OL Reign’s 2022 season could be described as a rollercoaster full of highs and lows. The team won their third NWSL Shield and earned a No. 1 seed in the NWSL playoffs, reflecting the consistent excellence the club has come to be known for since the early days of the league.

But once again, they failed to win the biggest honor of all, falling in their second consecutive semifinal after finishing in the top two in the league standings, this time to the Kansas City Current. The Reign have always represented the dichotomy of the difficult task in front of NWSL clubs: Sometimes the consistency that gives you a season-long edge becomes exploitable in the win-or-go-home playoffs.

The Reign have yet to hoist the NWSL trophy at the end of the postseason despite having one of the most talented rosters in the league. Is this the year the original Reign trio of Megan Rapinoe, Lauren Barnes and Jess Fishlock finish a season on a win?

2022 review: All about the timing

Part of what made the Reign’s inability to reach the finish line in 2022 so confounding is they appeared to be peaking at exactly the right time. The team’s Shield win was less a reflection of complete season dominance, and more an opportunity seized at the last minute.

Portland was in pole position for a back-to-back Shield title before dropping crucial points in the final weekend of the regular season. OL Reign, with momentum behind them, grabbed the chance to finish at the top of the table and looked like they had more in the tank for a postseason run.

But then, the same issues that have plagued the Reign for years popped up in their semifinal matchup against the Current. The Reign are experts at moving the ball, controlling games through possession and finding clinical ways to create chances on goal. They arguably are the golden standard for possessive-style football in the NWSL, with a consistency underlined by talent and experience.

Despite the strong build-up play, the Reign had a hard time finishing those chances. The club hit the woodwork more than any other NWSL team in 2022, and while the addition of Canada forward Jordyn Huitema midseason helped, they came up short again in the knockout game. The Reign out-shot, out-passed, out-possessed and held a huge advantage on set pieces in their semifinal, and still saw their season disappear in a disappointing 2-0 loss to Kansas City.

“It’s so tough because you look back on the year, and we had a really good year,” midfielder Rose Lavelle told reporters in preseason. “We won the Shield and that’s hard. That’s like a product of the whole season. But then I think to finish on that last game hurt us all.”

img
The Reign acquired forward Elyse Bennett and defender Emily Sonnett in the offseason. (Amy Kontras/USA TODAY Sports)

Offseason moves: Staying the course

Despite the disappointing finish, the Reign’s approach to the 2023 offseason was about consistency. Top free agents Rapinoe and Barnes both decided to re-sign with the club — ”It would have taken a catastrophe, most likely, for me to actually leave,” Rapinoe said — and head coach Laura Harvey made strategic additions elsewhere.

“Having the group predominantly back together again was a priority,” Harvey said. As a result, the Reign head into the 2023 season looking very similar to their Shield-winning squad.

The Reign did take the opportunity to sign USWNT defender Emily Sonnett on draft day, after the Washington Spirit offered her in a trade. They also picked up second-year forward Elyse Bennett from Kansas City, bolstering a frontline that will need dynamicism when players are away for the 2023 World Cup.

“Adding someone of [Sonnett’s] quality and experience and knowing how to win in this league could be really vital for us, and adding some depth in our frontline was also a priority to us and obviously [Bennett] fits that mold,” said Harvey. The coach noted that the team didn’t bring in rookies in large numbers, instead focusing on players with track records and the ability to acclimate to the Reign’s style of play.

Harvey also has the ebbs and flows of the international calendar in mind: “We’re constantly looking at, is this the roster that we have for the whole year? Is this something that we can take through to the World Cup, and then we have to manipulate the roster a little bit during the World Cup? And then, what does it look like after the World Cup?

“I sort of think, in World Cup years, you’ve always got those things going around in your mind. But it all started with making sure that we kept the majority of the group together from last year.”

img
Coach Laura Harvey is a three-time NWSL Coach of the Year with the Reign. (Stephen Brashear/USA TODAY Sports)

2023 Outlook: Finishing the job

The goal in 2023 remains the same as in past years: The Reign expect to compete for an NWSL championship.

“We have just such a talented, young squad. We kind of have all the pieces in place to be really good for a very long time and I think with the foundation of our culture and just how we are here, it could be one of the most attractive places in the world, not just the NWSL,” Rapinoe said.

“But we need to keep building and keep pushing and keep striving and making sure that everything off the pitch is just as good as what’s on the pitch.”

The Reign played preseason games in California, heading to warmer weather as many other clubs did before the season, and will be training at Starfire Sports in 2023 and beyond. While the group has always had a strong locker-room culture, upgrades in resources have proven to be key during a grueling NWSL season, and the Reign are taking steps to keep up with the top clubs in the league.

