End-of-Season Press Conference • Tuesday, November 21, 2023
OL Reign End-of-Season Press Conference • Tuesday, November 21, 2023
General Manager Lesle Gallimore and Head Coach Laura Harvey
Opening remarks:
Lesle Gallimore: “First and foremost, I want to thank all of you for coming today and most importantly, for supporting us throughout the season with your coverage. It was a big year for us in a lot of different ways, so I want to say thank you to all of you for continuing to take an interest in the club. So, it’s very much appreciated. Next, I just want to kind of reflect back on the season quickly and give major kudos to the manager of our club (head coach) Laura Harvey – obviously, the first coach in the league to reach 200 regular season [games coached]. I thought Laura did a masterful job of meshing our veteran players, which we have quite a few, with our younger players, which we also have quite a few and that all culminated in quite a season; we were the No. 1 seed in the Challenge Cup, we were obviously a finalist and came up just a goal short in what was a fairly dramatic national championship in the NWSL this year, but I thought that throughout the season, and obviously I only got here half way through, but as an outsider looking in before I came on board as the GM, I was impressed with the development of the younger players in this squad and how they were able to, not surprisingly based on who our veterans are, mesh with the group and there were a lot of different factors that went into our season this year, including the World Cup, obviously. So, I just wanted to make sure that Laura gets the praise that she deserves and it was a fun season to be a part of and a fun season to watch. So again, I want to thank you all for coming today.”
On settling in to her first offseason with the club:
Lesle Gallimore: “It’s been a lot all at once, but it’s been great. I have a lot of great people around me and obviously there are multiple things that are spinning in the air simultaneously – the expansion draft, free agency, the fact that it was a World Cup year, the retirement of Megan Rapinoe and to get plopped down about a month before the World Cup hit, when we were in an interesting position in the club, it was a lot to take in, but I think it’s been really goos getting the feel for where our players are, where the club is and obviously the biggest thing for me was to be able to extend Laura’s contract and I think that gave a lot more certainty to our direction for our players. So, for me, it’s been a ton of fun and obviously to get to the Championship game. (NJ/NY Gotham FC general manager) Yael Averbuch is a good friend of mine, the GM at Gotham and clearly we wanted to win that game and we were disappointed that we didn’t, but it would’ve almost been a little bit unfair to how the work she’s put in over there and for me to just kind of float in and be a part of a title [laughs], but it’s been great. Obviously, we’re excited about the future, but these last five, six months have been tremendous and we’re looking forward to all of the things that are coming up, including roster.”
On notable achievements and milestones from the younger players developing throughout the 2023 season:
Lesle Gallimore: “I think there were a lot of standouts, but to me, one of the things that Laura was really good about doing was giving opportunities in the Challenge Cup and I thought there were a lot of players that shined throughout during that time – most notably, (goalkeeper) Claudia Dickey, which led to the move we made in goal and with that said, and I think we re-signed Claudia the other day and she and (goalkeeper) Laurel (Ivory) both have been so good, we have one of the best goalkeeper corps in the league and as a young goalkeeper, both them, helped our team tremendously and we were able to play in a style that we want to play and I think it gave the players a lot of confidence moving forward in what we have there in those two young players.”
Laura Harvey: “I think just collectively, they’re all on different journeys, but they all see the value of being at this club. I think (midfielder Olivia Van der Jagt) Olo has been a standout since the day she arrived at the club, but other players have been on a bit of a different journey to her and it hasn’t been as uphill as Olo’s has. But I think the thing that has been great is, we brought in this nine player rookie class in 2022 and out of that nine, the majority have stayed with us for two seasons and now, we’re at a point with them where we know a lot more about them, they know a lot more about us, they can see a future in their careers. I think the Challenge Cup has been a really good opportunity for us to elevate and evaluate them to see where they’re at and decide what we feel like their future holds with us and I’m excited for the majority of them to be with us moving forward and to see where their careers can all go because I think [the 2022 NWSL Draft] was a big year for us in regard to selecting young talent in that draft that we don’t tend to do very often. I think we’ve been able to see the development of them over the last couple of years and yeah, I’m excited to continue that. I think (defender) Shae (Holmes) came in this year as a draft pick and I’m really excited about her future. She had a No. 1 target this year, which was to stay healthy and be available all year, which she did, and for someone who’s had the injury history that she’s had, I think that was the No. 1 target for her and she hit it and she hit it whilst playing more minutes than she expected and played well in those minutes. So, I’m really excited for what the future holds for her too.”
