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Orlando Pride vs. Portland Thorns: Final Score 6-0 as Pride Suffer Worst Loss Ever

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4 years ago

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The Portland Thorns put the Orlando Pride on full blast, breezing to a 6-0 win at Providence Park that could easily have been even more lopsided. Despite some good saves by Erin McLeod and some wasted shots by the Thorns, it was still Orlando’s worst loss in the team’s existence. Hina Sugita, Becky Sauerbrunn, Sophia Smith (twice), Natalia Kuikka, and Taylor Porter all scored for the Thorns (4-1-4, 16 points).

The Pride (2-5-2, 8 points) have now lost three consecutive matches — all via shutout — and are winless in their last four games (0-3-1) heading into the international break. Orlando has been outscored 12-0 in the last three matches and have been shut out three straight times for the first time since the team’s expansion season, when the Pride were blanked from May 28 to June 18 of 2016 by FC Kansas City, the Western New York Flash, and the Washington Spirit. Like the current stretch, those matches were all on the road.

Orlando had been beaten three times by five goals but this was the first six-goal loss and tied the team record for most goals conceded in a match. The Pride fell to 2-10-2 in the all-time, regular-season series against Portland and 2-11-2 in all competitions.

“I thought we got beat by a better team today and not only because they were better in possession, but fundamentals,” acting Pride coach Seb Hines said after the match. “Their ability to put us under pressure at the right moment, their willingness to run and battle and compete. And then with their creativity, they created multiple chances, and that’s something that moving forward we need to be better. We need to be better at the fundamentals — tackling, competing, running.”

Hines started McLeod in goal behind a back line of Courtney Petersen, Toni Pressley, and Megan Montefusco, with Darian Jenkins and Kerry Abello playing in sort of wingback roles. Meggie Dougherty Howard slotted into the midfield with Gunny Jonsdottir and Angharad James, with an attacking line of Abi Kim, and Julie Doyle. There were no center backs or strikers on the Pride bench.

The danger from Portland started early with Kuikka making a bombing run down the right, speeding past the Pride midfield and getting to the top of the box, where she nutmegged Pressley with a pass to Smith, who fired a shot that took a slight deflection and skipped inches wide of the left post.

The ensuing corner kick fell for Sugita, who was completely unmarked on the back side, but she got under her volley attempt, which sailed harmlessly well over the goal.

The first great chance for the Pride happened in the 17th minute. Kim made a good cross in from the right that Dougherty Howard chested down into her own path. She got a good look 1-v-1 with Bella Bixby, who made a huge save to keep the game scoreless.

“We created a great opportunity at nil-nil where it comes from a cross. Meggie takes a great touch and Bixby makes a save,” Hines said. “We’re talking about a (potential) one-nil lead, which can change the outcome of the game.”

The Thorns went right down the field after the save and Smith got in behind the defense but Montefusco did well to stab the ball away from behind. Sauerbrun was unmarked by Abello on the ensuing corner and McLeod made a sensational save in the 18th minute to keep the game at 0-0 — for the time being.

Three minutes later, Portland broke through. Abello’s attempted pass was easily picked off by Janine Beckie, who crossed into the box. The ball found Sugita — who got in behind Jenkins — on Portland’s left side, and she made no mistake this time, putting the Thorns up 1-0 in the 21st minute.

It took just four minutes to double the lead. Jonsdottir conceded a free kick on a handball, trying to protect herself from a point-blank cross. Although her arm was near her body, the referee ruled it wasn’t in a natural position. The free kick was sent in low and hard and McLeod tried to catch it rather than punch it away, but she couldn’t handle it and the rebound fell for 37-year-old defender Sauerbrunn, who was not tracked by anyone. Sauerbrunn smashed the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-0 in the 25th minute.

“That second goal was a killer,” Hines said. “It comes from a free kick, where Becky Sauerbrunn’s gambled because she’s confident and she’s got a tap-in. Them little defining moments can change a result of the game.”

Things could have gotten worse in the 31st minute when Smith danced past three Pride players with no trouble whatsoever, and sent a pass to Rocky Rodriguez at the top of the box. The midfielder sent her shot just wide.

