2020 OL Reign season

The 2020 OL Reign season was the team's eighth season of play and their eighth season in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. It is the team's first season under new majority owner OL Groupe, the parent company of French soccer clubs Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique Lyonnais Féminin,^[1] and the resultant new team name.^[2]

OL Reign

2020 season
Majority owner	OL Groupe
CEO	Bill Predmore
Head coach	Farid Benstiti
Stadium	Cheney Stadium
NWSL	Canceled
Playoffs	Canceled
Challenge Cup	Quarter-finals
Fall Series	7th of 9
Top goalscorer	League: Canceled All: Bethany Balcer (3)
Home colors Away colors
← 2019 2021 →

After leading the team for the past two seasons, former head coach Vlatko Andonovski departed in October 2019 to become the head coach of the United States women's national soccer team.^[3] Frenchman Farid Benstiti was named the third head coach in team history in January 2020.^[4]

On March 12, 2020, the preseason match schedule was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[5] As a result, the NWSL announced on March 20 that the regular season start will be delayed.^[6]

On May 27, 2020, the NWSL announced that the 2020 Challenge Cup will mark the return to action following the COVID-19 pandemic.^[7] The 25-game tournament, to be held from June 27 to July 26, will be hosted by the owner of Utah Royals FC Dell Loy Hansen. Subsequently, OL Reign resumed team preseason training in Missoula, Montana, on June 1.^[8]

On June 22, 2020, the NWSL announced, in conjunction with the full rules and regulations for the 2020 Challenge Cup,^[9] that the 2020 NWSL regular season and playoffs have been canceled.^[10]

On August 25, 2020, the NWSL announced that the season will continue with the Fall Series, where the nine teams are divided into three regional pods and play four games each.^[11]

Team

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Farid Benstiti
Assistant Coach	Sam Laity
Goalkeeper Coach	Ljupčo Kmetovski
Video Analyst	Matt Dorman
Director of High Performance	Nick Leman

Last updated: August 14, 2020
Source: https://www.reignfc.com/roster

Roster

As of October 10, 2020.^[12]

No.	Nat.	Name	Date of birth (age)	Since	Previous team	Notes[a]
Goalkeepers
1		Michelle Betos	(1988-02-20)February 20, 1988 (aged 32)	2018	Vålerenga
26		Casey Murphy	(1996-04-25)April 25, 1996 (aged 23)	2019	Montpellier
29		Carly Nelson	(1997-02-11)February 11, 1997 (aged 23)	2020	Utah Utes	STA
Defenders
2		Amber Brooks	(1991-01-23)January 23, 1991 (aged 29)	2020	Adelaide United
3		Lauren Barnes (co-captain)	(1989-05-31)May 31, 1989 (aged 30)	2013	Philadelphia Independence	LOA
13		Celia Jiménez Delgado	(1995-06-20)June 20, 1995 (aged 24)	2019	FC Rosengård	INT, LOA
14		Steph Cox	(1986-04-03)April 3, 1986 (aged 34)	2019	Retirement
16		Julia Ashley	(1996-11-11)November 11, 1996 (aged 23)	2020	Adelaide United
19		Kristen McNabb	(1994-04-17)April 17, 1994 (aged 26)	2017	Virginia Cavaliers
23		Taylor Smith	(1993-12-01)December 1, 1993 (aged 26)	2019	Washington Spirit
27		Sam Hiatt	(1998-01-06)January 6, 1998 (aged 22)	2020	Stanford Cardinal	STA
30		Machaela George	(1997-10-03)October 3, 1997 (aged 22)	2020	Santa Clara Broncos	LOA
33		Kimberly Hazlett	(1998-03-16)March 16, 1998 (aged 22)	2020	Portland Pilots	STA
99		Madison Hammond	(1997-11-15)November 15, 1997 (aged 22)	2020	Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Midfielders
5		Quinn[b]	(1995-08-11)August 11, 1995 (aged 24)	2019	Paris FC	INT, LOA
6		Allie Long	(1987-08-13)August 13, 1987 (aged 32)	2018	Portland Thorns	FED
10		Jess Fishlock	(1987-01-14)January 14, 1987 (aged 33)	2013	Bristol Academy	LOA
12		Morgan Andrews	(1995-03-25)March 25, 1995 (aged 25)	2018	Boston Breakers
17		Dani Weatherholt	(1994-03-17)March 17, 1994 (aged 26)	2020	Orlando Pride
25		Kelcie Hedge	(1997-09-19)September 19, 1997 (aged 22)	2020	Santa Clara Broncos
28		Shirley Cruz	(1985-08-28)August 28, 1985 (aged 34)	2020	Alajuelense	INT
31		Rosie White	(1993-06-06)June 6, 1993 (aged 26)	2019	Chicago Red Stars	INT
Forwards
11		Darian Jenkins	(1995-01-05)January 5, 1995 (aged 25)	2019	North Carolina Courage	LOA
15		Megan Rapinoe (co-captain)	(1985-07-05)July 5, 1985 (aged 34)	2013	Lyon	FED
18		Miranda Nild	(1997-04-01)April 1, 1997 (aged 23)	2020	Gintra Universitetas	STA
20		Sofia Huerta	(1992-12-14)December 14, 1992 (aged 27)	2020	Sydney FC
21		Nicole Momiki	(1996-04-09)April 9, 1996 (aged 24)	2020	Nippon TV Beleza	LOA
22		Jasmyne Spencer	(1990-08-27)August 27, 1990 (aged 29)	2018	Orlando Pride
24		Bethany Balcer	(1997-03-07)March 7, 1997 (aged 23)	2019	Spring Arbor Cougars
35		Leah Pruitt	(1997-09-05)September 5, 1997 (aged 22)	2020	North Carolina Courage

