On Saturday afternoon, OL Reign (0-1-0) continue their east coast road trip with a match against NJ/NY Gotham FC (1-0-0) at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. The game kicks off at 4:30 PM PT and will air on FOX 13+ in Western Washington, in addition to streaming on Paramount+ (U.S.) and NWSLSoccer.com (International).

(Yes, we’re also grumpy that this match is at the exact same time as the Sounders game. Although, with thunderstorms predicted to arrive just before kickoff, a weather delay at Red Bull Arena is possible.)

Gotham is coming off a come-from-behind win on the road against Angel City FC, which is always a tough place to play. The Reign — the only team to start the season with back-to-back road matches — is looking for redemption after a disappointing 1-0 loss to the Washington Spirit.

What to Watch

Gotham’s high press

When he took over as interim head coach in Houston last year, Juan Carlos Amorós implemented a high line that forced a number of teams into offside calls and propelled the Dash into the playoffs. It looks like he’s bringing that same game plan to Gotham. Against Angel City, Gotham looked like a side that wanted to counter-press opponents into mistakes high up the field and then pounce in transition. It’s how they scored both of their goals. OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey expects Gotham to do the same on Saturday.

“They look a lot like Houston did towards the back end of last season, just with different personalities on the field.”

OL Reign’s finishing

The club was clearly frustrated after failing to score a single goal against the Spirit, despite creating plenty of chances on what Harvey noted was a really poor field. How does OL Reign respond? Ahead of the match, forward Elyse Bennett noted that players have stepped up to hold each other accountable in training this week.

“We kind of had a conversation about just staying focused and locked in at training and holding each other to a higher standard when we do miss or when we feel like we should have put goals away in training. I feel like that converts over to games. We’re holding the standard a little bit higher now in training so that when it does come to a game, you’re not overthinking and it just comes.”

Will that translate into the match? Here’s hoping.

Gotham’s counter-attacking threat

When asked in a pre-match press conference about Gotham FC’s threats, Harvey quickly pointed to their ability to counter-attack teams.

“I think their threats are that they can counterattack you quicker than most teams in this league,” Harvey said.

With players like Lynn Williams and Midge Purce on the frontline, they can take advantage of the transition moments when they win balls in the midfield. The good news? The Reign have the talent to break a press, and they often thrive under this kind of pressure.

“We want people to come press us, and then we have to be willing to play through it. We have to be brave to be able to do that,” Harvey said. “We prefer teams to come and press us because it opens up space for people higher up the field.”

Availability Report

OL Reign

OUT: Angelina (SEI – knee), Phoebe McClernon (back), Quinn (leg), Megan Rapinoe (calf)

Gotham FC

OUT: Ali Krieger (lower leg), Nealy Martin (ankle), Taryn Torres (SEI – knee)

Lineups

Highlights

31’ - Some gorgeous team passing and movement resulted in a Jess Fishlock goal!

62’ - Bethany Balcer puts the Reign up 2-0!

How to Watch

Date/Time: Saturday, April 1, 4:30 PM PT

Location: Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ

TV: FOX 13+

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

Join the Discussion

This is your OL Reign versus NJ/NY Gotham FC gamethread. Join the discussion in the comments, and follow @RoValks on Twitter for live updates.