OL Reign trade midfielder Allie Long to Gotham FC

The Reign on Tuesday traded midfielder Allie Long to NJ/NY Gotham FC in exchange for $80,000 in allocation money and a 2022 second-round draft pick.

“Allie has been an important part of the club since her arrival and played a crucial role in our run to the playoffs in 2018 and 2019,” Reign CEO Bill Predmore said in a team release. “The assets we acquired in this trade will directly support our efforts to build a roster capable of competing for a championship this season.”

Long, who suffered an injury during warm-ups of the Reign’s 2021 Challenge Cup opener, played three seasons for the club. She scored three goals and had three assists in 41 starts, totaling 3,563 minutes.

Tuesday’s transaction returns Long, 33, to her native New York area.

“I am very excited to have Allie join the team,” Gotham coach Freya Coombe said in a team release. “Her distribution and ability on the ball are matched with her ability to compete & win tackles off the ball. She has a strong desire to compete and brings a wealth of experience in the league. We have emphasized recruiting players who have won championships and have a highly competitive mentality to achieve our goal of bringing trophies to NJ/NY Gotham FC and Allie embodies that mentality.”

Long helped the U.S. women’s national team win the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. She’s earned 51 caps and has bagged eight goals.

Gotham sits atop the East Division in NWSL’s Challenge Cup tournament. The club could play the Portland Thorns FC for the championship on May 8. Portland clinched the West Division with a win against the Reign last week.

The Bold (1-1-1) concludes Challenge Cup play with a road match against Kansas City (0-2-1) on Monday.