OL Reign defeat Club América 3-1, launching their partnership
By Charles Hamaker
Tukwila, WA – A friendly match that began the partnership between the OL Reign, Olympique Lyonnais, and Club América also served as a proving ground in the Reign’s preseason. With a mixed crowd of 2,666 Reign and Club America faithful at Starfire Stadium, the two clubs battled out in a physical contest. The Reign were able to make the most of the opportunities that they created while limiting the chances that their opponents had, while getting contributions from players that aren’t normally viewed as “stars.” The friendly match against Club America, to this point, seems to be the only scheduled preseason contest for the Reign ahead of their 2023 regular season campaign where they hope to defend their NWSL Shield.
Reign forward McKenzie Weinert celebrates post match with her former University of Washington teammates (Photo by Liz Wolter)
King kicks us off
Forward Tziarra King, getting the start for the Reign on the left wing, provided some valuable minutes and displayed the depth that the Reign will hope to have at the forward position this season. While the club is hoping that their players up top will have better finishing luck than they did in 2022, the talent is there for the group and that includes King. King displayed her playmaking ability and an excellent volley in tonight’s scrimmage throughout her 62 minutes played in the friendly. That volley came from the cross of Veronica Latsko, who was playing at outside back in an interesting change we’ll note later, catching King in stride on her run. All Tziarra had to do was redirect the looping ball into the box, beating Club America keeper Itzel Gonazlez and opening the scoring.
“She put in a perfect ball, literally put it on a platter for me. Honestly, I looked over and (forward) Bethany (Balcer) was on the ground. I was like, ‘What is happening?’ and then I just stepped my foot out and boom, it went in the back of the net. So sometimes it just works out for you that way”
King is an interesting case, as a player that largely featured as a spark off the bench in matches or beginning the match but being subbed off around halftime. King seems to lose a small bit of steam as the match progresses but provides quality playmaking and shot ability in the minutes that she is allotted. It’s on the coaching staff of Harvey, Parkinson and more to find the right amount of time to insert King into matches for while also managing the proper playing minutes of the other talented forwards on this roster.
Reign forward Tziarra King volleys in the first goal of the night (Photo by Liz Wolter)
Rotation of players that club may lean on later in the season
The Reign started with a split unit of first teamers and presumed second team squad members, with notable players like Lu Barnes and Phallon Tullis-Joyce getting the start while offseason acquisition Elyse Bennett also got the nod to begin the match. With a preseason friendly match comes lot of rotation to get players experience, but one of the more interesting notes was that of Veronica Latsko playing as an outside back. Latsko played the position well, with some solid balls coming from her presumed right back spot.
“Yeah, we have actually played (forward) Veronica (Latsko) there in The Women’s Cup and we didn’t have a lot of time to train with her there. So, me and Veronica spoke at the end of last season and in the offseason about using preseason as an opportunity to see what it would look like for her there. I think it could be an opportunity for her to extend her toolbox and I thought she did really well. So, it’s been something we’ve worked on in preseason. She obviously knows our system, knows what is expected of a of a wide player in our system. So, she’s been playing there, as well, in training, but we have been coaching her a lot as a fullback and wanted to see her against good opposition tonight
there and I thought she did really well.”
It’s an interesting look, and one that head coach Laura Harvey spoke with Latsko about in the offseason, but I am not sure that will stick when the regular season comes around. Considering the defensive group of Sofia Huerta, Sam Hiatt, Alana Cook, and Lu Barnes that starts for the Reign 90% of the time and the addition of Emily Sonnet, I doubt we see much of Latsko there outside of when the national team players leave in July. That is likely what we were saying with a lot of this match and its player decisions, the lineups that we will see in July.
“A little bit of both, honestly. We have to prepare for (defender Sofia Huerta) Sof and whoever else not to be here, so we know that we have to be ready for that and we have some options that aren’t Veronica that we’ve used before -(defender) Phoebe’s (McClernon) played out there, (defender) Ryanne Brown obviously came in tonight, did a
really good job. But I know that when we put Veronica in there last year in The Women’s Cup, like I said, we haven’t coached her there, we haven’t trained there and I wanted to give her an opportunity to train and be coached there and learn the position a little bit
more and the best way to learn it and be evaluated in it is to play in it. So, tonight was a good opportunity for her to do that”
Veronica Latsko played this match as an outside back, something that we may see in July when the Reign’s national team players leave for the World Cup (Photo by Liz Wolter)
Weinert puts the winning touch on
University of Washington alumni and non-roster training camp invitee McKenzie Weinert provided the finishing touch on the Reign win. With this being the only scheduled preseason contest so far for the club, Weinert being substituted in 86th minute was a limited opportunity for her to make her mark. Despite the small-time frame for her to make an impact, Weinert was able to flip the switch and take an Alyssa Malonson long ball all the way. Malonson looked up and found Weinert up field, chest-ing the ball and turning around a Club America defender. Weinert activated turbo speed, and with the defender on her hip, fired a left footed shot past goalkeeper Renatta Cota for the third Reign goal of the night.
Could McKenzie Weinert follow a similar path to Bethany Balcer, making the roster after being a non-roster invitee? (Photo by Liz Wolter)
“Honestly, how she scored the goal, that’s what she’s done. I think she works really hard. She’s got some explosion of pace. She understands how to go and pick up balls that aren’t necessarily ones that she should go and get and make the most of it and that’s exactly how she scored a goal. So yeah, I think you saw the reaction from the team and how excited they were for her and I think that just shows the type of person she’s been in
training so far.”
Weinert may have originally been considered a long shot to make this roster, but producing in the limited minutes that you’re given is an excellent way to turn heads and get the attention of the staff. Last season, the Reign needed better success with their finishing throughout the course of the season, often having numerous shots that “should” have gone in but didn’t. Making the most of opportunities such as this are how Bethany Balcer, 2019 NWSL Rookie of the year and the 2022 NWSL Golden Boot runner up, made the Reign roster. Could we see the same sort of fate for Weinert? That is still to tell, but this is a brilliant start.
Reign forward McKenzie Weinert scores the third goal of the night for her club (Photo by Liz Wolter)
Quick notes
All three of the OL Reign goalkeepers on their roster saw playing time in this match
Phallon Tullis-Joyce started the match, Laurel Ivory was subbed in at the halftime mark, and Claudia Dickey came in the 74th minute
The only Reign players to play the entirety of the match were Phoebe McClernon and Olivia Van Der Jagt
Emily Sonnett was in attendance for the match but did not dress for the game.
The announced attendance for the match was 2,666
Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock got some brief minutes in during the friendly (Photo by Liz Wolter)
What’s next?
While there are no current preseason matchups for the Reign to prepare for, I must imagine that the club will find a few teams to scrimmage against before the regular season kicks off. Tomorrow will make it exactly one month before the regular season begins when the Reign travel to Washington to battle the Spirit, and it would be a bit odd to not see the club get any matches at all in to prepare their roster and decide on a few roster spots. Until then, the next scheduled match for the Reign is their regular season opener at the Washington Spirit on March 26th with a kickoff time of 1PM PST.