On if she needs finality or certainty regarding the sale of the club to know what she can do from a roster perspective:
Lesle Gallimore: “Again, players want certainty, right? What we’ve kept professing, and we 100 percent to believe true, is that our club was in a final this year, we’ve been a steady competitor in this league since its inception and ownership and the investment as you’ve seen across the league in new ownership and sales, it’s all positive. So, our players, I know that they’re convinced that whatever happens with the sale that things are going to continue to improve and evolve like they have around the rest of the league. But, how that ties into free agency and re-signing players, it’s part of it, it’s part of the process, but I do think just free agency, in general being new to these players, is something that is also making it part of the process – their timing, with expansion, with the investment, with salaries – where they are and where they’re going – it’s just part of it. So, we feel comfortable that we’re approaching it the right way with our players and that’s kind of where we are. I don’t think the sale – I don’t think it plays into it as much as maybe people think it would.”
On what the conversations have been like with midfielder Rose Lavelle and defender Emily Sonnett as they enter free agency:
Lesle Gallimore: “They both know that they’re a huge part of our project and clearly, we’re going to work really hard to re-sign both of them. I think ending the season as late as we did, expansion draft coming, there’s all timing issues with them, but there are ongoing discussions just about daily that we feel good about.”
Laura Harvey: “I just think that free agency is something that players should live through – I said this last year with our free agents, they should live through it. I think the expansion draft adds an extra wrinkle to that – they know that if they’re still free, they can’t be picked. So, that gives them some power to their own destiny outside of wherever they choose their next destination to be. As Lesle says, I think everyone knows that we really value (midfielder) Rose (Lavelle) and (defender Emily) Sonnett, they’re a huge part of our team. I think Sonnett’s evolution this year has been exceptional and Rose has obviously had a tough year, but you saw that at the back end of the season what she can do and they know that we love them and we want them to stay here. But, I do think that every player, and we advise in this, should live through free agency and see what it looks like for them.”
On if the club is working on any deals for protection from the expansion draft:
Lesle Gallimore: “I think we are looking at expansion draft protection. Clearly, it would be good to have it – one, just so we can continue to focus on what else we want to do during the trade window. So yeah, we’re going to continue to look at those opportunities as options. We wanted to meet with our players first, obviously, last week and again, the timing of being in the Championship, having player meetings and being in discussions with other clubs about protection are all kind of right on top of each other. So yeah, those discussions are ongoing and we obviously have plans for having protection and not having protection. I think that those things are just all – we’re in the middle of all of it.”
On if she views the season as if they were good enough and just fell short in a game that started under weird circumstances or if there is still something about that club where she feels like she needs something different to win a Championship:
Laura Harvey: “I don’t know, if I’m honest. I think that, to say it was weird is an understatement. I think the fact that (forward) Megan (Rapinoe) got hurt in the third minute in any game would be something that we would have to deal with. In that game, her last ever game, I was actually really proud of the group that they responded the way that they did. Honestly, until they scored their goal, you could see we were a little bit a shell of ourselves and then I think when they scored, it sort of jolted us back into action a little bit. I thought we were the better team leading into halftime, but then we conceded off a set piece, which is always really disappointing. But then I thought in the second half, we created enough opportunities to win the game and football is like that. It had a bit of similar feel to me, from a game perspective, of 2014 [Championship] and you guys have lived this with me for a long time. I felt OK after 2014 because I knew we played well and we had enough chances to score and I felt similar after this one. To the fact that Pinoe went down when she did, the fact that the team responded the way that they did, the fact that we created enough chances to win the game – we got there. Now, I honestly thing from an overall season perspective, we weren’t good enough, we weren’t. As a team, we weren’t. We never hit momentum, we didn’t get on the run that we’ve often got into when we’ve been to championships before. So, it’s hard to say are we missing something? Because all the things I felt we were missing when we got to these positions previously, we had this time. So, I just feel like we’ve got to continue to keep grinding. I think what’s overshadowed a little bit about our team, which is frustrating at times, is that I’ve been back for two and a half seasons now – we finished second, got to a semifinal, we finished first, got to a semifinal, finished fourth and got to a final – we’re very consistent and we’re very consistent at a really high level, so that’s really challenging to do. To me, it’s more challenging to do that than to be one-off in a one-off season. So, I think the challenge to us is, can we continue to be a consistent, high-performing team and be in and around it again? Did we get over a hump this year? Yeah, we won two playoff games. We haven’t done that in a long time. I think that’s huge. If you include the playoffs, we we won more games than any other team in the league, great. But I think that obviously we want to try and get that No. 1 piece of silverware. But, football is harsh and do I think that if Megan had stayed on the field maybe we would’ve won the game? Maybe. I think it would’ve had a different feel to it, for sure. So, I think it’s hard to put something into perspective and say exactly what it is, I just know that we’re consistent, we perform a high level, which is really challenging to do in this league and as a long as we do that, I believe that one day we’ll get that No. 1 piece of silverware. But I think finishing in the top 4, getting ourselves into playoffs, winning playoff games, doing that consistently, in the end, we’ll get what we want.”