Orlando survived a couple of late set pieces and the Pride entered the locker room down only 2-0 despite being dominated. Portland had more shots (10-2), shots on target (5-1), Possession (57.8%-42.2%), corners (3-2), and passing accuracy (85.7%-77.4%).

The Portland dominance continued to start the second half, despite the introduction of Viviana Villacorta by Hines, replacing Kim. The Thorns continued to ping passes and crosses around. Kuikka and Rodriguez each had shots blocked at the top of the area early in the second period. James then gave the ball away in her defensive third, allowing Beckie a free shot from outside the area that skipped wide.

Beckie then managed to beat both Abello and Petersen in the 56th minute to get a dangerous cross in to Smith, who got a shot deflected and McLeod was able to collect. Two minutes later, it was Beckie firing just wide on the counter. The Pride immediately turned it over again and this time Smith fired just wide.

Bixby made a second big save to keep the Pride off the board in the 60th minute. Jenkins stepped into a shot from a long way out that required the Portland keeper to make a flying save, as she got a hand to it to knock it wide. Pressley’s header came close on the ensuing corner but just missed the target at the near post.

Hines made a pair of substitutions in the 61st minute, bringing on Kylie Strom and Jordyn Listro for Abello and Montefusco. Those changes definitely helped — Portland. The Thorns finished with four more goals in the final half hour to turn a loss into a humiliation.

The Thorns went back on the attack after the substitutions. Everyone on the Pride backed off to give Sam Coffey a clean look at the top of the box in the 62nd minute but she fired her shot right at McLeod. However, the Pride conceded seconds later. After McLeod’s save, the Pride didn’t even make it out of their own half — again — and Portland came back on the attack, with Smith making a good turn that gave her several yards of clearance on Pressley. She then finished well to make it 3-0 in the 63rd minute.

“Confidence plays a major factor in performance,” Hines said about the team’s struggle to play out of their end in recent matches. “You know, when you’re confident you see them things a little bit quicker. You feel like, ‘Oh, I can play it through that line and get it to a midfielder.’ Right now, in the position that we’re in, we’re just lacking that element.”

Petersen sent in a cross or a shot in the 67th minute that Bixby did well to come out and catch. Jenkins then fired a shot at Bixby moments later as Orlando searched for a consolation goal. But then Orlando reverted to playing passively again. Smith nearly made it 4-0 in the 73rd minute but McLeod made a good save. Olivia Moultrie then fired a shot right at McLeod three minutes later.

Kuikka then did make it 4-0 in the 79th minute. She started with the ball on the left, then made a short pass and ran into the box, but no one bothered to go with her and Kuikka was left all alone in front of goal. The ball found its way back to her and she had no trouble slotting past McLeod.

“We definitely need to learn from this,” Pressley said. “There are situations where we do need to mark in the box and deny crosses and block shots, and that’s certainly something that we can work on and get better at. So, moving forward, that will help us. So, certainly I think there are a lot of things to take away from this game defensively. And we need to be better.”

Smith nearly made it 5-0 seconds later, as the Pride wasted no time giving the ball back to the Thorns on the restart. The ball hit an Orlando player and went out for a corner. No matter, as Smith added the fifth goal in the 86th minute — just two minutes after Yazmeen Ryan was left all alone on the right and fired over the net. Smith wasn’t closed down outside the area so she simply let fly to make it 5-0.

Taylor Porter added her first career goal before the final whistle. Again, nobody bothered marking her — or multiple other Thorns players — on a set piece that was played short, in an utterly embarrassing display.

That was, mercifully, all the scoring. Portland stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with more shots (26-6), shots on target (12-3), possesson (52.3%-47.7%), and passing accuracy (80.1%-79.2%). Each team earned four corners, which is one of the few statistical categories where the Pride matched up with their hosts.

“We tried our best and tried to stick to the game plan and it just really didn’t fall our way,” Pressley said.

