On Sunday, OL Reign kick off their 2023 season on the road when the team heads to Audi Field to face the Washington Spirit. The club’s first match of the regular season kicks off at 1 PM PT and will air on FOX 13+ in Western Washington, along with streaming on Paramount+ for fans in the U.S. and NWSLSoccer.com for international viewers.

While a number of season previews have called this a rebuilding year for the Spirit and preseason polls have put the Washington Spirit toward the bottom of their end-of-year predictions list, OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey isn’t buying that at all. She knows what long-time NWSL coach Mark Parsons is capable of.

“I feel like the narrative around the Spirit is not accurate. I feel like everyone is saying that they are making changes that aren’t to win now. I don’t think that,” Harvey said in a pre-match press conference. “I think they have made changes to do exactly what they think they need to do to win now. So, I don’t quite agree with the narrative that it’s this big rotational thing to have a future because I know one thing about Mark: he knows how to win in this league and they have players on the field who can score goals, so I think that that’s what we expect.”

Despite putting in some strong performances, OL Reign have struggled against the Spirit in recent years, going 0-1-1 in the 2022 regular season and falling to Washington in the 2022 Challenge Cup semifinal and 2021 NWSL semifinal. Can they flip that script this weekend?

While the Spirit will be welcoming some new members to their backline, they have three players in the attack who have spent the last two seasons together with the Spirit and the U.S. women’s national team: attacking midfielder Ashley Sanchez, winger Trinity Rodman, and forward Ashley Hatch. That trio has some clear chemistry and are all real threats. OL Reign captain Lauren Barnes is excited about the challenge they will present.

“It’s exciting, it’s something that you want to play against, you want to be against the best all the time and I think that’s what they have. I know that they are a big threat but I think with our core group returning, it will be a really good matchup.”

What to Watch

• How the Spirit press: From his preseason comments, it seems clear that Parsons wants the Spirit to put more pressure on their opponents high up the field. When he coached in Portland, his frontline and midfield set lots of traps high up the field and punished opponents in transition. How will the Reign respond if the Spirit do the same?
• Trinity Rodman: Listen, she’s a problem. It feels like Rodman finds a new way to be a threat every time she steps on the field. She’s fast, extremely difficult to push off the ball, and can slip a dangerous pass or shot on goal from just about anywhere. OL Reign will have their hands full with her.
• Emily Sonnett’s role: Harvey still isn’t ready to commit to Sonnett’s best position with the Reign, but the U.S. women’s national team player played two games at defensive midfield in the preseason. If Quinn is unavailable, Sonnett is likely to get the start there on Sunday. One thing her presence in the midfield does is to allow Sofia Huerta to play a little more freely — with Sonnett having the ability to provide cover.

Availability Report

OL Reign

OUT: Angelina (SEI - knee), Phoebe McClernon (back), Megan Rapinoe (calf) QUESTIONABLE: Quinn (lower upper body)

Washington Spirit

OUT: Anna Heilferty (SEI – knee), Tori Huster (SEI – lower leg)

Lineups

Highlights

54’ - Reign don’t close down on Trinity Rodman, and she punishes them. 1-0 Spirit.

How to Watch

Date/Time: Sunday, March 26, 1 PM PT

Location: Audi Field, Washington, D.C.

TV: FOX 13+

Streaming: Paramount+ (U.S.), NWSLSoccer.com (International), DAZN (certain countries)

Join the Discussion

This is your OL Reign versus Washington Spirit gamethread. Join the discussion in the comments, and follow @RoValks on Twitter for live updates.