NOTES TO KNOW

NOTES TO KNOW

CHAMPIONSHIP DETAILS

Following an exciting round of semifinal matchups, the finalists for the 2023 NWSL Championship, presented by Bud Light, have been determined. No. 4 OL Reign will match up against No. 6 NJ/NY Gotham FC in primetime at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Saturday, November 11 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California. The match will air live on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+ while fans tuning in internationally can stream the match on Watch.NWSLSoccer.com. Additional coverage details will be shared this week.

ATTENDANCE RECORD

OL Reign and NJ/NY Gotham FC both faced a tough test to advance to the NWSL Championship, winning on the road in front of sold-out crowds. OL Reign will return to Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, where last night they defeated Shield winner and top seed San Diego Wave FC 1-0 with 32,262 fans in the stadium, setting a new NWSL playoff attendance record. 25,218 fans packed Providence Park in Portland, setting a club record for playoff attendance and marking the third highest total in NWSL playoff history. Despite the overwhelming crowd support for Portland Thorns FC, the home team lost 1-0 to visiting Gotham FC.

EXTRA TIME

A back-and-forth battle between Portland Thorns and Gotham FC took an additional two periods to see a goal, marking the ninth playoff match in league history to reach extra time. After a scoreless regulation and first extra time period, Gotham FC forward Katie Stengel scored a goal to take the lead in the 107th minute, marking the third-latest game playoff game winner in league history.

MILESTONES AND RECORDS

LEAVE IT TO LATSKO

For the second straight match, forward Veronica Latsko scored OL Reign’s game winning goal. Latsko, who scored a header in the 87th minute against Angel City FC in the quarterfinals, found the back of the net last night in San Diego in the 47th minute with an impressive strike from the side of the net, which she later admitted was not intended to be a shot. With a little bit of luck, Latsko became the first player to score in consecutive playoff matches since Debinha and Crystal Dunn both did so for the North Carolina Courage in 2019.

SHUTOUT SEASON

Goals have been hard to come by in the 2023 NWSL Playoffs, as all four matches have resulted in shutouts through the first two rounds. Both semifinal matches ended with a final score of 1-0, with Gotham FC’s Mandy Haught and OL Reign’s Claudia Dickey becoming just the second and third keepers in league history to earn shutouts in both of their first two NWSL playoff appearances. Haught recorded four saves against the North Carolina Courage in the quarterfinals and three saves last night against Portland Thorns, while Dickey, who did not record a save against Angel City in the quarterfinals, recorded four last night.

PLAYOFF FIRSTS

Forward Katie Stengel’s late game winner to send Gotham FC to its first NWSL Championship appearance marked the first playoff goal of her career, with midfielder Kristie Mewis tallying her first playoff assist. Despite the loss, Portland Thorns keeper Shelby Hogan turned in a strong performance in her playoff debut, allowing just one goal after letting nothing past her for 107 minutes. Hogan made history starting in the playoffs with only six NWSL matches under her belt. Every other NWSL keeper to appear in the playoffs had started more than 10 matches before their playoff debut, except for OL Reign’s Claudia Dickey who started in the quarterfinals this year with only nine NWSL appearances beforehand. In the second match of the night, Reign midfielder Rose Lavelle assisted on Veronica Latsko’s game winner for her first NWSL playoffs assist.

MATCHES AND MINUTES

With a late substitution, Portland Thorns captain Christine Sinclair appeared in her 13th NWSL playoff match, the most in league history. Sinclair’s teammate defender Crystal Dunn made her 11th playoff appearance in the match, while Meghan Klingenberg made her 10th career playoff start, becoming the seventh player to do so. Gotham FC forward Lynn Williams and OL Reign defender Emily Sonnett both made their 11th career playoff start, matching Sinclair’s record. Sonnett also became the third player in league history to reach 1000 career minutes in the playoffs after Williams became the second with her start in the quarterfinals. Reign forward Megan Rapinoe and defender Lauren Barnes, who have both started every playoff match in club history, each recorded their 10th career playoff starts last night, becoming the eighth and ninth players to reach the milestone.

SEMIFINAL MATCH RESULTS

Sunday, November 6

No. 2 Portland Thorns FC vs. No. 6 NJ/NY Gotham FC | 0 – 1 | Match Recap No. 1 San Diego Wave FC vs. No. 4 OL Reign | 0 – 1 | Match Recap