“No one likes to lose in that manner,” Hines said. “There’s a lot going on. It’s difficult for the players, for staff — we’re obviously short-staffed right now. But I’m now in a position that this has to change. The habits and training need to change. The habits in games need to change, so we’re not walking off the field with regrets. You know, six-nil hurts everyone, and I take responsibility for that being the interim head coach. But moving forward, we will remember this as a turning point in our season.”

The Pride are off until July 3, when they’ll head over to Daytona to “host” Racing Louisville FC at Daytona International Speedway as part of Daytona Soccer Fest.

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Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Final Score 2-0 As Pride Are Dominated In California

The Pride returned to action from the summer break, falling 2-0 to Angel City.

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2 days ago

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July 4, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride (5-6-2, 17 points) returned from their month-long World Cup break, falling 2-0 to Angel City FC (5-6-1, 16 points) at BMO Field in Los Angeles, CA. A first-half goal by Maiara Niehues and a second-half strike by Sveindis Jonsdottir was the difference, although the game was thoroughly dominated by the hosts.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines deployed his typical 4-2-3-1 formation in the team’s return to action. However, they were without Barbra Banda, who was out with a thigh injury. The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was made up of Kerry Abello, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, and Hailie Mace. Angelina and Ally Lemos were the defensive midfielders behind Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, and Luana with Julie Doyle up top.

This was one of the worst performances by the Pride this year. With Banda missing, the team was unable to get anything going offensively, alhough that might not have mattered as Orlando couldn’t get the ball out of its own end. The 2-0 scoreline is a generous one for the Pride, who could’ve easily lost by more.

Ally Sentnor, who joined Angel City during the break, tried to make something happen early during her debut. Inside the first minute, the U.S. international made a run to the top of the box before dribbling inside. The attacker struggled to find space before finally shooting, but Dyke was there to block the attempt.

The Pride had their first chance in the seventh minute when Rafaelle played a ball forward to Luana over the midfield stripe. The Brazilian took the space the defense gave her, dribbling near the top of the box before unleashing a shot. It initially appeared to be on target, but began curving, hitting the outside of the post and going out of play. That was about as close to scoring as Orlando came all night.

The hosts threatened to take the lead in the 14th minute when Jun Endo sent a dangerous ball into the six-yard box. Sentnor got on the end of it, but Dyke, Mace, and Moorhouse were all in front of the goal to keep it out.

Evelyn Shores received a pass on the left in the 17th minute before playing it to Endo, who was making an overlapping run. The Japanese international took a hard shot from a tight angle, but Moorhouse had her near post covered, catching the attempt.

In the 25th minute, Luana slid to keep possession from an Abello clearance, trying to play it back to McCutcheon. Unfortunately, it went straight to Jonsdottir instead. Jonsdottir immediately played the ball to Sentnor, who dribbled into the Pride box before sending a low shot wide of the far post.

Shores fought through a pair of defenders in the 31st minute to get the ball to Niehues. The Brazilian attempted a low cross that McCutcheon cleared but only to Shores at the top corner of the box. The left back took a touch around Mace to create space for a shot, sending her attempt over the target.

The Pride struggled to clear in the 35th minute when Sentnor played a ball to Endo, who was making an underlapping run. Angelina chested down Endo’s cross in an attempt to clear, but it didn’t go far. Gisele Thompson was able to tap it to Jonsdottir, whose shot went wide.

A minute later, the Pride were unable to clear again, resulting in the game’s opening goal. Dyke got in front of Thompson’s ball into the box, but she knocked it to Ary Borges, who took a shot that Dyke blocked again, but she failed to get it out of the box. The rebound fell straight to Niehues, who curled a shot out of Moorhouse’s reach and into the corner to give Angel City the 1-0 lead.

“You’ve got to defend the cross, so stop the cross. And then you’ve got to defend the cross, and we don’t quite clear our lines,” Hines said. “We talk about clearing it out of dangerous areas. It lands at Ary Borges. She has a shot, it deflects, and then we don’t close the next shot from Niehues. We speak about that a lot. The closer you are, the less chance they are of scoring, and we stood off them. They took that opportunity really well, but we feel that with our standard and our level, we should be doing better.”