On the field, the squad is leaning into what’s worked for them in the past, with the intention of making the final push when it matters most.

“The vibes are always so good, and I think I’ve never been on a team like this that it’s just so good and wholesome,” Lavelle said. “It’s such a great group, and I think it makes it so easy to come in and get the job done. I think we’re all on the same page with everything and it’s fun.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

OL Reign teammates Jess Fishlock and Tziarra King announced their engagement Sunday night via Instagram.

The pair shared shared engagement photos to their accounts, and OL Reign teammates Sofia Huerta, Bethany Balcer as well as USWNT stars Ali Krieger, Carson Pickett and Hailie Mace were among those to share their congratulations.

The NWSL stars give the Seattle club just one more reason to celebrate.

OL Reign claimed the NWSL Shield with a 3-0 win over the Orlando Pride in their regular season finale on Oct. 1, so they enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. They’ll start their playoff run at 7:30 p.m. ET Sunday, when they’ll host the No. 5 Kansas City Current at Lumen Field.

Fishlock and King will look to continue their banner month. Fishlock scored the game-winning goal for Wales in extra time against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Oct. 6 in the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoffs.

“I think that was my best and most important Wales goal, probably both,” the 2021 NWSL MVP said after the match.

After the goal, Fishlock ran to the stands to embrace King.

“Idk, y’all might as well start calling me the King consort of Wales,” King joked on social media, posting the video of her and Fishlock in the stands.

Jess Fishlock’s goal in extra time against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday helped send Wales to the World Cup playoff final, where they will face Switzerland on Tuesday for a chance to punch their ticket to the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“I think that was my best and most important Wales goal, probably both,” Fishlock, the 2021 NWSL MVP, told reporters after the game.

This is the first time Wales has reached a major finals, and Fishlock’s celebration was worthy of the moment.

After finding the back of the net with a volley, Fischlock, who plays her club soccer in the NWSL with the OL Reign, celebrated by outrunning her ecstatic teammates, sliding on her back and allowing them to join her in a dog pile.

“It is one of those moments you kind of dream of, and the celebration was epic. I didn’t even know what to do and I ended up sliding, which is not me,” she said. “It was pure emotion we have for each other and pure relief; don’t think I’ve felt something like that before to be honest.”

Then, Fishlock took to the stands. She ran up the stairs and was helped over a divider by spectators in order to embrace her partner and OL Reign teammate, Tziarra King, who had made the trip to support Fishlock.

“Idk, y’all might as well start calling me the King consort of Wales,” King joked on twitter, posting the video of her and Fishlock in the stands.

Fishlock thanked King with a tweet of her own, writing, “Thank you so much for flying over. your constant support for me is one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. Now you know what the welsh are about. I love you.”

Fishlock’s win with Wales comes less than a week after she, King and OL Reign secured the NWSL Shield with a win over the Pride. It was their first Shield since 2015.

OL Reign’s Jess Fishlock called out the quality of the NWSL’s streaming broadcasts.

The reigning league MVP responded Friday night to a tweet from Victor Araiza of The Striker. In his post, Araiza juxtaposed the difference between MLS and NWSL midfield sideline cameras in matches at Houston’s PNC Stadium.

“Now I know why the twitch stream be twitching,” Fishlock tweeted.

Broadcast quality has been a topic of conversation among NWSL fans and insiders this season, with the league promising streaming upgrades.

In July, the NWSL announced plans to invest in upgrades for all Paramount+ and Twitch broadcasts starting in August. Proposed improvements will extend to infrastructure, staff and higher-quality cameras.

The promise came out of the NWSL’s board of governors meeting in New York in July. In the meeting, the league also revealed that the streaming audience had grown 24 percent compared to last year, spurring the push for development.

In total, 96 games will be streamed on Paramount+ during the 2022 NWSL season, while 24 will stream on Twitch.

Jess Fishlock showed why she is the reigning NWSL MVP on Friday, notching a goal and an assist in OL Reign’s 2-0 victory over North Carolina.

The 35-year-old led the Reign to its first multi-goal win of the regular season, earning her JWS Player of the Week honors.

A Lumen Field crowd of 7,519 erupted when Fishlock secured the matchup’s breakthrough goal in the 52nd minute. The midfielder received a well-placed ball from Bethany Balcer, then took her first touch around the Courage goalkeeper to execute the go-ahead finish into an open net.

Fishlock returned the favor to Balcer in the 74th minute, playing a through ball to the forward, who split the North Carolina center backs before firing off a low shot to the near post.

