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NWSL schedule: 3 biggest matches to watch in Week 5

By Caden Charpentier

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 01: Dani Weatherholt #17 of Angel City FC dribbles against Morgan Weaver #22 of Portland Thorns during the second half at Banc of California Stadium on July 01, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images for Angel City FC)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 01: Dani Weatherholt #17 of Angel City FC dribbles against Morgan Weaver #22 of Portland Thorns during the second half at Banc of California Stadium on July 01, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images for Angel City FC) /
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 19: Megan Rapinoe #15 of OL Reign celebrates a goal by Jess Fishlock #10 against Angel City FC in the second half of the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup at BMO Stadium on April 19, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 19: Megan Rapinoe #15 of OL Reign celebrates a goal by Jess Fishlock #10 against Angel City FC in the second half of the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup at BMO Stadium on April 19, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

1. OL Reign at Racing Louisville

Date: Saturday, April 29, 7:30 pm EST

How to watch: Paramount+

There is no team in the NWSL right now that is having more fun than Laura Harvey’s OL Reign. You can see it in their build-up play, and the celebrations once the ball hits the back of the net. This team has been playing with each other for quite a while. The Thorns may be sitting atop the NWSL table at the moment, but the Reign are right on their tails. Coming off of a five-goal outing against the Chicago Red Stars, Harvey’s side heads back east to encounter a club still trying to find their identity in 2023.

Racing Louisville, while losing just one match, have not felt the taste of victory in its first four matches of the campaign. Many thought that with the improvements made defensively and even up front, Racing would take a step forward. If there is any match that would show this club has finally turned that corner it is against the Reign. Both sides are top-five in the league in shot-creating actions. The only difference is one is far more clinical than the other. Kim Bjorkegren’s side has been held scoreless twice this season coming off a year where that happened six times in 22 matches.

No matter how inconsistent Racing was last season, the Shield winners could not defeat the purple and white. The two finished the 2022 campaign with two draws while including a brilliant Kristen Davis equalizer just before halftime to propel Louisville to a 1-1 in the home leg. Racing is going to need some of that Davis-type magic to slow down to an extremely confident Reign team who have yet to lose since the opening weekend.

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