The Pride continued to play on the back foot, defending desperately as Angel City created chances. In the 38th minute, Borges picked out Niehues near the top of the Pride box. The attacker shot as McCutcheon closed her down, sending her attempt wide of the near post.

Angel City continued on the attack, keeping the ball in the Pride half as they struggled to clear. In the 42nd minute, Jonsdottir tried to chip Moorhouse from outside the Pride box, but the Pride goalkeeper made the easy catch.

Angelina took the ball away from Borges in the first minute of first-half stoppage time 30 yards from goal. The midfielder lifted an overly ambitious attempt toward Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson for her team’s second shot of the game. However, it didn’t cause any trouble.

It was a dominant 45 minutes for Angel City. While the Pride had more possession (54%-46%), most of it was in their own half. The hosts had more shots (10-2), shots on target (3-0), crosses (10-3), and corner kicks (2-0). Both teams completed 77% of their passes in the first half.

Hines made a pair of changes during the break as his team looked to get back into the game. Marta and Nicole Payne entered the contest for Luana and Mace. Despite the changes, it was Angel City that continued to be the more threatening team.

A poor Orlando clearance in the 47th minute allowed Shores to keep the ball in the Pride third. She found Carina Lageyre near the top of the box, but the shot was right at Moorhouse.

The Pride won a throw-in in the 55th minute that quickly turned into a disaster. McCutcheon played the ball back for Rafaelle, who was immediately put under pressure from Jonsdottir. The Icelandic international blocked the defender’s pass and sprinted to the end line before beating Moorhouse from a tight angle to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

“It starts with a throw-in. So the ability to keep possession from a throw-in is really important,” Hines said. “You know, we have a couple of objectives from that, and it’s just details, right? Weighted pass, make your choice to the correct forward. If you’re going to go long, you’ll sort of take away the deflection from the forward. So yeah, another moment where we felt we’re in control, and we give them an opportunity to counter and go straight to goal from that.”

Hines made two more changes in the 62nd minute, replacing Abello and Ovalle with Zara Chavoshi and Solai Washington.

As the game entered the final 20 minutes, the Pride started to gain more possession and create more chances in the final third. However, they still were unable to create any clear-cut opportunities or cause Anderson any trouble.

In the 77th minute, a pass to Lemos hit the referee, causing a stoppage in play. Hines took the opportunity to make his final change, replacing Rafaelle with Hannah Anderson.

Neither team had taken a shot since the 55th-minute goal, when Angel City created a chance in the 78th minute. A long goal kick by Anderson bounced over Chavoshi’s head, allowing Endo to get into the Pride third. She shot from outside the box, forcing Moorhouse to dive to her right and make the stop.

The Pride finally got their first shot on target in the 80th minute when Washington flicked a long ball forward and fought through a pair of defenders. She dribbled into the box from the left and fired for the near post, where Anderson was waiting to block the ball out of play.

Anderson came out to punch away the ensuing corner kick, running over Chavoshi. The ball went toward her own goal, forcing Sarah Gorden to head it off the line. McCutcheon tapped the ball back to Angelina at the top of the box and the midfielder sent it back in. It fell for Anderson behind the back line at the top of the six-yard box, but Shores was able to stick a foot in and clear it over the end line. Angel City cleared the second corner kick and ended the threat.

As the game entered two minutes of stoppage time, Chavoshi sent a low cross to the top of the six, where Washington was making a run. The second-half substitute tried to backheel the ball on goal, not getting much on it and allowing Anderson to make the easy stop. That was the final chance for either team as Angel City saw out the victory.

The Pride ended the game with more possession (57%-43%) and better passing accuracy (79%-75%), but Angel City led in every other statistical category. The hosts had more shots (15-4), shots on target (6-1), crosses (18-11), and corner kicks (5-3).

“Never good enough to lose a game 2-0,” Hines said. “Two things in this league that you have to deal with, one is direct play. You have to deal with teams who are going to be really aggressive and try to get back to front really quickly. And you have to be prepared for transition. We can’t allow gifts in this league, and we gave Angel City two gifts. And they capitalized on those moments. We had some good possession, but didn’t create anything up until probably the last 10 minutes of the game.”

