By Marilia Macedo
OL Reign played against Gotham FC and lost 1-4 on Sunday, May 21, at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. During the duel, OL seemed to have taken a while to activate Bold mode and did not play like the fans are used to seeing. Even with very skilled players, the lack of creativity and a certain apathy led the team to another defeat in the regular season.
It was a tough first half for the home team since Reign could not find spaces on the field to move and shoot on goal.
On the other hand, Gotham did a great job both in defense and in attack, and it was a matter of time before they opened the scoring.
With just 10 minutes, Jenna Nighswonger received the pass from Kristie Mewis and scored a “golazo” from outside the area, 0-1.
The Reign nightmare would continue a minute later when Lynn Williams took the ball from Barnes, ran towards the area, and shot to double it, 0-2.
Still struggling to get back on track, the Bold had a great play with Fishlock and Huitema, but Abby Smith denied the attacker’s attempt.
Even before the break, things got worse for Laura Harvey’s squad at 38′ – after baffling passes from the opponents, Taylor Smith right-footed and sent it to the back of the net, 0-3.
Laura Harvey’s team came better to the second half – they started to control the midfield and had a great opportunity with Bethany Balcer, but Smith saved the kick one-on-one.
However, at 73′, after a defensive failure, Bruninha, with her left foot, shot and made it 0-4.
In search of trying to reduce the damage, after a corner kick, at 77′, the ball fell to Huitema, who did not waste the chance, 1-4.
After all, the efforts weren’t enough, and Harvey’s team met their third loss in the competition (4-3-1).
The Bold will return to Lumen Field against Angel City on Saturday, May 27, at 3:30 PM ET. Meanwhile, Gotham will play Washington Spirit on Sunday, May 28, at 5 PM ET.