Huitema heroics help Reign secure three points in tight battle against Pride
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Entering the final five matches of the 2023 NWSL regular season, the OL Reign needed to start stacking wins. With losses in their past three matches and sitting in the lower half of the table, playoff seeding wise, the club needed to start executing and getting more out of their top stars. While they’ll leave today’s match at Lumen Field wanting more in terms of the scoreboard, the Reign secured all three points in a victory over the Orlando Pride. Orlando went down to ten players in just the third minute after goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse fouled Reign forward Bethany Balcer in a one-on-one situation, and a Jordyn Huitema goal early into the second half was all the home side needed for the win.
OL Reign midfielder Rose Lavelle made her first home start for the club in more than five months (Photos by Liv Lyons)
A unique first half
As mentioned, this game kicked off with a bang. Just three minutes into the match, Reign forward Bethany Balcer was taken out by Pride keeper Anna Moorhouse which resulted in an immediate red card from head official Ricardo Fierro. Balcer was free and on the breakaway before the collision with Moorhouse ultimately impeded her ability to continue forward, resulting in that red card. Orlando immediately went down to ten players, and it seemed like the Reign were going to be able to dominate this match considering that they were just getting back to full strength with their international players fully returned from the World Cup and re-integrated. That wasn’t the case, as the Reign couldn’t make any of the 13 attempts towards the Pride goal matter or make them dangerous enough, and the club even had to take Balcer off just five minutes after the red card against Moorhouse, as she sustained a leg injury that we haven’t gotten more details on.
OL Reign forward Bethany Balcer was taken out by Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse, resulting in Moorhouse receiving a red card, the Pride having to swap goalkeepers while also going down a player. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
Thankfully, it wouldn’t take the Reign too long into the second half, as Jordyn Huitema’s strike from the top of the box amidst a scramble got the club the lead that they’d hold onto for the rest of the match. Rose Lavelle’s attempt on new Pride keeper Carly Nelson was deflected on her save, sending the ball to the top of the 18-yard box where Huitema had followed the play. The Orlando defense had sunk lower on the field towards their goal, leaving plenty of room for Huitema to fire away with a strike that Nelson couldn’t prevent from finding the back of the net. That play all starts with Lavelle taking advantage from a giveaway by Nelson on a goal kick and is buried by the forward that’s hoping to ignite the Reign attack.
OL Reign forward Jordyn Huitema and her teammates celebrate the long goal of the match, as Orlando tries to pick themselves up in the aftermath of a scramble (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Only one goal?
The struggles for the Reign attack have been well documented over the past two seasons, as the club will generate numerous chances but have failed to bury many of them. Despite the talent stacked at the forward position, the club hasn’t fully unlocked the secret to burying their chances as they’d like and thus results in tighter games than they may want. The club generated numerous chances in this match, evident from the number of shots (18) and even shots on target (seven), but the Reign haven’t put the right lineup pieces of the puzzle together in a consistent matter to score the necessary goals for them to win matches handily. We are all aware of the sort of strong defensive play that the club has, with its trio of outstanding goalkeepers and the backline that has strong depth that can fill in when needed, but it’s incredibly hard to ask them to put on a shutout performance every single match, across all competitions.
OL Reign forward Jordyn Huitema subbed in for the injured Bethany Balcer in the 10th minute of the match, scoring the lone goal of the match in her 80 minutes played (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
Lineup intrigue
The starting lineup drew some questions from those around the Reign, as it was not Phallon Tullis-Joyce getting the start in goal while Phoebe McClernon held down Sam Hiatt’s spot alongside Alana Cook at the center back position. While McClernon is a solid defensive option for the Reign that can play all over the club's backline, it was interesting to see her take over Hiatt’s spot when the Stanford University alum hasn’t necessarily done anything to lose that starting spot. Perhaps it’s saving Hiatt for the match upcoming on Wednesday in the UKG Challenge Cup final, as Harvey stated that the club would not give the same players who got the entire match today the same such minutes in that match. The goalkeeper situation itself is something that we’re going to investigate further in a separate piece, but it’s certainly a unique position to put the club into at this late point in the season.
The OL Reign defensive unit, including the start from Phoebe McClernon, held things down against a ten-player Orlando Pride to record another clean sheet (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
Where they sit in the standings
Following these three points, the Reign now find themselves in the fourth-place spot of the NWSL. They remain just three points out of the first-place spot in the league, which currently sits with the San Diego Wave, and thankfully don’t have to worry about the whole games in hand issue that the Seattle Sounders are currently dealing with. The Reign needed these three points to really keep themselves in the running for the potential of the top seed or in that area, and they’ll need to bring a sense of urgency to their remaining four matches of the regular season. Three of those four are against clubs that are in playoff positioning now, and all four of them will likely want to do whatever they can to send out forward Megan Rapinoe in their own special way as she finishes up her playing career. Two of those four matches are at the Reign’s home of Lumen Field, with seating sections opening for the final match of Rapinoe, so if you’re able to, do your best to pack out the world class stadium as the club is in the thick of its playoff push.
The OL Reign OG’s of Megan Rapinoe, Jess Fishlock, and Lu Barnes got their respective starts for the club in today’s win over the Orlando Pride (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Quick notes
Today’s attendance at Lumen Field was 10,106
Second largest crowd in club regular season history
Since the 2015 season, OL Reign is unbeaten in 25 of 30 regular season games played during the months of September and October, holding a record of 18-5-7 for a total of 61 points, averaging a league-best 2.03 points/game.
After not playing a regular season game at home since July 1, OL Reign made their return and with today’s win, the Reign have totaled a league-best 41 points at home since naming Lumen Field home at the start of the 2022 season.
Today’s match marks the 68th time all three OGs – captain/defender Lauren Barnes, midfielder Jess Fishlock and forward Megan Rapinoe – have started together in a regular season game since the 2013 season.
Making her first start since July 7, midfielder Jess Fishlock recorded a season high in shots (5), tied for first on the team. Fishlock added two chances created, two duels won and one clearance.
Forward Jordyn Huitema scored the opening goal in the 49th minute to give OL Reign a 1-0 lead. After entering the match as a substitute in the 10th minute, Huitema finished the match with five shots and five duels won.
Huitema joins forward Bethany Balcer for most goals on the team through Week 18, with five.
Forward Megan Rapinoe returned to the starting XI today for the first time since June 10, when the club hosted Kansas City.
Rapinoe has 49 regular season goals in her career, which ranks sixth in NWSL history.
The win brings the all-time series to 7-2-7 between the Reign and Orlando Pride, extending OL Reign’s all-time home unbeaten record against Orlando to 5-0-3.
What’s next?
Following today’s victory in regular season league play, the Reign have just a few days off before they return to action on Wednesday, September 6th for the UKG Challenge Cup playoff semifinal against Racing Louisville. It’s unlikely that the starters from today’s match will be getting the same minutes in that upcoming contest, and it will be interesting to see which goalkeeper of the three on the Reign roster that starts for the club. The Reign host that matchup at Lumen Field, since they won the West division of the Challenge Cup, with a kickoff time of 7PM PST and being broadcast on CBS Sports if you aren’t attending in person with us. If the Reign were to win this semifinal against Louisville, the club would play the Challenge Cup final just a few days later.