1. denotes a season-ending injury.
2. Until September 2020 known as Rebecca Quinn

Competitions

  Win   Tie   Loss

All times are in PT unless otherwise noted.

Preseason

Thorns Spring Invitational

OL Reign v United States U-23

March 29, 2020	OL Reign	Canceled	United States U-23	Portland, Oregon
14:30		Report		Stadium: Providence Park

OL Reign v Chicago Red Stars

April 1, 2020	OL Reign	Canceled	Chicago Red Stars	Portland, Oregon
17:00		Report		Stadium: Providence Park

Portland Thorns FC v OL Reign

April 4, 2020	Portland Thorns FC	Canceled	OL Reign	Portland, Oregon
19:30		Report		Stadium: Providence Park

Regular season

On February 25, 2020, the NWSL announced the full, 24-game schedule for the regular season.^[13] However, the regular season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[6] On June 22, 2020, the NWSL announced that the 2020 NWSL regular season and playoffs have been canceled.^[10]

Playoffs

On June 22, 2020, the NWSL announced that the 2020 NWSL regular season and playoffs have been canceled.^[10]

Challenge Cup

Main article: 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup

Preliminary round

OL Reign v Sky Blue FC

June 30, 2020	OL Reign	0–0	Sky Blue FC	Herriman, Utah
19:00	Cook  59'	Box Report		Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Referee: Michael Radchuk

Houston Dash v OL Reign

July 4, 2020	Houston Dash	2–0	OL Reign	Herriman, Utah
19:00	Mewis 12' Visalli  47' Groom 54'	Box Report	McNabb  83'	Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Referee: Lukasz Szpala

Utah Royals FC v OL Reign

July 8, 2020	Utah Royals FC	0–1	OL Reign	Herriman, Utah
9:30		Box	Balcer 90+1'	Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Referee: Robinson Khongsai

OL Reign v Portland Thorns FC

July 13, 2020	OL Reign	0–0	Portland Thorns FC	Herriman, Utah
9:30		Box Report		Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Referee: Tori Penso

Preliminary round standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	North Carolina Courage	4	4	0	0	7	1	+6	12
2	Washington Spirit	4	2	1	1	4	4	0	7
3	OL Reign	4	1	2	1	1	2	−1	5
4	Houston Dash	4	1	1	2	5	6	−1	4
5	Utah Royals FC (H)	4	1	1	2	4	5	−1	4
6	Chicago Red Stars	4	1	1	2	2	3	−1	4[a]
7	Sky Blue FC	4	1	1	2	2	3	−1	4[a]
8	Portland Thorns FC	4	0	3	1	2	3	−1	3

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Host
Notes:

1. Chicago Red Stars won the tiebreaker against Sky Blue FC on fewer yellow cards (1 to 4).

Knockout round

OL Reign v Chicago Red Stars

July 18, 2020 Quarter-finals	OL Reign	0–0 (3–4 p)	Chicago Red Stars	Herriman, Utah
19:00	Jenkins  22'	Box Report	St. Georges  38'	Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Referee: Katja Koroleva
	Penalties
	Cruz Momiki Jenkins Balcer Barnes		Ertz DiBernardo Watt Hill

Fall Series

Main article: 2020 NWSL season § Fall Series

Utah Royals FC v OL Reign

September 26, 2020	Utah Royals FC	2–2	OL Reign	Sandy, Utah
12:30	Diallo 9' King 22'	Box Report	Balcer 23' White 28'  66'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 1,302 Referee: Karen Callado

Portland Thorns FC v OL Reign

September 30, 2020	Portland Thorns FC	4–1	OL Reign	Portland, Oregon
19:00	Klingenberg  35' Sinclair 40', 45+5' (pen.), 74' Rodríguez 57'	Box Report	Balcer 70'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Farhad Dadkho

OL Reign v Portland Thorns FC

October 10, 2020	OL Reign	1–2	Portland Thorns FC	Tacoma, Washington
17:00	Long  40' Brooks 46' Weatherholt  90+4'	Box Report	Sinclair 43' (pen.), 73' (pen.)	Stadium: Cheney Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Laura Rodriguez

OL Reign v Utah Royals FC

October 17, 2020	OL Reign	2–0	Utah Royals FC	Tacoma, Washington
17:00	Huerta 24' McNabb  45+8' Pruitt 51' Spencer  90+1'	Box Report		Stadium: Cheney Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Adorae Monroy

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portland Thorns FC (C)	4	3	1	0	10	3	+7	10	Community Shield
2	Houston Dash	4	3	0	1	12	7	+5	9	Runners-up
3	Washington Spirit	4	2	1	1	5	4	+1	7	Third place
4	Sky Blue FC	4	2	0	2	6	7	−1	6
5	North Carolina Courage	4	1	2	1	8	10	−2	5
6	Chicago Red Stars	4	1	1	2	7	7	0	4
7	OL Reign	4	1	1	2	6	8	−2	4
8	Orlando Pride	4	0	2	2	5	8	−3	2
9	Utah Royals FC	4	0	2	2	3	8	−5	2

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions

Appearances and goals

As of October 18, 2020; only players who have made appearances are listed.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Regular season		Playoffs		Challenge Cup		Fall Series
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers:
1	GK	USA	Michelle Betos	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0
26	GK	USA	Casey Murphy	6	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	3	0
Defenders:
2	DF	USA	Amber Brooks	8	1	0	0	0	0	4	0	4	1
14	DF	USA	Steph Cox	8	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	4	0
19	DF	USA	Kristen McNabb	8	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	4	0
23	DF	USA	Taylor Smith	7	0	0	0	0	0	1+3	0	2+1	0
27	DF	USA	Sam Hiatt	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
33	DF	USA	Kim Hazlett	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
99	DF	USA	Madison Hammond	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2+2	0
Midfielders:
6	MF	USA	Allie Long	6	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	3	0
12	MF	USA	Morgan Andrews	5	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0+4	0
17	MF	USA	Dani Weatherholt	7	0	0	0	0	0	2+1	0	2+2	0
28	MF	CRC	Shirley Cruz	8	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	4	0
31	MF	NZL	Rosie White	6	1	0	0	0	0	1+1	0	3+1	1
Forwards:
18	FW	THA	Miranda Nild	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+2	0
20	FW	USA	Sofia Huerta	6	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	4	1
22	FW	USA	Jasmyne Spencer	7	0	0	0	0	0	1+2	0	3+1	0
24	FW	USA	Bethany Balcer	9	3	0	0	0	0	3+2	1	4	2
35	FW	USA	Leah Pruitt	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1+3	1
Players who left the team during the season:
3	DF	USA	Lauren Barnes	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
4	DF	USA	Alana Cook	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
5	MF	CAN	Quinn	4	0	0	0	0	0	2+2	0	0	0
9	FW	ENG	Jodie Taylor	5	0	0	0	0	0	4+1	0	0	0
10	MF	WAL	Jess Fishlock	2	0	0	0	0	0	1+1	0	0	0
11	FW	USA	Darian Jenkins	5	0	0	0	0	0	4+1	0	0	0
13	DF	ESP	Celia	4	0	0	0	0	0	2+2	0	0	0
18	FW	USA	Mariah Lee	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
21	FW	JPN	Nicole Momiki	5	0	0	0	0	0	1+4	0	0	0
29	DF	USA	Adrienne Jordan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
Own goals for:

• 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	Ref
January 22, 2020	Dani Weatherholt	MF	Orlando Pride	Traded in exchange for the team's natural second-round pick in the 2021 NWSL College Draft	[14]
March 4, 2020	Julia Ashley	DF	Adelaide United	Free	[15]
March 4, 2020	Amber Brooks	DF	Adelaide United	Free	[15]
March 4, 2020	Sofia Huerta	FW	Sydney FC	Free	[15]
March 6, 2020	Kelcie Hedge	MF	Santa Clara Broncos	Free	[16]
March 17, 2020	Shirley Cruz	MF	Alajuelense	Free	[17]
May 22, 2020	Nicole Momiki	FW	Nippon TV Beleza	Free	[18]
June 1, 2020	Adrienne Jordan	DF	Birmingham City	Free	[19]
June 23, 2020	Carly Nelson	GK	Utah Utes	Signed to short-term agreement	[20]
June 23, 2020	Machaela George	DF	Santa Clara Broncos	Signed as National Team Replacement Player	[20]
June 23, 2020	Madison Hammond	DF	Wake Forest Demon Deacons	Free	[20]
June 23, 2020	Mariah Lee	FW	FF Lugano	Signed to short-term agreement	[20]
June 23, 2020	Leah Pruitt	FW	North Carolina Courage	Claimed off waivers	[20]
August 16, 2020	Rose Lavelle	MF	Washington Spirit	Traded in exchange for the team's natural first-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, $100,000 in allocation money, and conditional allocation money	[21]
September 4, 2020	Kimberly Hazlett	DF	Portland Pilots	Signed to short-term agreement	[22]
September 4, 2020	Sam Hiatt	DF	Stanford Cardinal	Signed to short-term agreement	[22]
September 4, 2020	Miranda Nild	FW	Gintra Universitetas	Signed to short-term agreement	[22]
September 10, 2020	Carly Nelson	GK	OL Reign	Signed to short-term agreement	[23]

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 2020 NWSL College Draft will be listed in the notes.

Player	Pos	Previous Team	Notes	Ref
Kelcie Hedge	MF	Santa Clara Broncos	Round 1, Pick 9 (9th overall)	[24]
Sam Hiatt	DF	Stanford Cardinal	Round 4, Pick 6 (33rd overall)	[24]
Meg Brandt	MF	Nebraska Cornhuskers	Round 4, Pick 7 (34th overall); pick acquired from Portland Thorns FC in exchange for the rights to Christen Westphal	[24][25]

Transfers out

Date	Player	Pos	Destination Team	Notes	Ref
November 4, 2019	Scout Watson	GK		Team option not exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Jaycie Johnson	FW	Kansas City	Team option not exercised	[25][26]
November 4, 2019	Lydia Williams	GK	Melbourne City	Free	[27][15]
November 27, 2019	Theresa Nielsen	DF	Brøndby	Free	[28]
January 16, 2020	Christen Westphal	DF	Portland Thorns	Traded in exchange for the 34th overall pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft	[24]
January 17, 2020	Ifeoma Onumonu	FW	Sky Blue FC	Traded in exchange for the rights to Julia Ashley	[29]
January 22, 2020	Schuyler DeBree	DF		Player Elected Leave; retired on June 23	[30][20]
January 22, 2020	Morgan Proffitt	MF		Retired	[30]
January 22, 2020	Addison Steiner	FW		Waived	[30]
February 3, 2020	Shea Groom	FW	Houston Dash	Traded, along with Megan Oyster and a conditional second-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, in exchange for the rights to Amber Brooks and Sofia Huerta	[31]
February 3, 2020	Megan Oyster	DF	Houston Dash	Traded, along with Shea Groom and a conditional second-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, in exchange for the rights to Amber Brooks and Sofia Huerta	[31]
February 10, 2020	Bev Yanez	MF	California Storm	Retired	[32][33]
February 13, 2020	Sammy Jo Prudhomme	GK		Waived	[34]
March 4, 2020	Rumi Utsugi	MF	Tokyo Verdy Beleza	Free	[15][35]
May 27, 2020	Steph Catley	DF	Arsenal	Elected not to return	[36][37]
July 31, 2020	Carly Nelson	GK	OL Reign	Out of contract	[38]
July 31, 2020	Mariah Lee	FW	Celtic	Out of contract	[38][39]
August 4, 2020	Jodie Taylor	FW	Lyon	Undisclosed	[40]
August 12, 2020	Adrienne Jordan	DF	UDG Tenerife	Free	[38]
August 18, 2020	Rose Lavelle	MF	Manchester City	Free	[41]

