OL Reign loses NWSL championship, Rapinoe injured in final game

The stage was set this Saturday — the OL Reign were vying for their first National Women’s Soccer League Championship against New York's Gotham FC.

It was also the final professional game for the Reign's transcendent talent, retiring winger Megan Rapinoe.

And then, less than five minutes into the match, Rapinoe left with an injury.

"It just really seemed like a fairy tale ending was being set up for Megan Rapinoe," said Maggie Mertens, a freelance journalist who writes about gender and sports.

Rapinoe was a critical member of two World Cup championship teams, including winning the Golden Boot (top goalscorer) and Golden Ball (top player) in the 2019 World Cup. She helped the U.S. soccer team to a gold medal in 2012 and has three NWSL Shields to her name, which are given out to the club with the best regular season record.

But the NWSL Championship had been elusive for Rapinoe and OL Reign,

"Megan Rapinoe starts, she has a great cross in the first two minutes, it really felt like so much excitement, like they were going for it right away. It was typical Megan Rapinoe," Mertens said.

Then came the injury and, after 90 minutes, OL Reign lost 2-1.

It was an unfitting end to one of the most celebrated soccer careers in the United States.

Rapinoe wasn't just a star for the Reign, and the women's national team. She was also an advocate, who used her status to push for equal pay for members of the U.S. Women's National Team and was one of the first athletes to take a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with the NFL's Colin Kaepernick.

"Rapinoe is one of those people who just says what they mean and calls out hypocrisy," Mertens said.

Listen to Soundside’s full conversation with Maggie Mertens by clicking the play icon at the top of this story.