Match Recap: OL Reign Use Depth to Find Draw Against Louisville on the Road
OL Reign (9-8-2) earned their second draw of the season against Racing Louisville FC (4-8-5) on the road. The Reign went into halftime down a goal but equalized on a second half Bethany Balcer goal.
In the first half, OL Reign dominated possession of the match, with 60.2%, but struggled to connect passes in areas that threatened Louisville. The home side, while trailing in possession, repeatedly mounted attacks against OL Reign down the flanks on either side of the field.
Racing Louisville found the opening goal on the match in the 23rd minute when Nadia Nadim got on the end of a ball played through and finished her shot from inside the box. After the goal, OL Reign found five chances to score an equalizer before the end of the half but couldn’t find the back of the net.
After halftime, OL Reign came out on the front foot, testing Louisville goalkeeper Michelle Betos with 15 shots in the second half. OL Reign made a double substitution in the 60th minute to bring on Quinn and Jess Fishlock and the tone of the match changed.
The two midfielders brought new life into the Reign team that was playing their third game in a week and second consecutive game on the road. In the 74th minute, OL Reign found the goal that they had been chasing for over 50 minutes. Sofia Huerta got up the field from her position at right back and put a perfectly placed cross into the box. Bethany Balcer got her head on the end of it to beat Betos in goal and equalize the game, as well as take the lead in the NWSL Golden Boot race.
The teams battled hard through the rest of the game. It looked like Fishlock found the game winning goal just as stoppage time was beginning, but she was flagged offside. The game ended 1-1 and the teams split the points after a gritty battle in Louisville.
The team will look to continue their undefeated run as they travel to Washington D.C. on Sunday, September 12 to take on the Washington Spirit in their third consecutive game on the road.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
With this draw, OL Reign moved up to second place in the NWSL standings
This is only the second time this season that OL Reign has tied a game. The team is now tied with Portland for the fewest number of draws this season
OL Reign extended their undefeated streak to four games
Bethany Balcer scored her eighth goal of the season and is now the leading goal scorer in the NWSL
Sofia Huerta earned her third assist of the season