On how much of the response from the team in the Championship was driven by Rapinoe’s response by coming back out on the bench:
Laura Harvey: “No doubt. I mean, I could speak about Pinoe for an hour. She is the ultimate professional. She is a winner. She cares deeply about this club and this team. She knew she had torn her Achilles the moment she hit the ground and one, to walk of the field, says a lot about her – she literally didn’t have an Achilles tendon when she walked off – and then obviously to be distraught, I’m sure, to be having all the emotions that that’s how her career ends and to do it with the humor, to do it with the professionalism and still the desire to want to be in the game for the team, I think just speaks everything about her. It obviously was never the way we wanted her career to end. I think a lot of things get said about Pinoe, but these are the things that should get said more about her. I couldn’t turn around and talk to her because I knew I wouldn’t be able to emotionally handle it, so how she was able to turn it on and just be there for the team was phenomenal.”
On expansion teams being able to take two players and if OL Reign does a trade, it would have to be with both expansion teams or it wouldn’t do much protecting for the club:
Lesle Gallimore: “Yeah, you can lose a maximum of two players – it can be two from one team or one from each and if you get someone picked, you can protect someone else, if you’re not protected at all. But yeah, you could lose up to two players.”
On what the hope is for the overall tone of the offseason in terms of building a roster:
Laura Harvey: “I think, just for clarity, I think it’s really hard to be consistent in this league. The fact that we are and we have a lot of turnover, occasionally, in our team is exceptional. But I also think that to get into a final and to be able to consistently get into finals, that’s the next stage for us is, let’s not make this a one-off, but let’s make sure we consistently get where we need to get to, but also when we get to finals, can we learn from this one and make the next one better? I don’t think we need something special to do that. I wish Pinoe had stayed on the field so we could’ve talked about that a little bit more. I just think the way that the offseason works is, you can’t sit still, you can’t accept that what you’ve got is good enough, I don’t think that works. I think you’ve got to be willing to look at what can make your team better and that could be one addition, that could be 12 additions and I think we’ve gone through different years in offseasons where we’ve done that. I think last year, we didn’t have a ton of movement. In 2022, after 2021, we had loads of movement. So, I think that you’ve just got to see what the offseason can bring but always having the mindset that we don’t want to standstill because if you standstill you’ll plateau and go down, but can you make sure that you’re making the moves that you need to make sure that the team can stay consistently good at the highest level and be able to get itself where it wants to go?”
On if there are any needs for changes or additions to staff to help the team continue to be successful and if the club needs to sign another striker in the offseason:
Lesle Gallimore: “I’m not sure if you’re talking about coaching staff or staffing overall, but definitely, we’re going to go in the direction of adding staff. We have some positions that are out there right now in our high performance and medical staffing and just overall staffing of the club and that’s something we need to invest in and OL recognizes that, even with the sale of the club that we need to evolve in that direction and we will. So, that part also adds to the positive of where this club is going. I just think we’re going to become more and more professionalized with the staffing and what that buildout looks like. We’re going to try and be very methodical about it and intentional as to what our needs are. From a coaching standpoint right now, everything is as is. There’s not much to talk about or that we can talk about there right this second. From a player perspective, Laura’s exactly right and we’re 100 percent in alignment on that – if you’re standing still, you’re going to get passed by or you’re going to plateau and stagnate and there are so many moving parts, I would say domestically and internationally in women’s football, that our eyes are always open, we’re always looking; we’re looking deep at the college group this year to see what that could bring in January. So, if there is someone out there that we feel would add to our locker room, add to the pitch, add to our statistics, we’re going to take a long, hard look at them. I would say, back to Laura’s point and the point I made earlier about the great job she’s done in developing that big rookie class of two years ago is that we have players now that a lot of times don’t make the 20 that people are seeking out from us. So, we have people that are in the 20 that don’t get a ton of minutes but have proven themselves in the Challenge Cup or they know that being in our environment for the last two years has raised their value, as far as how impactful they can be in games. So, I think the approach in the past and our current approach is the right one, as far as having consistency and always competing for championships, but we’re going to always look for the x-factor at what pushes us over the top in any given season, so that’s how we’re looking at it now.”