“Definitely frustrated, disappointed,” Dyke added. “We know that was nowhere near our best night, but we’ve just got to learn from it and then turn the page, because we know we have (another) big game coming up as well.”

The loss keeps the Pride in eighth, one point ahead of Angel City. To make matters worse, they’ve played a game or two more than all the teams around them, so they could fall down the standings in the near future.

The Pride will have to put this game behind them quickly as they return home to face the Kansas City Current on July 10.

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Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Pride return to action tonight as they head back to the West Coast to face Angel City in Los Angeles.

Published

2 days ago

on

July 3, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Welcome to your match preview as the Orlando Pride (5-5-2, 17 points) return to action, facing Angel City FC (4-6-1, 13 points) in Los Angeles. This is the second and final time these two teams will meet during the 2026 NWSL regular season.

Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.

History

Angel City was one of the NWSL’s two expansion teams entering the league in 2022. As a result, the Pride have only played tonight’s opponents nine times. The Pride are 5-2-2 in those games, all in NWSL regular-season play. While the Pride are only 2-1-2 at home, they’re 3-1-0 in Los Angeles.

The most recent matchup between these two teams took place on April 3 in Orlando. Haley McCutcheon gave the Pride the lead in the 84th minute, but the game appeared headed for a devastating draw when Gisele Thompson equalized two minutes into stoppage time. However, McCutcheon came to the rescue again, scoring in the eighth minute of stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win for the hosts.

The first game last year between the two teams occurred on April 25 in Orlando. The visitors got off to a great start with first-half goals by Riley Tiernan and Katie Zelem. But the Pride took over in the second half. Marta got one back midway through the second period, and Barbra Banda equalized four minutes later. An own goal by M.A. Vignola in the third minute of stoppage time gave the Pride a 3-2 win. On Aug. 21, 2025 in Los Angeles, the hosts dominated possession and the number of chances as the game appeared to be heading to a scoreless draw. But Alyssa Thompson converted in the 86th minute as Angel City took all three points.

The first of two meetings in 2024 took place on March 22 in Orlando. Former Pride attacker Claire Emslie gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot, and it looked as though the Pride would drop their first game of the season. But Marta volleyed home an equalizer from an Angelina corner kick late, pulling out a 1-1 draw. On June 30, 2024 in Los Angeles, Adriana gave the Pride the lead early and scored a second goal six minutes later. Banda netted a goal of her own six minutes into stoppage time, leading the Pride to a dominating 3-0 win.

The first meeting of the 2023 season took place April 2 in Orlando. Emily Sams took down Alyssa Thompson in the first half, giving the visitors a penalty. Emslie stepped up and converted to give her team a 1-0 lead. Messiah Bright responded just after halftime to make it 1-1, and the game appeared to be heading for a draw. But Katie Johnson scored the winner in the 10th minute of second-half injury time. On Oct. 2, 2023 in Los Angeles, an Adriana volley beat Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson to her near post for the only goal as the Pride won a crucial late-season game.

The first-ever game between the teams took place on May 8, 2022 in Los Angeles. In the third minute, Gunny Jonsdottir’s cross was tipped by Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic, but it went right to Sydney Leroux. The Pride striker fired right at Morgan Reid standing in front of goal. The ball bounced off the defender and went in to give the Pride an early lead. The hosts controlled the final hour, but the Pride held on for 87 minutes to claim their first win of the season.

The teams met again on Aug. 7 in Orlando. Former Pride defender Ali Riley opened the scoring with a wonderful strike from the left side. The Pride responded in the second half through Julie Doyle just three minutes after she entered the game to even it at 1-1. The visitors took another lead when Cari Roccaro beat Viviana Villacorta to a corner kick, putting it past Erin McLeod. The Pride equalized for a second time in the 90th minute when Doyle and Paige Nielsen raced for a Thais Reiss cross, with the defender reaching it first. But Nielsen’s attempted clearance went into her own net, allowing the Pride to claim a 2-2 draw and extend their unbeaten run to five games.

