Match Forecast: OL Reign Ready to Take on Gotham FC
OL Reign is set to return to Lumen Field this afternoon to take on NJ/NY Gotham FC for the second time this regular season. As each team plays every other team once home and once away, this is the last meeting between the two teams during the 2023 regular season.
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 3:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, May 21 at Lumen Field in Seattle, WA
WHERE TO WATCH: Fans can tune in to Paramount+
2023 NWSL REGULAR SEASON RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-L-D): OL Reign: 4-2-1 (13 points, 3rd place), NJ/NY Gotham FC 4-2-1 (13 points, 4th place)
Key Points Ahead of the Match:
1. LAST MEETING – Most recently, the teams met on April 1 at Red Bull Arena. OL Reign picked up their first win of the season with a solid 2-0 performance. Despite being on the road, the Reign controlled the match and dominated in the midfield. OL Reign found the opening goal of the night in the 31st minute, when defender Sofia Huerta and midfielder Rose connected before Lavelle played a quick through ball to Fishlock just inside the 18-yard box. Fishlock firmly fired the ball into the back of the net to give OL Reign the advantage going into halftime. The Reign doubled their lead in the second half, thanks to a Bethany Balcer goal in the 62nd minute.
2. SCOUTING NJ/NY GOTHAM FC – Most recently, Gotham took on the Orlando Pride at Red Bull Arena and balled to a scoreless draw. Goalkeeper Abby Smith had a standout performance for Gotham, making six saves to hold on to the shutout and ultimately the draw for Gotham FC. The New York/New Jersey team is on a three game unbeaten run, narrowly beating out Chicago and drawing with North Carolina prior to the match against Orlando.
“This is the first team that we're playing twice in regular season. So, it kind of was a quick turnaround generally speaking, so we can kind of look at that film as a good gauge and obviously look at more recent film to notice if they've changed anything. But because we didn't play them too, too long ago, it's nice to go back and see what we did well and what we can work on,” said OL Reign forward Bethany Balcer.
When speaking about preparations for the match, OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey said, “We obviously reviewed the North Carolina game and spoke about some things we weren't happy with and things we needed to improve on and then towards the back end of the week, looking at specific things that we need to be good at in preparation for Gotham.”
“"I think we're looking to respond from our performance on Sunday, we obviously weren't happy with it. So, I think how we respond in those situations and how we come out right away in our next game is really important. So, I think focusing on that and just getting back to the soccer that we know how to play because we don't feel like we showed that on Sunday. It's just kind of like a fresh start, clean slate for us and we're looking to perform at the level we know we're capable of,” added Balcer.
3. SCORING GOALS – OL Reign is a team that loves to play in front of their home fans and in turn have an excellent record at Lumen Field. Today, the team will look for ways to be creative in the attack and break down a Gotham side that only conceded six goals in the regular season.
“I think we've just got to recognize when the opportunity is on to switch the point of attack and try and get in behind them whenever we possibly can. I think they do a good job of getting bodies behind the ball quickly, so I think we've got to try and expose them early and get in behind them," said Harvey.
"I think we're really good at being versatile with how we build out and how we attack. We've got so many dangerous threats up top, and I think it's just finding as many people in as many dangerous spots as we can,” said Balcer. “So, we adjust a little game to game, but we know that our frontline and our front six are really, really good and we just have to get the balls in dangerous places, which I think is what we kind of lacked on Sunday. So, I think we're obviously goal-hungry and we love scoring at home. I think that's, hopefully, something you guys see tomorrow."
MultiCare Availability Report:
OUT
Angelina (SEI - knee)
Rose Lavelle (leg)
Phoebe McClernon (D45 -back)
QUESTIONABLE
None