On how defender Jimena Lopez and midfielder Luany are doing on their respective loans and if the club plans on bringing them back early in January rather than let them finish their loans through June 2024:
Lesle Gallimore: “I think that’s [to be determined] and we have been following them and keeping in touch with them and they’re both doing well. I think (midfielder) Luany, as we’ve spoken about before, minutes are what’s most important to her as a young, young player. I think Jimena has found a little bit of a groove at Valencia and both clubs report back to us that they’re extremely happy with them both. I think some of these other things that happen in our roster are going to determine whether we call them back sooner than when they’re expected back or not, but we’re definitely happy with the decision to loan them and the experience that they’re both getting and what it could potentially bring for them and also bring for our club if we do recall them.”
On if she has talked to Rapinoe since the surgery and if she has thought of anything to help better incentivize the Shield and make it more prominent:
Laura Harvey: “I would definitely invest in the trophy that the Shield currently looks like because wow. I’ll answer about Megan – yes, she had surgery, it was successful, she’s recovering at home in New York. I speak to Pinoe quite a lot. She is, again, she cares about this club and is very committed to wanting to influence it in any way that she can. As long as she is willing to do that, we will be willing to take her up on that. So yeah, I think obviously right now for her it’s about getting her Achilles back to a position where she can live her next life, whatever that looks like for her. But yeah, we’ll constantly be in contact with Megan. I’ve always been a big believer that the Shield is the hardest thing to win – being consistent over 22 games in this league is very, very difficult. It doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, in my opinion, both from a player perspective, from a team perspective, from a coach perspective. I think, you look around the world and what teams sort of live by, it’s winning the league and then next to that, winning whatever their Champions League or whatever it looks like and that’s what the Championship is, in my opinion. I think the league is the league and the Championship is a smaller version of the Champions League, that’s our version of it and that’s really hard to win and not many people get to do that. So, not many people get to go to those finals either. In my mind, that’s how I look at it. I think most people who have come across the pond and have lived in this country and have worked in this country talk about it in a similar vein that, every game is so challenging for so many reason, whether it be travel, whether it be the parity across the league, whatever it may be, you know every game you have to turn up and harsh reality is, that’s not the case in most leagues around the world. So, to be able to do that and finish top of this league deserves massive credit, in my opinion, and it doesn’t take away from the Championship at all because to me, that’s like winning the Champions League. So, I think they both should have their priorities given to them in the way that they are and I think you look around the world, they’re definitely given priority, so we should do the same.”
On if they are expecting a lot of free agency signings before the expansion draft:
Lesle Gallimore: “I don’t know that it’s a complication as much as it is just part of it. I do think that some of the higher-profile free agents, I think the expansion draft is going to be something that takes place before some of those decisions are made – I don’t know if Laura sees that any differently, but I think that’s just kind of how it is.”
Laura Harvey: “I think if a free agent is choosing to go to an expansion team, then you’ll probably see them. If they’re choosing to not go to an expansion team, I’m not sure you’ll see them. That’s what my view is.”
On her conversations with defender Alana Cook and her growth as a leader and what it has been like for her after the World Cup:
Laura Harvey: “It’s been a challenging year for all the players, I think, in different ways. (Defender) Alana’s (Cook) has been a difficult journey, I think. I think the realities are, for Alana, that she knows when she is at her best, there aren’t many people better than her in her position. To be able to do that game in and game out in this league is challenging in itself. So, I think she has done that a lot for us this year. I think coming back from the World Cup and the disappointment around that, I think was hard – you don’t have time in this league to be average, you can’t be because if you are, then things are going to pass you by. But I think she’s dedicated to her development, she’s dedicated to wanting to get better in all aspects of her game and as long as she has that mentality and she’s willing to commit that to herself, then she’ll be fine because she has all the tools needed to be an exceptional footballer and she’s shown that a lot for us, which is great. I think now she has an opportunity with a new coach to be able to go and show that at the national team. I don’t doubt that the World Cup was really difficult for her and credit to her when she came back, she was fully focused on the Reign and wanted to, I’m sure, prove why she deserves opportunity to go back into the national team environment and play and has done that. Since the World Cup, she’s had those opportunities. So, I’m really happy for her. You forget a lot how young Alana is in her career, so I’m really excited about what her future holds.”
