Reign rumble back in final ten minutes to split points with Louisville in physical fight
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In their second match since losing their international players for the World Cup, the OL Reign used a strong comeback effort in the final ten minutes of the match to equalize with Racing Louisville FC and split the points at Lumen Field. A physical and testing battle for this Reign side, the home side had to battle through two yellow cards to notable players (Phoebe McClernon and Jess Fishlock) through the first portion of the match. After a penalty goal and an odd sequence of continuation, the Reign found themselves in a two-goal hole after the 76th minute. Goals from Veronica Latsko and Elyse Bennett after the 82nd minute equalized the match and gave the Reign a draw that they will be somewhat satisfied with considering the circumstances.
“A testament to this team. Internationals gone, it’s tough. We just played on Wednesday, this one (Veronica Latsko) played 90 plus on Wednesday, two different positions and was focused enough to come in and score goal for us. Like, that’s how good this team is. ”
Flat first half
Coming out of kickoff, the Reign got off to a bumpy start as returning defender Phoebe McClernon, playing in her first match of the season due to a back injury, was shown a yellow card in the third minute for taking down Louisville’s Paige Monaghan just outside the right-hand side of the Reign box. Racing was able to present danger following that first yellow card against the Reign, which in turn eventually lead to a second yellow card against. With Louisville battling and bringing pressure against the Reign, Jess Fishlock was called for a handball in the box to result in a penalty and shown a yellow in the same instance. Louisville’s Shuang Wang converted the penalty, firing to her bottom left corner as Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce dove the other way.
That goal to get the game going showcased a few rough mistakes for the Reign, as despite the crowd showing lots of anger for the yellows and the penalty that was given, Jess Fishlock didn’t show any support of disagreement with the call when it took place. If you know Fishlock or have watched her place before, you’ll know that she will ensure that the referee will hear it if a bad call is made. Pair those mistakes on the defensive end with the Reign really only getting to shots on goal against Louisville keeper Katie Lund, who is quality in her own right? It was the perfect recipe for a disappointing half as the Reign battle to maintain their place in the NWSL table and even improve with their international players out.
“It’s our third game in a week. We knew it was gonna be a grind. We talked about being on the front foot and having a good 20 minutes, which I honestly don’t think we had a terrible 20 minutes, but they did get that PK, which obviously takes a little wind out of your sails. But to come back from two, I just think at the end of the day, it’s our mentality and we just never give up by having faith in everyone on the pitch, those coming on, and all of that. You just know that you got to keep going at it, going at it, and putting balls on them. Keep putting it back on them that the ball just has to bounce the right way one time. Good cross in, Ronnie’s (Veronica Lastko) on the end of it. And same thing with Elyse, 90 minutes on against Portland, scored a goal there. Focused enough to be in the right spot to hit that flick for the second goal. That’s how important those little, small details are. Back to Laura, as a coach, she’s making sure that we’re like tuned into those things, and trusts us, and values that. It shows we don’t need anything else after coming back from that. ”
Louisville adds a second despite strong Reign attack
Once the second half got underway in this match, the Reign had seemed to pick their energy up and were putting it into action with attacks on the Louisville goal. A third yellow card against the Reign was shown to midfielder Nikki Stanton, meaning that two players for the Reign who tend to remain on the defensive end were playing on yellow cards. Despite this, the Reign were able to push on with their attack and look like the team that applied more pressure since the whistle to begin the second half. Even though the Reign were the better team on the attack, it was Louisville who scored the first goal of the second half when a bizarre instance took place in the 76th minute.
After the Reign played a bit of ping-pong with the ball in the Louisville box, the away side was able to ensure that the ball stayed on the Reign half of the field. The possessions that immediately followed the Reign possession in the Louisville box saw a few non-threatening balls handled cleanly, before something different started brewing in the 75th. Louisville’s Jaelin Howell gained possession on a through ball up the right side of the field with space, before Reign forward McKenzie Weinert flew into the play and for all intents and purposes, took out Howell. It was a foul call, which seemed to be displayed by head official Alex Billeter. With her right arm raised and whistle held in her teeth, it seemed as though play would be stopped and a free kick assessed. Nearly every player on the pitch stopped, as they believed that play had been blown dead, but Louisville’s Paige Monaghan continued and fired a shot away that Reign keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce had slip through her gloves and into the goal to double the lead for the opposition.
