By Marilia Macedo
OL Reign faced the Courage on Sunday, May 14, at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. Lussi, for NCC, scored the only goal of the match.
Reign started the first half trying to open the score with Fishlock, who attempted a shot from outside the area, but the ball went wide.
However, minutes later, the home team took control and started keeping the visitors under pressure with good plays by Tyler Lussi (and the keeper Tullis-Joyce even blocked one of her shots).
Later, after a goal ruled out by VAR, the Courage took the lead when Lussi received a great pass from Madsen and right-footed – this time, Tullis-Joyce could not save it, 1-0.
In the second half, both teams did not create as many opportunities. In one of the few, and perhaps one of the best, favors for Laura Harvey’s squad, Murphy denied what could be the equalizer when Huitema tried a header after a cross by Huerta.
The difficulty of creating good plays to reach the opponent’s goal was critical in Reign’s loss in this round.
For the next round, the Bold will face Gotham FC on Sunday, May 6, at 6 PM ET. Meanwhile, the Courage will face Angel City on Saturday, May 20, at 7 PM ET.