NWSL Seattle Reign FC

OL Reign Shine in 3-0 Win over Orlando

Published on September 26, 2021 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Seattle Reign FC News Release


TACOMA, WA - OL Reign (11-7-2) dominated the Orlando Pride (7-6-7) for a second time this season to earn an important three points after over a month away from Cheney Stadium in Tacoma. The win in front of 5,044 home fans marks the Reign's 11th of the season and maintains their position at second place in the NWSL standings.

OL Reign started the match on fire, despite the rain in the Tacoma and opened the scoring in the just the third minute. It was none other than Bethany Balcer, who retook her position as number one in the NWSL Golden Boot race. Sofia Huerta played a great cross into the box from the right side and Balcer was there to head it into the back of the net.

With the early lead, OL Reign only gained momentum. The Reign midfield - Rose Lavelle, Quinn and Jess Fishlock - controlled the game, taking advantage of slow pressure from Orlando. Eugénie Le Sommer doubled OL Reign's lead in the 28th minute when Dzsenifer Marozsán tapped her the ball well outside the 18-yard box and Le Sommer made no mistake in finding the back of the net.

Just four minutes later, Le Sommer added her second goal of the evening. It was Marozsán who assisted the goal again. This time, Marozsán hit a brilliant one touch ball into Le Sommer making a run inside the box. Le Sommer collected the ball at the six-yard box and found the corner of goal to put the Reign up 3-0 just 32 minutes into the match.

OL Reign continued to perform well for the rest of the first half but were unable to find the back of the net again. The home side maintained 60.9% of possession in the first half and managed 12 shots compared to Orlando's five.

After halftime, OL Reign shared possession with Orlando 51.2% to 48.8%. Though the Reign still largely controlled the match, Orlando found opportunities to get into the attack with six shots on goal. Despite the attack, the Reign defense and goalkeeper held strong to maintain the shutout.

The Reign finished the game strong and secured the 3-0 win and three points with their sixth home win in a row. The team, now 35 points and in second place, will look to continue their winning ways down in Portland on Saturday, October 2.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

With this win, OL Reign maintain their second-place position in the NWSL standings

OL Reign extended their home win streak to six games, which is the longest home win streak for the Reign since summer 2015

Bethany Balcer scored her ninth goal of the season is now tied for first place in the NWSL Golden Boot race

This is OL Reign's seventh shutout of the season and Sarah Bouhaddi's fifth

OL Reign are now 2-0-0 against the Orlando Pride this season and leads the head-to-head tiebreaker if the teams are tied on points in the future

OL Reign have not lost a match against Orlando since May 8, 2016, when the teams met for the first time

MATCH SUMMARY

2021 NWSL Regular Season

OL Reign (11-7-2, 35 points) 3-0 Orlando Pride (7-6-7, 28 points)

Date/Time: Sunday, September 26, 2021, 4:00 p.m. PT

Location: Cheney Stadium, Tacoma, Washington

Weather: 63, Scattered Showers

Scoring Summary

TEAM 1H 2H FT

OL Reign 3 0 3

Orlando Pride 0 0 0

RGN: Balcer - 3', Le Sommer - 28', 32'

ORL: None

Discipline

RGN: None

ORL: Taylor (Caution - 30'), Turner (Caution - 62'), Riley (Caution - 73')

Lineups

RGN: GK Bouhaddi, D McNabb, D Cook, D Barnes ©, D Huerta, M Quinn, M Fishlock (Weatherholt 87'), M Lavelle (Cruz 88'), F Le Sommer (King 76'), F Marozsán (Angelina 71'), F Balcer (Pruitt 88')

Unused substitutes: GK Tullis-Joyce, D Hiatt, D Cox, D Celia

Total Shots: 21 (Le Sommer - 6)

Shots on Goal: 8 (Balcer, Le Sommer - 2)

Fouls: 8 (Le Sommer - 3)

Offsides: 3 (Balcer - 2)

Corner Kicks: 5

Saves: 3 (Bouhaddi - 3)

ORL: GK Harris, D Turner, D Krieger, D Riley (Tymrak 79'), M Petersen, M Jonsdottir, M Dougherty Howard (Viggiano 46'), M Kornieck (Marta 58'), M Taylor (McClernon 46'), F Leroux, F Morgan

Unused substitutes: GK Wilson, M Roberts, D Pressley, F Kim, D Strom

Total Shots: 11 (Leroux, Morgan - 4)

Shots on Goal: 3 (Morgan - 2)

Fouls: 11 (Morgan - 3)

Offsides: 1 (Morgan - 1)

Corner Kicks: 2

Saves: 5 (Harris - 5)

Officials

Referee: Malik Badawi

Assistant Referees: Katarzyna Wasiak, Melissa Beck

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from September 26, 2021


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