OL Reign got off to a quick start in the first half as the team established a high press against Chicago. Despite the space being exposed in the high press from the Reign, the Red Stars did little to take advantage of the early opportunities as the Reign dominated possession of the ball with 59% compared to Chicago’s 41% in the first 45 minutes. Cecila Delgado Jimene got OL Reign on the scoreboard first, knocking home a pass from Balcer for the opening goal in the 12th minute.
Reign continued to retain the ball, but did little with it in the final third, recording two attempts on target over five total shots during the first half, as Chicago got looks in towards the latter end of the half from Kelia Watt and Vanessa DiBernardo who both surpassed 10,000 match minutes played in the NWSL along with OL Reign’s Sofia Huerta.
