# 2021 OL Reign season

The 2021 OL Reign season was the team's ninth season of play and their ninth season in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States.
On July 2, 2021, head coach Farid Benstiti resigned and was replaced by assistant coach Sam Laity in an interim capacity. Benstiti finished with a 2–1–4 record in the regular season.
On July 15, 2021, the team announced that Laura Harvey would return as head coach after the Tokyo Olympics, where she was serving as an assistant coach for the United States women's national team. Harvey officially assumed head coaching duties on August 9, 2021.

## Team
### Staff

    As of August 9, 2021.
Technical :
| Head coach | Laura Harvey |
| Assistant coach | Sam Laity |
| Goalkeeper coach | Ljupčo Kmetovski |
| Sports Science and Medical ||
| Director of performance | Andrew Wiseman |
| Director of rehabilitation | Nicole Surdyka |
| Athletic trainer | Kathryn Johnson |
| Sports psychologist | Mariah Bullock |

### Roster

    As of September 29, 2021.
| No. | Name | Date of birth (age) | Since | Previous team | Notes |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 12 | Sarah Bouhaddi | (1986-10-17)October 17, 1986 (aged 34) | 2021 | Lyon | INT |
| 20 | Cosette Morché | (1997-06-09)June 9, 1997 (aged 23) | 2021 | Eskilstuna United | LOA |
| 33 | Ella Dederick | (1996-07-27)July 27, 1996 (aged 24) | 2021 | Washington State Cougars | |
| 91 | Phallon Tullis-Joyce | (1996-10-19)October 19, 1996 (aged 24) | 2021 | Stade de Reims | |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Amber Brooks | (1991-01-23)January 23, 1991 (aged 30) | 2020 | Adelaide United | |
| 3 | Lauren Barnes (co-captain) | (1989-05-31)May 31, 1989 (aged 31) | 2013 | Philadelphia Independence | |
| 4 | Alana Cook | (1997-04-11)April 11, 1997 (aged 24) | 2021 | Paris Saint-Germain | |
| 13 | Celia | (1995-06-20)June 20, 1995 (aged 25) | 2019 | FC Rosengård | |
| 14 | Steph Cox | (1986-04-03)April 3, 1986 (aged 35) | 2019 | Retirement | |
| 19 | Kristen McNabb | (1994-04-17)April 17, 1994 (aged 27) | 2017 | Virginia Cavaliers | |
| 27 | Sam Hiatt | (1998-01-06)January 6, 1998 (aged 23) | 2020 | Stanford Cardinal | |
| 30 | Jimena López | (1999-01-30)January 30, 1999 (aged 22) | 2021 | SD Eibar | INT |
| 99 | Madison Hammond | (1997-11-15)November 15, 1997 (aged 23) | 2020 | Wake Forest Demon Deacons | |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 5 | Quinn | (1995-08-11)August 11, 1995 (aged 25) | 2019 | Paris FC | FED |
| 8 | Dzsenifer Marozsán | (1992-04-18)April 18, 1992 (aged 29) | 2021 | Lyon | INT |
| 10 | Jess Fishlock | (1987-01-14)January 14, 1987 (aged 34) | 2013 | Bristol Academy | |
| 16 | Rose Lavelle | (1995-05-14)May 14, 1995 (aged 25) | 2021 | Manchester City | FED |
| 17 | Dani Weatherholt | (1994-03-17)March 17, 1994 (aged 27) | 2020 | Orlando Pride | |
| 25 | Kelcie Hedge | (1997-09-19)September 19, 1997 (aged 23) | 2020 | Santa Clara Broncos | |
| 26 | Angelina | (2000-01-26)January 26, 2000 (aged 21) | 2021 | Palmeiras | |
| 28 | Shirley Cruz | (1985-08-28)August 28, 1985 (aged 35) | 2020 | Alajuelense | INT |
| 31 | Rosie White | (1993-06-06)June 6, 1993 (aged 27) | 2019 | Chicago Red Stars | |
| Forwards |||||||
| 7 | Ally Watt | (1997-03-12)March 12, 1997 (aged 24) | 2021 | North Carolina Courage | |
| 9 | Eugénie Le Sommer | (1989-05-18)May 18, 1989 (aged 31) | 2021 | Lyon | INT |
| 11 | Sofia Huerta | (1992-12-14)December 14, 1992 (aged 28) | 2020 | Sydney FC | |
| 15 | Megan Rapinoe (co-captain) | (1985-07-05)July 5, 1985 (aged 35) | 2013 | Lyon | FED |
| 21 | Nicole Momiki | (1996-04-09)April 9, 1996 (aged 25) | 2020 | Nippon TV Beleza | LOA |
| 23 | Tziarra King | (1998-08-24)August 24, 1998 (aged 22) | 2021 | Utah Royals | |
| 24 | Bethany Balcer | (1997-03-07)March 7, 1997 (aged 24) | 2019 | Spring Arbor Cougars | |
| 35 | Leah Pruitt | (1997-09-05)September 5, 1997 (aged 23) | 2020 | North Carolina Courage | |
| | Miranda Nild | (1997-04-01)April 1, 1997 (aged 24) | 2020 | Gintra Universitetas | LOA |
* ↑ denotes a season-ending injury.

## Competitions

Win  Tie  Loss
All times are in PT unless otherwise noted.

### Regular season
#### Regular-season standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 17 | +16 | 44 | NWSL Shield |
| 2 | OL Reign | 24 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 37 | 24 | +13 | 42 | Playoffs – Semi-finals |
| 3 | Washington Spirit (C) | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 26 | +3 | 39 | Playoffs – First round |
| 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 38 | Playoffs – First round |
| 5 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 24 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 35 | Playoffs – First round |
| 6 | North Carolina Courage | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 33 | Playoffs – First round |
| 7 | Houston Dash | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 32 | |
| 8 | Orlando Pride | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 | 32 | −5 | 28 | |
| 9 | Racing Louisville FC | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 21 | 40 | −19 | 22 | |
| 10 | Kansas City | 24 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 36 | −21 | 16 | |

##### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: October 30, 2021. Source: NWSLsoccer.com

##### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Stadium | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | D | L | W |
| Position | 4 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
* ↑ RGN's position at the end of the day on which their match was played.

### Challenge Cup
#### Divisional standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 10 | Qualification for the Championship |
| 2 | OL Reign | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7 | |
| 3 | Houston Dash | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | |
| 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 2 | |
| 5 | Kansas City | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 1 | |

## Appearances and goals

    As of November 14, 2021; only players who have made appearances are listed.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Challenge Cup | Challenge Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers: ||||||||||||
| 12 | GK | FRA | Sarah Bouhaddi | 20 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | USA | Ella Dederick | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 91 | GK | USA | Phallon Tullis-Joyce | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders: ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | USA | Amber Brooks | 14 | 0 | 2+9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | USA | Lauren Barnes | 24 | 0 | 20+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | USA | Alana Cook | 20 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | ESP | Celia | 16 | 1 | 9+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 14 | DF | USA | Steph Cox | 5 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | USA | Kristen McNabb | 25 | 1 | 15+6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | USA | Sam Hiatt | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | MEX | Jimena López | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | DF | USA | Madison Hammond | 17 | 0 | 10+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Midfielders: ||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | CAN | Quinn | 16 | 0 | 8+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | GER | Dzsenifer Marozsán | 20 | 0 | 16+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | WAL | Jess Fishlock | 27 | 6 | 21+2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 |
| 16 | MF | USA | Rose Lavelle | 12 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | USA | Dani Weatherholt | 24 | 0 | 11+8 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | USA | Kelcie Hedge | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | BRA | Angelina | 19 | 0 | 4+12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | CRC | Shirley Cruz | 16 | 2 | 5+7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | NZL | Rosie White | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Forwards: ||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | USA | Ally Watt | 5 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | FRA | Eugénie Le Sommer | 18 | 8 | 15+2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | USA | Sofia Huerta | 28 | 2 | 22+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 15 | FW | USA | Megan Rapinoe | 14 | 6 | 8+3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | USA | Tziarra King | 19 | 2 | 7+8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 1 |
| 24 | FW | USA | Bethany Balcer | 27 | 9 | 13+10 | 9 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 35 | FW | USA | Leah Pruitt | 15 | 1 | 3+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 |
| Players who left the team during the season: ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | Karen Bardsley | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | USA | Machaela George | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | JPN | Nicole Momiki | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | USA | Jasmyne Spencer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| Own goals for: ||||||||||||
| | DF | USA | Kiki Pickett (KC, October 30) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Others for: ||||||||||||
| | | | Forfeit (WAS, September 12) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Source:

## Transfers

For incoming transfers, dates listed are when OL Reign officially signed the players to the roster. Transactions where only the rights to the players are acquired (e.g., draft picks) are not listed. For outgoing transfers, dates listed are when OL Reign officially removed the players from its roster, not when they signed with another team. If a player later signed with another team, her new team will be noted, but the date listed here remains the one when she was officially removed from the OL Reign roster.

### Transfers in

| Date | Player | Pos | Signed From | Notes |
| October 22, 2020 | Crystal Dunn | DF | North Carolina Courage | Traded in exchange for Casey Murphy and $140,000 in allocation money |
| December 4, 2020 | Cosette Morché | GK | Eskilstuna United | Free |
| December 7, 2020 | Ally Watt | FW | North Carolina Courage | Traded in exchange for Taylor Smith and the rights to Jodie Taylor |
| January 4, 2021 | Tziarra King | FW | Kansas City | Traded, along with a second-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, in exchange for Darian Jenkins, the rights to Meg Brandt, and a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft |
| January 5, 2021 | Angelina | MF | Palmeiras | Undisclosed |
| March 15, 2021 | Ella Dederick | GK | Washington State Cougars | Free |
| April 5, 2021 | Jenna Holtz | MF | Valadares Gaia | Signed as National Team Replacement Player |
| May 17, 2021 | Rose Lavelle | MF | Manchester City | Signed as federation player |
| June 5, 2021 | Phallon Tullis-Joyce | GK | Stade de Reims | Undisclosed |
| June 7, 2021 | Alana Cook | DF | Paris Saint-Germain | Undisclosed |
| June 15, 2021 | Jimena López | DF | SD Eibar | Undisclosed |

#### Draft picks

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as incoming transfers. Only trades involving draft picks and executed on the day of the 2021 NWSL Draft will be listed in the notes.
| Player | Pos | Previous Team | Notes | Ref |
| Jimena López | DF | Texas A&M Aggies | No. 28 overall pick | |

### Transfers out

| Date | Player | Pos | Destination Team | Notes |
| October 18, 2020 | Carly Nelson | GK | Kansas City | Out of contract |
| October 18, 2020 | Kim Hazlett | DF | | Out of contract |
| October 22, 2020 | Casey Murphy | GK | North Carolina Courage | Traded, along with $140,000 in allocation money, in exchange for Crystal Dunn |
| October 22, 2020 | Crystal Dunn | DF | Portland Thorns | Traded in exchange for Portland's natural first-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, an international slot for 2021, and up to $250,000 in allocation money |
| November 12, 2020 | Julia Ashley | DF | Racing Louisville | Selected with the 2nd pick in the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft |
| November 12, 2020 | Michelle Betos | GK | Racing Louisville | Selected with the 12th pick in the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft |
| December 7, 2020 | Taylor Smith | DF | North Carolina Courage | Traded, along with the rights to Jodie Taylor, in exchange for Ally Watt |
| January 4, 2021 | Darian Jenkins | FW | Kansas City | Traded, along with the rights to Meg Brandt and a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, in exchange for Tziarra King and a second-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft |
| February 18, 2021 | Morgan Andrews | MF | | Waived |
| April 20, 2021 | Jenna Holtz | MF | | National Team Replacement Player agreement concluded |
| April 27, 2021 | Allie Long | MF | Gotham FC | Traded in exchange for $80,000 in allocation money and a second-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft; the teams also swapped places in the Discovery Ranking order |
| May 31, 2021 | Jasmyne Spencer | FW | Houston Dash | Traded in exchange for the natural third-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft |
| September 29, 2021 | Machaela George | DF | Braga | Waived |

