**HARRISON, NJ** – OL Reign tacked on their first win of the season in a gritty, 2-0 defeat of Gotham FC after a lengthy rain delay on Saturday night. Goals from Jess Fishlock and Bethany Balcer in the first and second halves helped separate the two sides, and Fishlock’s landmark strike made her the first player to score in all 10 NWSL regular seasons.
Though OL Reign had the first real opportunity of the match after seven minutes when defender Sofia Huerta’s shot from just inside the box was blocked away, it was Gotham who looked the more likely to score as the pair of teams settled into the match. In the 11 ^th minute, midfielder Kristie Mewis had a look on goal that hit the side netting on its way out before a shot from teammate Midge Purce in the 13 ^th minute was saved by Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce.
Gotham had taken a risk playing the ball out of the back in a few instances throughout the first half, but it was in transition from one end to the other where the Reign clicked seamlessly to produce the first goal after 31 minutes. Moving the ball from defense into attack down the right side, no player took more than a couple of touches as a sleek passing move eventually saw midfielder Rose Lavelle slip in Fishlock. Once inside the box, Fishlock fired at the first time asking and beat Gotham goalkeeper Abby Smith with a powerful drive to go one ahead.
The hosts Gotham came close on another pair of chances late on in the first half with Reign ‘keeper Tullis-Joyce having to leap above the rest to collect a loose ball in the box in the 43 ^rd minute before Mewis again sent a shot wide approaching stoppage time. One final nervy moment came for Gotham, though, as Fishlock nearly scored a brace in the first half. After a giveaway from Smith in goal, Fishlock collected possession midway between the halfway line and the 18-yard box. From there, she attempted to lift a shot over Smith only to see it fall wide of goal and out of play.
At the break, the Reign held onto their one goal advantage.
Into the second half, the two teams traded chances early on with a shot from Reign forward Bethany Balcer landing high in the 47 ^th minute and a distance effort from Gotham attacker Yazmeen Ryan in the 51 ^st minute suffering the same fate. However, just after the hour mark, Lavelle won a corner after forcing a good diving save out of Smith from 20 yards out. On that corner, Gotham failed to clear Lavelle’s delivery and the ball bounced around the penalty area, eventually falling to Balcer’s feet. From barely more than a couple of yards out, Balcer then poked the ball home into an unguarded section of the net and the Reign increased their goal cushion to two.
Gotham certainly did not go quietly into the night, with Purce and Mewis especially giving it their all. In both the 72 ^nd and 85 ^th minutes, Mewis was able to get shots off that threatened the Reign goal but ultimately fell wide of the target. Despite their best efforts, and after five minutes of stoppage time, the fulltime whistle blew.
The loss is Gotham’s first of the year after triumphing in Los Angeles against Angel City last week, while the win is OL Reign’s first of their season after flipping fates and beating Gotham to bounce back from a narrow 1-0 loss against the Washington Spirit.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights