OL Reign playoff woes continue in 2-0 Semifinal loss to KC Current
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – For the fourth time in as many qualified seasons (2020 doesn’t count due to no playoffs), the OL Reign failed to make it past the NWSL Playoffs Semifinal round. For the third time in their club existence, the Reign fell to a Kansas City team in the playoffs, ending their season in crushing fashion. In a similar fashion to earlier in the season, the Reign put numerous attempts on net, but could not break through against all-world keeper AD Franch. With the championship window for several Reign players creeping towards closed, frustration continues when it comes to the postseason for this club.
Tziarra King walks off the field disappointed, as the Current bench celebrates in the background. (Photo by Liz Wolter)
Reign begin match in frantic display
To begin their semifinal matchup at Lumen Field, in front of 21,491 fans, the Reign looked relatively frantic and perhaps a bit nervous. The Reign couldn’t get the ball out of their own half, and it became clear that Kansas City was pushing the issue. In just the third minute, the Current brought their possession down into the Reign box with CeCe Kizer. Despite dispossessing Kizer, the Reign failed to properly clear the ball, and Alexis Loera took advantage with a shot that Phallon Tullis-Joyce couldn’t get a full grasp on. The ball glanced off of the keepers gloves, and careened towards the far post, bouncing off and in. Just a few minutes into their highest attended playoff match in club history, the Reign were behind. Forward Megan Rapinoe spoke about the early deficit in the postgame press conference.
“Obviously going down that early is never good, but I wasn’t too stressed. I felt like we weren’t really too stressed about it, we felt like we had a lot of chances in the first half and really settled in. Our quality on the ball in both boxes was not there... obviously just very disappointing”
Reign keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce watches as the ball glances off her gloves and careens back into the net (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Offensive struggles similar to mid-season
As Rapinoe said, the Reign were able to settle in to an extent after the first goal. Similar to their mid-season form where the team saw multiple losses and draws because they failed to convert their chances, the Reign couldn’t seem to break through. Jess Fishlock had a few chances that perhaps in a different timeline were a goal, but in the end the first half remained a scoreless one for the home side. Jordyn Huitema had a rocket of a shot miss just to the side, and a header knocked away at point-blank range. It seemed as though an invisible barrier had been placed in front of Kansas City’s net, plus a superhero protecting it in the form of AD Franch.
Jordyn Huitema's header is clipped point blank by AD Franch (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Inability to answer
As we entered the second half, the Reign continued to unload a multitude of shots on Current keeper AD Franch. From gravity bending volleys to shots saved by a fist, the Reign failed to break the shutout and were frustrated all night long on some great shots that needed much more than a GPS to find the back of the net. While the Reign put on multiple that should have beat Franch, there were a ton of shots that were right at the keeper. Both of those factors combined total out to 16 shots and 14 corners for the Reign. Unfortunately, those 30 “chances” combined couldn’t find paydirt, and Kansas City was able to add a second goal in the 63rd minute to finish the Reign off. Again, the Reign did not have what it took to hoist the trophy of the league champions despite a shield winning regular season. Rapinoe spoke about the club's playoff issues, postgame.
“I don’t think that it’s a magic potion or something that we need to figure out, we just didn’t put it together on the field. Kansas City is a really good team obviously, really tough to play against, and they finish their chances. We didn’t. Usually, it comes down to the quality in both boxes... we just need to have a lot more quality all over the field”
Jess Fishlock had to rocket shots just barely miss reaching the back of the net towards the end of the first half (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Quick notes
Attendance for the Reign (21,491) is the third largest crowd in NWSL playoff history, and the highest Reign crowd in postseason history.
The past four Reign playoff crowds combined were less than this attendance.
The highest rated player for the Reign was Megan Rapinoe at an 8.0 match rating.
Rapinoe took three total shots, creating seven total chances
The Reign dominated possession 61% to 39%
Despite the shot discrepancy (16-8), the Reign and Current tallied the same number of big chances, at one each.
KC Celebrates by embracing their keeper that locked down the Reign, AD Franch (Photo by Liz Wolter)
What’s next?
The Reign will enter another pivotal offseason, but there should be more good coming into the 2023 campaign than negative and nervous. Most of the club should return, and perhaps getting a few of the players getting a full offseason with the club will just increase their performance. Players such as Jordyn Huitema training with the team the full offseason and really settling in with the club should see an incredible result for 2023. It will be interesting to note what sort of departures or additions that the club will have, because in reality it does not seem that the Reign will need to add a ton to return to form.
Jordyn Huitema is primed to have a great 2023 campaign for the Reign (Photo by Liz Wolter)