It was a little disjointed, but the Reign got the job done.
After a three-week break, OL Reign were back in action for an NWSL Challenge Cup match on Friday, July 28. Facing off against the San Diego Wave, the Reign stayed organized defensively and relied on a Bethany Balcer penalty kick to earn a 1-0 win at home.
With the win, the Reign booked a trip to the Challenge Cup semifinals on Wednesday, September 6 — with hosting details still to be announced pending results in the final round of Challenge Cup group stage matches.
Here are three stats from the home win at Lumen Field.
Heading into the match, OL Reign knew that San Diego would try to find Taylor Kornieck in the air. And as Laura Harvey pointed out, her opposing coach Casey Stoney smartly moved Kornieck higher up the field looking for those chances. Kornieck has struggled to get into matches against the Reign, primarily because midfielder Olivia Van der Jagt has competed with her in the air. Moving the 6’1” midfielder up a line eliminated that battle.
“Obviously, San Diego played Kornieck higher in the first half, which they haven’t done against us,” Harvey said after the match. “And it’s smart because Olo (Olivia Van der Jagt) does a really good job against Taylor and it sort of nullified Olo a little bit in regard to being able to compete with Taylor in those moments.”
While Kornieck had one decent look on goal from a cross, she otherwise struggled to win aerial balls against the Reign’s backline.
OL Reign won 63.6% of the 33 aerial duels they contested on Friday. Van der Jagt won 7 aerial duels and Elyse Bennett won 8. The Reign did well to limit San Diego’s threat in the air — and with a little more precision they could have taken advantage of Bennett’s aerial threat.
In 64 minutes of play, midfielder Olivia Athens led the team with six progressive passes and two chances created. According to FBref, Athens leads the league in progressive passes during the Challenge Cup, with 33.
Keeping with the number 6 theme, OL Reign only had six touches in San Diego’s box, a low for them in both Challenge Cup and NWSL regular-season play. The team was not precise on the offensive end. They completed just 62.9% of their passes overall, according to Opta, and just 49.4% of their passes in the final third.
Still, while OL Reign looked like a team that hadn’t played in three weeks — on top of the significant rotation caused by the World Cup — they still managed to dig in and get the job done when it mattered.
Speaking of getting the job done, after five Challenge Cup matches, OL Reign has yet to give up a goal. Their opponents average just 0.7 expected goals (xG) per 90 so far this tournament. Claudia Dickey leads the league with 12 saves in three matches, along with three clean sheets. Laurel Ivory has six saves in two matches, and she earned two shutouts.
While the offense hasn’t been flowing during the Challenge Cup, OL Reign have made themselves incredibly hard to beat. The Wave had just 0.44 xG, according to Opta.
OL Reign will round out their Challenge Cup group stage on Sunday, August 6, when they host the Portland Thorns. That match kicks off at 3 PM PT and will stream on Paramount+ (US), TSN+ (Canada), and the NWSL website (international viewers). The Reign have already qualified for the semifinals but could ensure the top seed with a win — which, while not yet announced, should mean they host their semifinal match.