As displayed by her creation of these two critical chances in the final third, Fishlock orchestrated OL Reign’s attack from the center of the pitch, finding space between North Carolina’s lines. She helped on both sides of the ball, launching two successful long balls, winning 63 percent of her duels and logging a pass accuracy of 67 percent.

Fishlock combined with Balcer, Tziarra King and new addition Kim Little brilliantly in the midfield, foreshadowing a revved-up and renewed Reign attack. While the offense started the regular season sputtering, OL Reign looks increasingly dangerous at fourth in the NWSL standings with Tobin Heath set to join the squad.

After her dominant performance during the club’s Pride Month fixture, Fishlock kept her remarks brief and celebratory, saying: “It was for the gays today.”

OL Reign star Jess Fishlock spoke out on Twitter about her team’s NWSL Challenge Cup scheduling woes.

As the top seed exiting the group stage of the Challenge Cup, OL Reign earned home-field advantage for the tournament’s semifinals. OL Rein’s Lumen Field, however, has a Seattle Sounders match scheduled for Wednesday, May 4, the same date as the semifinal.

Per the club, OL Reign attempted to find an alternative venue to retain home-field advantage. Instead, the team’s matchup against the fourth-seeded Washington Spirt will be played at Segra Field in Leesburg, Va., one of the Spirit’s two home fields.

The teams also are scheduled to play this Sunday, May 1, in their season opener at Audi Field in Washington, the Spirit’s other home arena.

“Congratulations on being top seed and making it through to the semifinal of the challenge cup,” Fishlock tweeted. “To celebrate … You now have an away game on the east coast Sunday …followed by an away semifinal that you are meant to host on Wednesday on the west coast.”

Should OL Reign advance to the Challenge Cup final, it will be played at Lumen Field on May 7 at 10 a.m. local time, and the club’s regular-season game against Racing Louisville set for May 8 will be rescheduled.

OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey is embracing the NWSL preseason with veteran players Megan Rapinoe, Jess Fishlock and Lauren Barnes, because she can’t be sure how many she’ll have left with all three of them after this one.

Rapinoe, 36, said after the Olympics last year that she needed to “take some time to think” about retirement. Last month, she signed a one-year extension with the Reign, raising questions about whether this could be her last year (fiancé and Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird has announced this WNBA season as her farewell tour).

For Barnes, 32, and Fishlock, 35, the question appears further off as they and Rapinoe enter their 10th season with OL Reign. In January, Barnes signed a one-year contract extension and Fishlock a two-year, both of which have options for an extra year. 

The three original franchise players understand what it means to play for the Reign and, during a preseason with many new faces, Harvey can lean on them to set the tone.

“I think that’s their biggest legacy,” the coach said. “This club continues to stick with those standards on and off the field, within the player group, of what’s expected, and these have been setting it for 10 years. They created it, then they set it and then they impart that onto the new ones coming in.”

For Harvey, who also started at the club (then Seattle Reign FC) in 2013, “it’s hard to imagine the club without them,” she said. All three have been named to the NWSL Best XI during their careers, with 2021 NWSL MVP Fishlock earning the honor five times.

“We are 100 percent the product of our environment,” said Barnes, the NWSL’s 2016 Defender of the Year. “I am every single person who’s ever been part of this club — players, staff, playing one minute, to not playing at all, to playing every single minute.”

Barnes leads a steady backline alongside U.S. women’s national team defenders Alana Cook and Sofia Huerta. Kristen McNabb, who started 15 of 21 games for Reign last season, was selected by San Diego Wave FC in the 2022 expansion draft.

“We always hear about outsiders looking in and that they want to be part of the Reign, and I just want to continue that legacy as much as I possibly can and have these younger ones take it over after as the old ones move on eventually,” Barnes said.

That legacy is a conversation Harvey plans to have with Barnes, Rapinoe and Fishlock, but “not yet,” as she exclaimed during Tuesday’s media call.

The group still has an NWSL championship title to win after claiming the NWSL Shield twice, in 2014 and 2015, and finishing as runners-up those same years.

Since falling to the Washington Spirit — the eventual NWSL champions — in last year’s semifinals, the Reign have undergone one of the biggest roster turnovers in their history, signing nine new players in recent weeks.  The upcoming NWSL Challenge Cup will give them a chance to find their chemistry in competitive game settings before the regular season begins in May.

“There’s things around who Lu’s playing with … or whatever it might look like, where we have to find answers on some of the new players that we have,” Harvey said.

With Rapinoe up top, Fishlock in the midfield and Barnes on defense, Harvey has a strong core to build around. The Reign will enter the year with a healthy balance of veterans, younger players and those coming from other teams who are hungry for their shot. The mix creates a team that wants to win now, but also has depth and longevity.

