September 10, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – OL Reign News Release
SEATTLE, WA – OL Reign (7-4-7, 28 points, 5th place) tied 2-2 with the Chicago Red Stars (7-5-6, 6th place) in an intense match at Lumen Field. After initially going up 1-0, OL Reign conceded two goals and fought back to earn a crucial point.
In the first half, OL Reign was on the front foot offensively, doing well to create threatening scoring opportunities. The team took shots in the 12th and 18th minutes before opening the scoring of the match. It was forward Jordyn Huitema to put the Reign on the board, scoring her first ever NWSL goal.
The play started with defender Sofia Huerta finding the feet of Huitema in the center of the box. Huitema turned with the ball and ripped a shot, but it was deflected away from goal by a Chicago defender. The Canadian forward followed up with another shot, this time finishing the ball to the lower corner of the net, past a giving Alyssa Naeher in goal.
OL Reign maintained the lead until stoppage time of the first half, when Chicago found a late equalizer. After a spell of chaos in OL Reign’s 18-yard box, forward Ella Stevens found the back of the net with a low ball to the left corner.
After the halftime break, the Red Stars had the momentum and found the back of the net first. The referee called a handball on OL Reign in their own 18-yard box, awarding a penalty kick to the Red Stars. Midfielder Danielle Colaprico stepped up to the spot and capitalized, putting the visitors ahead in the 68th minute.
As time was winding down in the match, OL Reign pushed forward, looking for a late equalizer and found it in the 80th minute. Forward Megan Rapinoe played a through ball to the feet of midfielder Rose Lavelle in the middle of the field. Lavelle dribbled to the top of the box before firing a stunning shot perfectly into the far side of the net.
In stoppage time, the Reign nearly found an equalizer on three separate occasions. Lavelle hit the woodwork in the 94th minute of the match and Rapinoe followed up with a shot on target that was saved by Naeher. In the last chance of the match, Lavelle hit a shot on target in the 96th minute of the match, but Naeher saved once again to keep the score 2-2 at the final whistle.
Key Facts:
– Forward Jordyn Huitema recorded her first-ever NWSL goal with OL Reign in the 18 th minute, giving the Reign a 1-0 lead. Huitema finished the match with six shots, which was tied for the most on the team.
– Midfielder…