Chaotic ending
The Reign easily could’ve had the wind taken out of their sails after the second goal conceded, especially given that their attack had looked much better in the second half. But, even without their internationals and with Jess Fishlock subbed off, the Reign were able to find urgency and battle right back into this match. In the 81st minute, the Reign were again trying to turn possession in the Louisville box into something dangerous to help them get on the board. Forward Elyse Bennett whipped in a cross on a line, zipping over the head of five players in total before reaching the head of teammate Veronica Latsko, who perfectly redirected the cross past Lund in goal just out of reach far post. A cross and a header and all the sudden the Louisville lead had been cut in half.
The Latsko header gave the Reign the sort of energy injection that they needed to fully push through, adding onto the strong attack that they had already displayed. Pressuring possessions pushed forward, resulting in a corner for the Reign. Defender and team captain Lu Barnes whipped a ball in that went to the top of the box where Nikki Stanton awaited, running up and heading the ball downwards towards goal. The headed ball caught several Louisville players just standing around, finding its way to Bennett, positioned a few feet in front of Louisville keeper Lund. Bennett headed the ball, giving it a small boost as if it were a chip-header, sneaking over Lund who wasn’t sure what to expect and couldn’t react. A cross, a corner, and two headers in a span of five minutes had brought the Reign all the way back and they even threatened for a third. Although they didn’t get that game winner late, the way that the club fought back displayed incredible resiliency, making this tie feel like a win.
Physicality factor
From minute two when Reign defender Phoebe McClernon was shown a yellow all the way till the very end, the was a physical match between the two clubs who are in different spots in the NWSL table. With Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock returning from a somewhat lengthy (multiple weeks) injury, the club was hoping to see her get 60 minutes or so in this match and while she did (65, to be precise) the fact that she had that yellow shown to her a third of the way into her match tonight provided some worry considering the sort of attacking play that she brings. That third yellow against the Reign, against Nikki Stanton, saw things piling on and as mentioned, was against a player that the club typically plays as a defensive mid. Despite the nature of most of this match, though, the Reign were able to remain level headed enough to keep their attack on course and bring themselves to the draw.
“I think it’s a tactic for Louisville to be physical. Obviously the Reign history, we want to play, want to be on the ball. And sometimes to win a game, it might not look pretty. We might not be able to play as well as we want it to. But I think our mentality has to be, make ugly pretty, so we got to go along, get in the box. Elyse did a great job running every single ball down, being optimistic, hoping for one chance. Same thing with Ronnie coming in. She just needs one chance, she came in, and blew it up. Once you score one goal, they’re deflated, and we have that energy. So, to go get a second goal was a little bit easier.”
Quick notes
OL Reign earned its fifth consecutive draw against Racing Louisville FC across all competitions. It is OL Reign’s second-longest run of consecutive draws against a single opponent in league play, behind a six-match draw streak against Orlando from May 2017 to April 2019, the longest such streak in NWSL history.
OL Reign earned its third comeback of the 2023 season after conceding first to earn either a win or a draw. This also marks the second time of the season OL Reign trailed against Louisville by two goals and came back to get the tie.
Tonight’s draw extends OL Reign’s all-time unbeaten streak against Racing Louisville FC to six games (across all competitions). The Reign remain undefeated against three NWSL teams all-time (Angel City FC, Racing Louisville FC and San Diego Wave FC).
Prior to the Week 14 games, only the Wave are undefeated against more NWSL teams all-time (4).
Forward Elyse Bennett scored the game-tying goal in the 87th minute, marking her second of the season and fifth in her career (regular season).
Defender Ryanne Brown made her first start in the NWSL regular season of her career. The second-year defender finished with four interceptions, three duels won and 41 touches.
Forward Veronica Latsko scored the Reign’s first goal of the match in the 82nd minute to help the Reign start its comeback.
Latsko has 12 goals all-time and four goals this season, tied for her most in a single season since her first year in the league (2018).
Defender Phoebe McClernon made her first start for OL Reign since October 1, 2022, after suffering an injury at the start of the 2023 season.
McClernon led the team in interceptions (6) and added five clearances.
The draw brings the all-time series to 1-0-5 between the Reign and Racing Louisville FC.
What’s next?
Following today’s draw against Racing Louisville, the Reign have closed out another three matches in a week (eight days to be honest, but it’s close enough and the wear and tear is still likely the same) ahead of their next battle. The Reign will then return to action on Friday, July 7th when they hit the road against the Orlando Pride for a kickoff time of 4PM PST. When the Reign head down to Florida for their battle on the 7th, with the match being streamed on Paramount +, they’ll face an Orlando team that’s lost five of their last seven. It cannot be seen as an easy match for the Reign, as it could be a potential trap game.