### Loans in

| Start | End | Player | Pos | Parent Team |
| February 23, 2021 | June 30, 2021 | Karen Bardsley | GK | Manchester City |
| June 5, 2021 | December 31, 2021 | Sarah Bouhaddi | GK | Lyon |
| June 5, 2021 | December 31, 2021 | Dzsenifer Marozsán | MF | Lyon |
| June 6, 2021 | December 31, 2021 | Eugénie Le Sommer | FW | Lyon |

### Loans out

| Start | End | Player | Pos | Destination Team | Notes |
| August 12, 2020 | December 31, 2020 | Quinn | MF | Vittsjö | |
| August 14, 2020 | November 30, 2020 | Lauren Barnes | DF | Kristianstad | |
| August 14, 2020 | November 30, 2020 | Nicole Momiki | FW | Linköping | |
| August 19, 2020 | April 5, 2021 | Jess Fishlock | MF | Reading | |
| August 28, 2020 | December 31, 2020 | Machaela George | DF | Fortuna Hjørring | |
| August 28, 2020 | February 28, 2021 | Darian Jenkins | FW | Bordeaux | Traded to Kansas City on January 4, 2021 |
| September 23, 2020 | February 28, 2021 | Celia | DF | Lyon | |
| March 15, 2021 | December 31, 2021 | Miranda Nild | FW | Kristianstad | |
| July 19, 2021 | December 31, 2021 | Nicole Momiki | FW | Linköping | |
| July 26, 2021 | June 30, 2022 | Cosette Morché | GK | GPSO 92 Issy | |

### New contracts

| Date | Player | Pos | Notes |
| December 4, 2020 | Sam Hiatt | DF | Signed to a standard agreement |
| December 4, 2020 | Kristen McNabb | DF | Re-signed |
| December 4, 2020 | Shirley Cruz | MF | Re-signed |
| December 7, 2020 | Dani Weatherholt | MF | Re-signed |
| December 9, 2020 | Leah Pruitt | FW | Re-signed |
| December 21, 2020 | Nicole Momiki | FW | Signed to a new contract |
| December 21, 2020 | Rosie White | MF | Re-signed |
| December 22, 2020 | Jasmyne Spencer | FW | Re-signed |
| January 25, 2021 | Steph Cox | DF | Re-signed |
| February 18, 2021 | Allie Long | MF | Signed to a standard agreement |
| March 15, 2021 | Miranda Nild | FW | Signed to a standard agreement |
| June 4, 2021 | Ally Watt | FW | Signed to a new contract |
| July 26, 2021 | Cosette Morché | GK | Team option exercised |

## Awards
### NWSL annual awards

* Coach of the Year: Laura Harvey
* Most Valuable Player: Jess Fishlock
* Defender of the Year: Alana Cook (finalist)
* Best XI: Alana Cook, Jess Fishlock, Eugénie Le Sommer
* Second XI: Bethany Balcer, Sofia Huerta

### Team awards

    Announced on November 23, 2021.
* Most Valuable Player: Jess Fishlock
* Golden Boot: Bethany Balcer
* Young Player of the Year: Alana Cook
* Community Champion: Dani Weatherholt

### NWSL Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Ref. |
| August | Megan Rapinoe | |
| September | Bethany Balcer | |

### NWSL Team of the Month

| Month | Players |
| May | Jess Fishlock |
| August | Jess Fishlock Megan Rapinoe |
| September | Bethany Balcer Sofia Huerta Eugénie Le Sommer Dzsenifer Marozsán |
| October | Jess Fishlock Sofia Huerta |

### NWSL Player of the Week

| Week | Player |
| CC4 | Celia |
| 10 | Tziarra King |
| 11 | Eugénie Le Sommer |
| 12 | Bethany Balcer |
| 14 | Megan Rapinoe |
| 16 | Bethany Balcer |
| 18 | Eugénie Le Sommer |
| 22 | Eugénie Le Sommer |

### NWSL Save of the Week

| Week | Player | Ref. |
| 14 | Sarah Bouhaddi | |
| 21 | Jess Fishlock | |