Match Recap: OL Reign End Season with 2-1 Loss to Washington Spirit
OL Reign (13-8-3 in regular season) fell 2-1 to the Washington Spirit (11-6-7 in regular season) at Cheney Stadium this afternoon in their NWSL semifinal match in front of 5,273. This match was OL Reign’s final match of the NWSL season.
OL Reign started the match with high energy, scoring a goal almost immediately. Dzsenifer Marozsán played Megan Rapinoe in down the line. Rapinoe beat two Spirit defenders before crossing the ball to Eugénie Le Sommer, who tapped the ball home in the third minute for the fastest goal in NWSL playoff history.
After conceding the early goal, Washington gained their footing and began to string together some passes of their own. In the 12th minute of the match, Washington found an equalizer. Rookie Trinity Rodman received a through ball lofted over the top, inside the OL Reign 18-yard box and touched to into the corner of the net to bring the score level at one goal apiece.
The game was end to end for the rest of the first half. OL Reign took eight shots, just two more than Washington in the first half. At the halftime whistle, the game was tied, just like the 2014 and 2015 semifinal matches between the two teams.
At the start of the second half, OL Reign was firing off shots, but could not find the back of the net. Le Sommer and Rapinoe both took two shots, while McNabb and Quinn each had one chance on goal. Washington was taking advantage of OL Reign, who had pressed forward on the attack.
In the 68th minute, Ashely Sanchez scored a second goal for Washington. On a corner kick, Sarah Bouhaddi made the initial save, Sanchez followed up her first shot with a shot to the back post, just slipping it into the net.
Now down a goal, OL Reign needed to find some urgency. The team took six shots in from 69th to 72nd minute but did not finish those chances. After making a couple of substitutions, OL Reign were desperate to find an equalizer to keep their championship hopes alive, battling against the clock and a Washington side content to run the clock down every time the ball went out of play.
The final few minutes were a heated battle, but in the end, OL Reign fell just short and end their 2021 season with a 2-1 loss to Washington in the semifinal, after a wild comeback season.
In the words of OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey, “The journey that this group has been on is one that they should be really proud of.”
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
With this loss, OL Reign has been eliminated from the 2021 NWSL playoffs
OL Reign forward Eugénie Le Sommer scored the fastest NWSL playoff goal in history with her game opener in the third minute
OL Reign had their highest attendance of the season at Cheney Stadium, with 5,273 fans in attendance