Louisville v Reign Preview
Canine enthusiast Jessica Berman plays with Uchenna Kanu’s dog after practice on Friday.
The commissioner is in town, to watch the 1000th ever NWSL match, which happens to be when Louisville faces off with the soon to be OL-less Reign. I hold out hope that they just drop the OL and become “Reign” without a location indicator, as to further confuse novice soccer fans. It was a rather unique practice in that that there were quite a few visitors and the practice included more noticeable tactical discussions as seen here…
and here…
On the newsworthy side, Elli Pikkujämsä will be out as well as long-term absentees Kgatlana, Ekic, Nadim, and Bloomer. Jess McDonald was granted leave to attend the Grand Final in Australia, so she is out as well. This will likely lead to a new look front line and potentially a new look back line with Lester and Murray now fully fit for 90 minutes. As of now, everyone else is available for selection.
The OL Reign are a difficult challenge with Coach Björkegren saying that they likely have a “Top 10 in the world” level roster. I don’t disagree, but for all of the mental fits that Portland seems to pose for Louisville, they know they can hang with the Reign. I think Louisville will be poised to come out quickly against the Reign but will have to be more cautious than they were in Portland. The Reign like to press, and Louisville hasn’t been great against it this season, so it might be prudent to cede a little possession early if they can keep their shape. However, prudence doesn’t seem to be in the club vernacular when it comes to style, so maybe don’t hold your breath.
Alternatively, the prudent move for Jordan Baggett may indicate that at least from a roster perspective that the club is finding practical solutions to problems. Louisville were able to acquire her from the Washington Spirit for a second-round pick in 2024 and a conditional third-round pick in 2025. I am all for trading away picks as I personally don’t see much value in anything beyond a first-round pick. Save your breath on the number of later rounds “hits” as the number of “misses” is much, much higher. You are better off working a trade for a known commodity like Louisville did here. It will be the last one for a while as the transfer window is closed, but look for additional activity in the Summer window.
Baggett after practice
Back to Baggett, Björkegren sees her as more of a holding midfielder that can play a little further forward. You may see her regularly used when Louisville has a late lead in matches and when pragmatism is warranted. The team practiced with some different forward combos up front to accommodate the absence of Jess McDonald. I wouldn’t be totally shocked if Björkegren did a full hockey-style line change late if things aren’t working or if fresh legs are needed.
One final note: since Katie Lund was the player made available for interview today, I asked her about her proclivity for double saves. Instead of seeing it as a positive, she saw it as an indication of not doing well enough on the first ball. It’s something she is working on, so look for her to try to get that first save into a better position as to avoid the constant highlight reel efforts.
