TACOMA

,

WASHINGTON

–

OL Reign and the North Carolina Courage battled to a hard-fought 0-0 draw to open the 2021 regular season on Saturday night.

TACOMA**,** WASHINGTON ****– OL Reign and the North Carolina Courage battled to a hard-fought 0-0 draw to open the 2021 regular season on Saturday night.

The start of the match marked the 150th regular season appearance for Lauren Barnes, who wore the captain’s armband for the Tacoma side. She has played her whole career for the Reign, making her the only player in NWSL history to accomplish this feat for the same club. The match got off to a fast start with North Carolina’s captain Abby Erceg hitting the crossbar in the 2nd minute. It was Erceg’s first match back after missing the entirety of the 2021 Challenge Cup through injury. Chances were few and far between with both sides not threating either goal. Although Celia Jimenez Delgado would limp off with an injury for RGN, both defenses held strong as they took a scoreless score line into the break. With chances at a premium in the first half, both teams halftime talk seemed to have an impact as the Reign and Courage both came out looking to find a breakthrough. Leah Pruitt and Jess Fishlock both found opportunities early in the half, but former OL Reign keeper Casey Murphy was up to task, denying her former team at every stop. NC would have some chances of their own through the playmaking ability of Debinha, who fresh off her Challenge Cup MVP announcement, dazzled the Cheney Stadium crowd. The Courage kept the heat on, but Karen Bardsley would match her counterpart on the other end, keeping the Cary-based side scoreless as well. Megan Rapinoe would enter the fray and would have the best chance of the match in the 69th minute, when she would hit the woodwork off a great buildup from the home side. Fishlock would have another chance in the 76th when she found herself one v. one with Murphy, but the Welsh wizard would fire wide much to the relief of the Carolina side. Neither side could find the answer and both sides would take a point to start the campaign. OL Reign will continue their season next Sunday (5/23) when they take on their Cascadia rivals in the Portland Thorns at 6pm ET on CBS Sports Network. North Carolina Courage will continue their season as they return home to take on the Orlando Pride on Saturday at 7:00pm ET on Paramount +.