Loans in

Start	End	Player	Pos	Parent Team	Notes	Ref
June 16, 2020	July 31, 2020	Alana Cook	DF	Paris Saint-Germain	For the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup	[42][38]

Loans out

Start	End	Player	Pos	Destination Team	Notes	Ref
November 4, 2019	March 22, 2020	Lauren Barnes	DF	Melbourne City	For the 2019–20 W-League season	[27][43]
November 4, 2019	March 22, 2020	Steph Catley	DF	Melbourne City	For the 2019–20 W-League season	[27][43]
November 5, 2019	March 15, 2020	Darian Jenkins	FW	Melbourne Victory	For the 2019–20 W-League season	[44][45]
November 7, 2019	March 1, 2020	Celia Jiménez Delgado	DF	Perth Glory	For the 2019–20 W-League season	[46][47]
November 7, 2019	March 1, 2020	Morgan Andrews	MF	Perth Glory	For the 2019–20 W-League season	[46][47]
August 12, 2020	December 31, 2020	Quinn	MF	Vittsjö		[38]
August 14, 2020	November 30, 2020	Lauren Barnes	DF	Kristianstad		[48]
August 14, 2020	November 30, 2020	Nicole Momiki	FW	Linköping		[48]
August 19, 2020	April 5, 2021	Jess Fishlock	MF	Reading		[49][50]
August 28, 2020	December 31, 2020	Machaela George	DF	Fortuna Hjørring		[51]
August 28, 2020	February 28, 2021	Darian Jenkins	FW	Bordeaux		[51]
September 23, 2020	February 28, 2021	Celia Jiménez Delgado	DF	Lyon		[52][50]

New contracts

Date	Player	Pos	Notes	Ref
November 4, 2019	Sammy Jo Prudhomme	GK	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Casey Murphy	GK	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Steph Catley	DF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Steph Cox	DF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Schuyler DeBree	DF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Celia Jiménez Delgado	DF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Kristen McNabb	DF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Megan Oyster	DF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Taylor Smith	DF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Morgan Andrews	MF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Allie Long	MF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Quinn	MF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Rosie White	MF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Bev Yanez	MF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Morgan Proffitt	MF	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Shea Groom	FW	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Darian Jenkins	FW	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Megan Rapinoe	FW	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Addison Steiner	FW	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Jodie Taylor	FW	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Bethany Balcer	FW	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Ifeoma Onumonu	FW	Team option exercised	[25]
November 4, 2019	Jasmyne Spencer	FW	Team option exercised	[25]
January 22, 2020	Jodie Taylor	FW	Signed to a new contract	[53]
February 10, 2020	Jess Fishlock	MF	Re-signed	[54]
February 13, 2020	Lauren Barnes	DF	Re-signed	[55]
February 25, 2020	Bethany Balcer	FW	Signed to a new contract	[56]
March 5, 2020	Michelle Betos	GK	Re-signed	[57]
August 12, 2020	Machaela George	DF	Signed to a standard contract	[38]
August 12, 2020	Quinn	MF	Signed to a new contract	[38]
August 28, 2020	Darian Jenkins	FW	Re-signed	[51]

Awards

Further information: 2020 NWSL season § Individual awards

FIFA FIFPro Women's World 11

Further information: FIFPro § FIFA FIFPro Women's World11

• Megan Rapinoe: World 11^[58]
• Shirley Cruz: shortlisted^[59]

BBC Women's Footballer of the Year

• Megan Rapinoe (nominee)^[60]

Women's International Champions Cup

Further information: International Champions Cup § Women's International Champions Cup

• Best XI: Megan Rapinoe^[61]