The Reign get an early test, kicking off the Challenge Cup on March 18 against the Portland Thorns.

“It’s the game of our lifetime,” Barnes said of the Reign-Thorns rivalry. “It doesn’t even matter what place you’re in in the league. It’s like, that’s the championship game.

“Being able to pass that history down, that rivalry down to the new girls coming in and people overseas and stuff has been really fun to watch. I’ve had a couple girls come off those games and be like, ‘Best game I ever played.’ And we’re talking about girls who have been to World Cups.”

The game will also serve as OL Reign’s 2022 home debut at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash., home to the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and MLS’ Seattle Sounders. While hosting games at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma for three years, the Reign played their first match at Lumen last August against Portland, winning 2-1 in front of an NWSL-record 27,278 fans.

The move to Lumen marks the beginning of a new era for the Reign, and Barnes, Rapinoe and Fishlock are ready to lead the way.

“The club’s going in an exciting direction in regards to playing at Lumen, which is a huge step for us and I think the three of them,” Harvey said. “I was really excited for the three of them to have that opportunity because they deserve it.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

Reigning NWSL MVP Jess Fishlock stopped by ITV’s ‘Face to Face’ this week, where she revealed that she is interested in a career in politics following her eventual retirement from soccer.

“I’m looking into it,” she said when asked if she would ever consider entering politics. “I think as I’ve grown older and seen the way society is going, I definitely want to have a bigger impact in not just the football world. I definitely want to try and create a bigger change.”

The 2021 NWSL MVP, Fishlock has played professionally for over 15 years. She spent the last nine seasons with OL Reign, playing in more than 140 matches for the club. Recently, the midfielder signed a contract extension through 2023.

But that doesn’t mean that Fishlock isn’t thinking about what she wants to do after soccer. When asked about the possibility of coaching, Fishlock said that while she’s intrigued by the prospect, she’s also looking at other areas of the game.

“I think I would be better served more in the boardrooms and helping the people who get to influence decisions,” she said. “I just feel that with my experience and everything that I have gone through, in so many different countries and watching so many different federations do things in completely different ways – and there’s no right or wrong, you can do whatever you want to do in different ways – but for me in the women’s game, one thing I feel we really lack is the right people in the right positions who really understand the game.

“I’ve played women’s football now for 20 years. I’ve been a pro for over 15. I’ve played in so many different countries. My experience in those positions, I believe, will help us move in the right way for women’s football. Because it’s a completely different game.”

OL Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock is thankful for her teammates after winning 2021 NWSL MVP.

Fishlock took to Twitter on Tuesday, where she credited her teammates for their part in the award.

“No sport truly ever has individual awards,” she wrote. “My teammates deserve all the credit too. Cannot play this game alone.”

In addition, she commended those who were nominated for their play as well. Chicago’s Mallory Pugh came in second while NJ/NY Gotham FC’s Midge Purce was third. Washington’s Ashley Hatch and Portland’s Angela Salem followed.

“Best thing about this year was this award could’ve gone to any of those nominated,” she wrote. “Everyone was a worthy winner.

“This league is just going to get better and better. Feel very proud to be amongst the players in this league.”

Fishlock also called out Lauren Barnes, whose been with OL Reign since 2013 and won NWSL Defender of the Year in 2016.

OL Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock has been named the 2021 NWSL MVP.

It’s the first time Fishlock has been tabbed for the award, after returning to action for the first time since suffering an ACL and double meniscus tear in July 2019. Throughout the season, Fishlock played in 24 matches and totaled 1,880 minutes played — second most by any OL Reign player this year.

On top of her minutes logged, the midfielder scored five goals and notched four assists.

Additionally, her passing accuracy stood at 76.4 percent, with 47 passes across 23 games. Defensively, Fishlock was just as strong. She won 63 percent of tackles while providing 13 clearances and 21 interceptions through the season. In October, she earned Save of the Week honors following a goal line clearance during an October 16 game against the Washington Spirit.

She becomes the second Reign player to win NWSL MVP after Kim Little won the award in 2014.

“If you speak to most people around the league and ask the coaches if they could take one player from our team, it would always be [Jess],” said OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey, who was recently named 2021 NWSL Coach of the Year. “I think that’s just a compliment of what she’s always brought to this team. The journey that she’s been on to get to this point has been phenomenal. I’m glad that she’s getting some recognition that she deserves.”

Chicago’s Mallory Pugh finished second in voting while NJ/NY Gotham FC’s Midge Purce was third followed by Washington’s Ashley Hatch and Portland’s Angela Salem.