Defender Sofia Huerta Earns Player of the Week Nomination
This Saturday, OL Reign got back to their winning ways in front of the fourth largest standalone crowd in club history at Lumen Field. The team battled to 2-1 win against the Kansas City Current, notching one goal in the first half and another in the second half. Central to the OL Reign’s win was defender Sofia Huerta, earning her a nomination for Player of the Week.
Huerta, a regular in OL Reign’s starting lineup, had a strong performance on the night, scoring the opening goal of the match and tallying an assist on the game-winning goal from forward Jordyn Huitema. Huerta is the only defender in the league this season to record a goal and an assist in the same game and is one of six defenders to record at least one goal and one assist in 2023.
“I was definitely happy to win that game and being nominated for Player of the Week is obviously always a good thing, I'm really happy about that,” Huerta said. “But I think overall, it was just such a good team performance and a little bit of luck."
Huerta led the team in chances created throughout the match (4), passes in the final third of the field (15) and crosses (7). She also won possession of the ball 15 times for the Reign, which was tied for first with fellow defender Alana Cook. Excellent on both sides of the field, Huerta also earned one interception and made three vital clearances.
“We have such a good backline that I'm able to get high and not really be too concerned about keeping a more conservative position in the back because our backline is so solid that I do kind of have free range to go up. So, I think just the quality of our team overall allows me to just kind of get on the ball more and take risks and play those balls that I love to play because I know that even if it's not a good cross or we don't finish, we'll be set up behind the ball to have success to win it back and just continue moving forward."
The versatile defender scored the opening goal of the match in the 36th minute from the penalty spot, notching her first penalty-kick goal since 2018 and her first goal of the 2023 season. She took her time as she stepped up to the spot and coolly fired the ball past Cassie Miller in the net for Kansas City. Huerta now has 35 regular-season goals all-time, ranking 17th in the league all-time.
Huerta continued to shine in the second half, earning the assist on the Reign’s second goal of the match. She whipped a cross into the box to forward Jordyn Huitema in the 68th minute of the match, earning her first assist of the season. Huerta has 30 assists all-time, making her one assist shy of tying the all-time league record set by Racing Louisville forward Jess McDonald.
“I think it also means that I've been in the league for a long time, I've had almost a decade of being in this profession, so that means more than anything. I think just hearing that I could potentially be the assist leader is awesome, but it's more so an accomplishment for me that I've had such a long career in this league."
Vote for defender Sofia Huerta for NWSL Player of the Week HERE. The poll closes at 5:15 p.m. PT.