as the top seed by virtue of going six for six defensively in racking up clean sheets and win their group.
The short turnaround from weekend league play to a Wednesday evening match, and a trip to North Carolina for a final with a victory for either side, was an interesting side story in squad rotations.
The Reign nearly got on the board right out of the gate, Angelina putting a header just over the bar in the second minute. The early pressing by both clubs meant the opening stage of the match was played full throttle. The long road to knee injury recovery for the Brazilian paying off with a start in the semifinal.
Racing would get on the board first after a defensive giveaway gave Kirsten Davis an open look at goal. The goal broke the Reign scoreless defensive streak and changed the dynamic of the match on a dime. With the lead Louisville seemed more content to show patience in possession as opposed to immediately going forward.
The home side pushed forward, but the match entered the interval at one nil to the visitors.
The Racing defense continued bending and absorbing to set up counters, but not breaking as the second half began. The Louisville high press continued to cause problems for the Reign defense and their ability to play the ball out of the back. Thembi Kgatlana and the Racing forwards pressed the Reign throughout the match with their pace and created dangerous chances.
The Reign finally looked like they caught a huge break in the 58th minute when Sofia Huerta drew a penalty at the top of the box, but VAR reversed the spot and the penalty was mopved to just outside the box. The resulting play kept the scoreline at one nil to the visitors. Moments later a possible equalizer was waived off for a foul.
With a spot in a cup final on the line, the Seattle side would bring on the reinforcements in the later stages on short rest; including the soon to be retired Megan Rapinoe for the final fifteen minutes.
The final stretch of the match was played with all the intensity one would expect from a cup semifinal. Louisville defended their lead with swarming team defense, and the Reign through everything forward whenever they had the ball.
In the waning moments of stoppage time, Rapinoe would get one more look on goal with a free kick, but the Racing defense was up to the task. The single first half goal would be the only goal the Reign would concede in seven cup mathces and be the margin in the match, sending Loiuisville to the final.
In the end, Racing Louisville did what needed to be done. They took their chance, defended their lead, and held off a frantic wave of attacks from the home side.
Noth Carolina Courage will host Racing Louisville FC in the NWSL Challenge Cup Final on Saturday.
BOX SCORE
Scoring
RGN: None
LOU: Davis – 28’
Discipline
RGN: None
LOU: Holloway (Caution – 34’), Kgatlana (Caution – 62’)
Lineups
RGN: GK Ivory, D Huerta, D Hiatt ©, D Holmes, D McClernon, M Stanton (Fishlock 78’), M Van der Jagt, M Angelina (Sonnett 66’), F Latsko, F Bennett (Huitema 66’), F King (Rapinoe 77’)
Unused substitutes: GK Tullis-Joyce, D Barnes, D Cook, M Athens, D Brown
Total Shots: 16 (Huerta – 3)
Shots on Goal: 2 (Hiatt, King – 3)
Fouls: 12 (Van der Jagt – 4)
Offsides: 4
Corner Kicks: 6
Saves: 1 (Ivory – 1)
LOU: GK Lund, D Millet, D Lester, D Erceg ©, D Holloway, M Pikkujamsa, M DeMelo, M Borges, M Monaghan (Pokorny 64’), F Kgatlana (Nadim 78’), F Davis (Kanu 88’)
Unused substitutes: D Wyne, M Howell, F Fischer, F Ekic, GK Beall, F Goins
Total Shots: 6 (DeMelo – 3)
Shots on Goal: 2 (Davis, DeMelo – 1)
Fouls: 12 (Borges – 3)
Offsides: 1
Corner Kicks: 2
Saves: 2 (Lund – 2)
Referee: Natalie Simon
Assistant Referee 1: Jennifer Garner
Assistant Referee 2: Jeremy Smith
4th Official: Adorae Monroy
VAR: Kevin Broadley
AVAR: Maggie Short
