Megan Rapinoe vs Ali Krieger, Rose Lavelle vs Nealy Martin & two coaches with very different ideas - where the NWSL final will be won & lost as OL Reign face Gotham FC

Rookie of the Year Jenna Nighswonger is new to the left back position this season, but she’s readily taken to her defensive responsibilities, leading her team in tackles and tackles won. She also contributes going forward, leading her team—and ranking in the top five leaguewide—in successful crosses, and has notched three goals this season.

Playing on the same side of the field will be OL Reign right back Sofia Huerta, a converted forward whose name is synonymous with pinpoint long-range crosses. Huerta’s service from the right is a key component of the Reign attack, who lead the league in headed goals with 11. The Idaho native also has years of experience at this level, having competed in five previous NWSL playoff tournaments.

Shutting down Huerta’s service into the box as much as possible is key to stymieing the Reign attack, and that responsibility will fall to the youngster.

Two legends of the game will play their final match today, and although they won’t necessarily face off directly on the field, their influence as leaders shouldn’t be overlooked.

At 38 years old, Rapinoe has remained a major component of Reign’s attack in her final year as a pro. Setting up on the left wing, her famous crossing has been a mainstay in head coach Laura Harvey’s attack. The two-time World Cup champion is one of three “Reign originals” alongside Fishlock and defender Lu Barnes, and has played in two previous NWSL championships, but has yet to come out on top.

Krieger is also no stranger to this stage, having faced the Western New York Flash in the championship when she played for Washington Spirit in 2016—a game she lost. She’s been a bulwark for Gotham this season, ranking first on the squad in interceptions and clearances. Her veteran leadership both on the back line and in the locker room is a massive asset to a team that’s taken on an entirely new system this year.

Both Krieger’s and Rapinoe’s teammates say they want to lay it all on the line for their retiring veterans—so the one thing that’s certain is a hard-fought battle.

Gotham’s fluid movement makes it difficult to guess which opponent will be tasked with marking who at any given moment, but one crucial component of Reign’s defense in the center of the pitch is Jess Fishlock, the 36-year-old Welsh international who has been with the club since 2013. Fishlock can play throughout the central midfield, but with No. 10 Rose Lavelle back in the team, the veteran has dropped deeper and taken on a more defensive role.

Williams, meanwhile, who has played across the forward line at different moments in her career, is the top scorer for Gotham. A No. 9 on paper, she often finds her way into games by dropping deeper to both defend and serve as the connective tissue between Delanie Sheehan or Yazmeen Ryan and Midge Purce or Esther. In addition to her seven goals, she also ranks first on the team in successful duels.

For Fishlock, the key will be controlling the space in the midfield and not letting Gotham dictate her defensive movement. That’s going to be a difficult task, but as one of the most intelligent players in the league, she’s the right woman for the job.

Reign’s wild card in the playoffs has been the return of Rose Lavelle, the enigmatic USWNT midfielder who was injured early in the season at a national team camp and sat out almost the entire regular season. Entering as a substitute in the final half-hour of Seattle’s quarterfinal against LA, Lavelle provided an immediate spark. She started against San Diego in the semis and looked just as good. In short, Lavelle’s passing vision and skill on the ball immediately change any team she steps into, and Gotham can’t expect this match to go the same as their last meeting with Reign, a 4–1 win on the road.

Martin, a defender in her time at her last club, Racing Louisville, has been instrumental stepping into the No. 6 role for Gotham. Her defensive skills have beefed up her team’s aggressive press, as she works with Ryan and Sheehan to squeeze opponents off the ball. Only Ali Krieger has more interceptions for the team.

Lavelle, though, is the kind of Swiss Army Knife player who presents a puzzle to opponents: take away one option, and she’ll find her way into the game some other way. Whether Amorós will trust his press to keep her quiet or assign a player to man-mark her remains to be seen, and both are a roll of the dice.

This is a matchup between two coaches at very different moments in their NWSL careers. Harvey, whose current stint with the Reign began in 2021, also coached the club from 2013 through 2016, leading the team to four consecutive playoff appearances, including two trips to the final. Amorós is new to the league, having joined the Houston Dash as an interim manager midway through 2022 before being tapped for the Gotham job.

Both managers are known for being player-focused coaches, albeit in different ways. Harvey’s relationship with Rapinoe, Fishlock, and Barnes is a decade long, and she often places her faith in her veteran players—not without good reason, as the three have been part of some of the most successful teams in league history.

Amorós, meanwhile, has a team-centered approach that emphasizes a level playing field and week-by-week intra-squad competition. Every player knows they have a chance at starting in any given week, and no player is guaranteed minutes.

This will also be a battle between two contrasting styles. The 2023 Coach of the Year, Amorós has instituted a fluid, possession-based style the likes of which the NWSL has seen very little of in the past, while Harvey favors a structured defensive approach and quick, direct attacks. Both teams are defensively stingy, so we may be in for a low-scoring chess match—and which coach lifts their first NWSL Championship trophy is anyone’s guess.