Reign Celebrate Lu Barnes' Historic 150th Regular Season Match
With her start during OL Reign’s match against the North Carolina Courage on Saturday night, defender Lauren Barnes became just the second player in NWSL history to play in 150 NWSL Regular Season matches and the first to do so playing for a single club.
Barnes is an OL Reign original, selected as the team’s second pick in the 2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft. During the 2013 season, she was the only Reign player to start and play in all 22 matches of the season. At the end of the season, she earned the team honor of Defender of the Year. That same season, Barnes made a memorable goal line save, diving into the net and tipping what looked like a certain goal over the cross bar, gaining the attention of many fans early on.
Returning for a second season in 2014, Barnes helped lead the Reign to their first NWSL Shield. She played 23 games that season, starting in 22. She was a huge part of the success of the legendary 2014 Reign squad, who went unbeaten for 16 games and made it to the NWSL Championship final match. Following the conclusion of the season, Barnes was named to the NWSL Second XI.
Ever consistent, Barnes started all 20 matches of the 2015 season, putting in 90 minutes of work each match. The versatile defender notched a goal and assist, helping her team earn the NWSL Shield and a spot in the NWSL Championship match for the second year in a row. Barnes earned herself a spot on the NWSL Best XI at the end of the 2015 season.
During the 2016 season, Barnes scored another goal for the Reign and added two more assists. She once again started every match for her team, putting in 1,776 minutes in 20 games. Barnes was named to the NSWL Best XI once again and also received the honor of NWSL Defender of the Year.
For the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Barnes played in 22 and 19 matches for the Reign respectively, starting all but one match both seasons. A well-established leader on the team, Barnes worked to keep up her stellar defensive work, adapting to any challenges thrown her way.
In her seventh season with the club, Barnes played every minute of her 23 appearances, earning a spot on the NWSL Second XI. Though her eighth season with the club was not traditional, as the 2020 Challenge Cup was played in place of a regular season, Barnes stepped up, starting and playing every minute in four Challenge Cup matches.
Now, in 2021, Barnes remains a leader on the team. She played in two Challenge Cup matches and assisted the game winning goal that secured the second-place finish for OL Reign in the Western Division of the tournament.
Amassing an impressive 12,981 minutes played for OL Reign, Barnes has truly held down the Reign defense since the club’s inaugural season.
“I’ve spent the first half of my pro career battling directly against Lu both here and in the W-League and marveling at how incredible of a player she is,” said teammate Jasmyne Spencer. “Tonight, I’m so happy to finally be sharing the field with her as her teammate and friend. I’m still in awe of her and so unbelievably proud to celebrate this amazing accomplishment with her.”
Barnes has been a mainstay for the Reign, leading the team on the field, as well as off the field with her sustainability efforts. She recently launched the M.A.D Travel Kits campaign, providing her team with kits full of eco-friendly products that are useful to professional women’s soccer players. She also has committed to helping younger players, on the OL Reign first team and in the OL Reign Academy, develop into the best players they can, by using her experiences and knowledge to mentor them.
"Lu has been an incredible role model for me both on and off the field,” said teammate Dani Weatherholt. “She is a true leader, competitor, and world class player. Lu’s the first player you call when you need anything and the first player to drive standards within the group when we need to do better. I can’t speak more highly about my experience as Lu’s teammate and friend. I know I speak for everyone when I say that we are beyond grateful to have crossed paths with Lu over the course of her incredible career.”
Outside of her OL Reign accomplishments, Barnes has found success on loan to Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City in Australia’s W-League, as well as Kristianstad in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan. She won the W-League title with Melbourne Victory once and three times with Melbourne City. Barnes was named Melbourne City W-League Player of the Year and was named to the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) W-League Team of the Year after the 2017-2018 W-League season.
Barnes also played for the U.S. Women’s National Team at the U-15, U-20, and U-23 levels, helping to lead the U-23 team to the 2010 Four Nations Tournament title. Barnes received her first senior national team call-up in 2016, for the SheBelieves Cup, which the U.S. went on to win.
Lauren Barnes is one of the most consistent and accomplished defenders in the history of the NWSL and a leader on and off the field and everyone at OL Reign congratulates her on this milestone accomplishment.
“Lulu... what can I say. She’s my ride or die…my day one. As a human she is are everything this club was built on and stands for,” said longtime friend and teammate Jess Fishlock. “Loyalty, passion, resilience, honest, trusting, and caring – let alone that left foot people would pay good money for. Congratulations on 150 games for this club. It is unheard of in America and that just sums her up. She is one of a kind.”