On the impact head assistant coach Scott Parkinson has had on the club:
Laura Harvey: “He’s great. I think he had big shoes to fill. I think (former assistant coach) Sam (Laity) leaving was big shoes to fill and I think Scott is first and foremost an exceptional human being; he cares deeply about doing things the right way, doing things with a smile on his face, bringing energy that is infectious because that’s the human that he is and then on top of that, he is a very talented and dedicated coach who wants to develop himself every day. He also wants to make sure he’s providing the players with the best environment possible to develop individually and as a collective. Obviously, I’ve had the pleasure of working with him now in two stints, both at Utah and here, and I think just his development since I worked with him in Utah has been – he’s had huge growth, which you only get by having experience and I think he’s experienced a lot, but I think first and foremost, he’s brought in a real sense of pride and belonging to how important it is for him to be at this club. I truly hope that he is here next year and that is definitely the plan.”
On her thoughts on USWNT head coach Emma Hayes commenting that a lot of national team players playing in the NWSL need to play overseas to diversify their play:
Laura Harvey: “I don’t know what Emma said, so I haven’t actually seen whatever she said. But I’ll say that I think players understand what this league gives them. I think players understand what the challenges are playing here provides to them. I think that obviously going overseas is a challenge to some of them that, very similar to people from Europe coming to America, that for some people it may be on their bucket list to do, like, ‘I want to play overseas,’ OK, well, I think that, does it help your development? Potentially. I don’t know if it hinders it, but I’m not sure it’s for everybody. I think that everyone’s individual development is different and I think for some people and a lot of American players especially, this league provides them with everything that they need to be the best player they can be and I’m sure in Emma’s new role these discussions will be ongoing because I think the national team players and their structure needs somewhere for their players to play and not all of them can play overseas. So, I think the discussions may potentially change now in her new role.”
Lesle Gallimore: “My outsider, insider view of the global game is that, in the time in the NWSL, what I’ve noticed is that, maybe not as varied as playing overseas or the international game, but I would say that the playing styles in the NWSL have definitely evolved over the last two to three years.”
On what drives her and keeps her coming back to the Reign:
Laura Harvey: “I think the Reign, I say this a lot and I’ll probably get emotional saying it again, it’s my club, that’s how I feel. I feel like this is my place, it’s where I belong. When you start something from zero, and I mean zero, even when I wasn’t here, I was always rooting for it to be successful. I think, yeah, maybe the silverware piece of not getting the championship is a driver. When Bill Predmore called me when I was at U.S. Soccer to come back, his line was, ‘We have unfinished business,’ and that was it, I didn’t need any more incentive than that. I love Seattle as a city. I think it’s so invested in sport there and its sports teams and that’s only growing every year that I’ve lived there. I care about the league, too, I truly do. I care about its evolution. I do love living here. I love what my lifestyle is here. I actually went home this past weekend, I haven’t been back to England since 2017 and going home was very – there were a lot of people. There are a lot of people in England, I didn’t realize that many people walked around, but yeah, I got hit with a lot of people at the Bullring on Saturday, it was a lot. I think that there will be a day, maybe, that I want to go home, I just don’t think that that day is quite right now and one of the biggest reasons for that is the Reign and not only how I feel about the Reign but how they have committed to me through tough times in the early days and through the good times of recent years. Obviously, we’re still chasing this one thing that we truly want as a club, but I think as long as we continue to do all the right things in the right way, having the best interest of the club at heart and wanting to put the players interests first, then it’s a place that I can’t ever see myself not wanting to be. There’s always probably a timeline where that day will end, I don’t know when that is, but yeah, I love being able to look out my window and see some orcas swimming past and I love being able to live pretty close to LA, where I can come home and see my family because my brother lives here and me and my partner have a house here. So yeah, I feel very immersed in the American culture and as much as England will always be home, I definitely feel like I’ve found a second home, for sure.”
Download here: End-of-Season Press Conference • Tuesday, November 21, 2023