What to watch for when OL Reign host the San Diego Wave on Friday

OL Reign is returning to play after a nearly three-week break. The NWSL didn’t completely shut down for the FIFA Women’s World Cup currently taking place in Australia and New Zealand, but the league did have a 10-day stretch without matches this month to ease the impact of losing a combined 61 athletes due to national team call-ups.

The Reign are without eight international players for Friday’s match against the San Diego Wave FC. A positive is the Reign have worked all season to prepare for this moment and have found success with the reserves in Challenge Cup games. The club is atop the in-season tournament’s West division and can clinch a spot in the semifinals with a win Friday.

The details:

Reign (3-0-1) vs. Wave (1-3-0)

Time/Place: 7 p.m. Friday at Lumen Field, Seattle.

TV: Paramount+

Radio: None

Series history: The Reign lead the all-time series 5-0-2 since 2022.

The story lines:

Who’s going to score?

Wave striker Alex Morgan is the only San Diego player to score a goal against the Reign through all head-to-head competitions. San Diego is without Morgan, who is starting for the U.S. women’s national team in the World Cup.

The Reign have outscored the Wave 12-4 all-time and have never lost to the side in seven matches.

“Their aerial presence has been a key factor for them,” Reign midfielder Marley Canales said of San Diego. “It’s something they look for that they’re very dominant in. We have our own group of players who can challenge aerially as well so that’s going to be a battle.”

Almost healthy

The biggest reason the Reign needed a break was to heal players from various injuries. The team is close. Reign forward Tziarra King is available for selection after suffering a leg injury. Midfielder Jess Fishlock is questionable for Friday’s matchup due to an undisclosed injury.

Quotable

“I want the U.S. to do well, but I’m not that nice,” Reign coach Laura Harvey said of midfielder Rose Lavelle possibly being held out of league matches to heal a knee injury and be available for the World Cup. Lavelle played the Reign’s opening two matches (179 minutes) before suffering the injury during a spring call-up for the USWNT. Lavelle’s return to the field was with the Americans this month. She’s played 72 minutes as a sub in two World Cup matches and notched an assist.

“We didn’t hold her out of anything,” Harvey continued. “We truly wanted her to play for us and she wanted to play for us, it just didn’t happen. The recovery from the injury was just longer and more complicated and detailed than anyone expected … I’m so happy that she’s finally healthy and back playing again. She has shown, again, on the world stage that she can impact games at the highest level.”