Reign, with West division already clinched, battle to scoreless draw against Thorns
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – The OL Reign closed out UKG Challenge Cup group play with a scoreless draw against their Cascadia rival Portland Thorns, in a somewhat low stakes match for both clubs. With the West division already locked up for the Reign and the Thorns having a close to zero chance at advancing in the mid-season tournament, there was little on the line between these two bitter rivals. The defensive display for the Reign during this year's Challenge Cup continues, as Laurel Ivory and the backline consisting of Alyssa Malonson, Phoebe McClernon, Shae Holmes, and Ryanne Brown held things down to close out group play having not allowed a single goal. With the USWNT loss to Sweden hours before this match took place, the Reign will be getting their internationals back in time, but the reserve/younger players and national team replacement signings made their mark.
The OL Reign attack had a few chances on goal in this game, but nothing was able to get into the back of the net (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Early opportunities for not
The Reign had an immediate chance in this matchup, as forward Veronica Latsko intercepted a pass in the Thorns midfield before sending a through ball up to Tziarra King that was eventually saved by goalkeeper Shelby Hogan. Outside of that attempt, and one from Bethany Balcer that hit the woodwork, there wasn’t much offensive attack or dangerous chances to speak of in this battle. It was more of stalemate between the two clubs, which you’d somewhat expect given their rivalry status, but even more so given that both teams largely had rosters in that were developing their younger sides and trying to find their form together amid the current FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Reign did make a few substitutes late, including bringing on forward Elyse Bennett, to try and inject some life, but the club had to settle for outshooting Portland in this scoreless draw.
The Reign played another strong game defensively, finishing out the Challenge Cup group stage having not allowed a goal (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Brick wall defense
The major story throughout the entirety of this Challenge Cup for the Reign has been their strong defensive play. That carried over to today’s match, where goalkeeper Laurel Ivory was strong and made the saves when needed while the backline was fresh and still held down the fort. What I mean by fresh is that no players who normally start for the Reign were to be seen, in that backline of Malonson, McClernon, Holmes, and Brown. While they may start during the regular season, all four of those defenders have made their case as strong players and very well could make a case to start on numerous teams around the NWSL. Members of the front office for the Reign discussed this offseason how they made signings in preparation for this time of the year as the World Cup took eight of their players, and it’s paid off as the success has been strong since that began.
OL Reign goalkeeper Laurel Ivory secured the clubs fifth clean sheet in Challenge Cup group play (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Quick notes
OL Reign earned its seventh consecutive clean sheet in Challenge Cup play, dating back to the semifinals of the 2022 tournament. OL Reign has two goalkeepers in this year’s tournament with multiple clean sheets (Claudia Dickey – 3, Laurel Ivory – 3) and is the only team to not concede a goal in 2023.
Additionally, OL Reign extended its league record for shutouts in Challenge Cup play to 13.
OL Reign extended its unbeaten streak in the Challenge Cup to 15 games, a streak that dates to April 21, 2021 and ties the league record with North Carolina.
With today’s win, OL Reign clinched the top overall seed for the Challenge Cup playoffs. OL Reign has never lost to any of the three teams in the West division during Challenge Cup play since it started in 2022, outscoring Angel City FC, Portland Thorns FC and San Diego Wave FC for a combined 18-5.
What’s next?
The Reign’s Challenge Cup fate through group play was decided before this result, as the club had clinched the Western Division with their victory over the San Diego Wave. The next match during Challenge Cup play will take place on September 6th, which is semifinals action, as the Reign will be hosting Racing Louisville. If the Reign were to move on to the final, it would be on September 9th and the host of both matches is decided by more points in Challenge Cup play. The next overall match (regular season) takes place on the road, August 18th with a 5PM PST kickoff, against the Kansas City Current. Playing against the club at the bottom of the table currently, the Reign are looking to climb the NWSL standings as they’re just two points out of the top spot.