Orlando City faced down Charlotte FC in the deciding game in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs, drawing even at 1-1 deep in stoppage time and dominating the ensuging penalty shootout 4-1 to advance. In what had become a theme of the series, Orlando City dominated on paper but could not find a goal, rattling the woodwork twice in the first half and outshooting Charlotte 21-6. Charlotte, however, did a good job of limiting many of those shots to low-probability areas or preventing shots from Orlando’s 14 key passes.

This strategy almost paid off when Charlotte found a goal in the 81st minute off a quirky defensive miscue, but Orlando’s desperation time press equalized close to the death via a penalty drawn by Duncan McGuire. Despite some artificial drama from video assistant referee Ismail Elfath sending referee Ismir Pekmic to the monitor to review the obvious shirt pull, the call on the field was upheld. Facundo Torres converted his own rebound when the penalty was initially saved by Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, tying the game and sending it to penalties.

Orlando clearly took last week’s penalty result seriously, as the Lions reversed last week’s fortune and dominated the shootout. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made two excellent saves on the first two and Orlando converted its first four attempts to advance.

Clearly the Lions felt a tremendous amount of emotion at getting through. Always a team to celebrate its victories and acknowledge fans, there was a bit of extra exuberance in the post-game celebrations. Torres threw Gallese on his shoulders and more players received their children on the field than is typical. Many players stayed to sign autographs, interact with fans, and generally linger on the field with teammates and family members well after the game. At the time, the Lions may have felt they’d played their last home match of the season, but results elsewhere were favorable, extending Orlando’s home playoff run for at least another round.

Since Orlando is the highest remaining seed in the Eastern Conference, the Lions will have home field advantage through the conference final should they get past Atlanta on Nov. 24.

We hope you enjoy these images from the game and the ensuing celebration!

The Orlando Pride returned to their dominant ways in their first-ever home playoff game, defeating the Chicago Red Stars 4-1 at Inter&Co Stadium Friday night. The scoreline may even have flattered the visitors somewhat, as the Pride got their first good look before the pregame pyrotechnics smoke had cleared and did not let up, scoring three goals by intermission and coming close on multiple other occasions. The Red Stars, by contrast, did not get a shot off until the 59th minute and their only goal was a gift on a goalkeeping error.

Barbra Banda returned to her marauding ways, getting in behind the defense five times (scoring twice and hitting the post once) and drawing a penalty. Marta scored the penalty and hit the woodwork on a free kick. Chicago goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher had a good game despite the scoreline, with several good saves and had no chance on any of the goals scored. On the other end, Orlando keeper Anna Moorhouse was never challenged (other than the goal conceded of her own making), with two low-probability saves.

The Pride will host Kansas City next weekend at a time yet to be announced, with the winner advancing to the championship game.

Lots of chances means lots of photos, so we hope you enjoy this gallery of photos from the Pride’s first home playoff victory.

The Orlando Pride continued to roll Saturday night as they defeated the Houston Dash 3-1, extending their unbeaten streak to 23 league games. Excitement around the team has finally started to catch hold, with the attendance of 17,087 setting an Inter&Co Stadium record for the Pride.

Orlando came out and dominated the first half, with several good chances. Eventually, Cori Dyke recycled an attack with a long cross into the box, where Carson Pickett was waiting in miles of space to head it over Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell. On the other end of the pitch, Houston did not get a shot off until three minutes into first-half stoppage time.

Angelina extended the Pride’s lead to 2-0 in the 51st minute with a laser shot from outside the area. The Pride then had a rare moment of lapsed concentration, finally conceding for the first time in six games, but not until after they had seized the league record for the longest scoreless stretch (554 minutes). Viviana Villacorta made her return to play late in the game after requiring a year to recover from a torn ACL. Marta showed she still has magic in her boots, scoring late on a Marta-esque solo effort in stoppage time.

With this victory and other results this weekend, Orlando can clinch the NWSL Shield if the Pride can defeat the Washington Spirit on Sunday.

We hope you enjoy these images from the Pride’s latest victory.