Overview

The Pride are in the middle of their most challenging season in three years. They’ve struggled defensively following the trade of Sams and an injury to Kerry Abello that’s kept her out for most of the season so far. They’ve also struggled to score outside of Banda, though that’s been the case the last couple of seasons.

The team hit its lowest point in mid-May, losing back-to-back games to expansion sides Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC. But the Pride bounced back strongly, defeating San Diego Wave FC 1-0 away and Bay FC 3-1 at home, creating some momentum heading into the World Cup break.

There were a lot of questions about how Banda would return this season after suffering a season-ending injury last year. But she’s been dominant, leading the league in scoring with 11 goals and in shots on target with 27. She has a commanding four-goal lead in the race for the scoring title.

Defensively, the team has struggled at times, notably giving up seven goals in two games as the calendar turned from April to May. But Head Coach Seb Hines made a good decision to switch Hailie Mace and Cori Dyke, moving Mace back to her natural right back position and Dyke to center back. In the five games since, the Pride have conceded three times once, twice once, and recorded two clean sheets.

Tonight, the Pride return to action as they head back out to the West Coast to face Angel City FC. The Southern California-based team sits 12th in the NWSL standings on 13 points, four behind the Pride for the final playoff spot. That makes tonight’s game crucial as we near the midway point in the season.

While the Pride come into this game on a two-game winning streak, Angel City has lost its last two. Tonight’s hosts fell 2-1 to the Houston Dash away and 2-1 to the North Carolina Courage at home. However, these teams haven’t played since the end of May, so it’s difficult to say how much that form will affect them tonight.

Unlike the Pride, Angel City has spread out its goals this year. While the club doesn’t have anyone challenging for the golden boot, Gisele Thompson, Maiara Niehues, and Sveindis Jonsdottir all lead the team with three goals. Kennedy Fuller is right behind with two.

The assists are also spread out, with Evelyn Shores, Jonsdottir, and Fuller all tied on two. Five other players are just behind with one each.

Defensively, Angel City has remained consistent with its back line, which consists of Shores, Sarah Gorden, Sams, and Gisele Thompson. Meanwhile, Anderson continues to be the team’s number one choice at goalkeeper.

However, Angel City has been busy since it last played. On June 17, the club traded Fuller to Bay FC for transfer funds and allocation funds. The same day, it fired Head Coach Alex Straus, handing the reins to Assistant Coach Leif Gunnar Smerud on an interim basis.

The following day, the LA-based side agreed to a trade with the Kansas City Current for U.S. international Ally Sentnor, sending $850,000 in intraleague transfer funds the other way.

“There’s a lot of unknowns with a new coach coming in, new feelings, new vibes. They’re not content about where they are in the league, so they’ll be wanting to move up,” Hines said about tonight’s game. “I think looking at personnel can tell you a lot about how they play. They have some great athletes in their team. They’ve got a very quick back line. When the availability comes out, that can also tell you a lot about how they’re going to play. They’ve got some key personnel missing out on the last couple of games. So that’s also important to take into account. They’ve got some players coming back from injury. So, we’ll analyze it when we get the availability report. But it’s also about ourselves. We’ve been working hard these last three weeks on being back to who we are, and it’s going to be great to be tested in LA in front of their own crowd. And I know everyone’s really itching to get back onto the field. So we want to set the tone early on in the game and hopefully we can set that out to the final whistle and come home with three points.”

The Pride will take the field tonight without Banda (thigh), Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Oihane (lower leg), and Villacorta (knee). Angel City will be without Prisca Chilufya (knee), Savy King (foot), Leroux (excused absence), and Hina Sugita (knee).

Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Kerry Abello, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, Hailie Mace.

Defensive Midfielders: Angelina, Ally Lemos.

Attacking Midfielders: Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, Luana.

Forward: Julie Doyle.

Bench: Cosette Morche, Hannah Anderson, Solai Washington, Zara Chavoshi, Seven Castain, Summer Yates, Simone Jackson, Nicole Payne, Marta.

Angel City FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Angelina Anderson.

Defenders: Evelyn Shores, Sarah Gorden, Emily Sams, Gisele Thompson.

Midfielders: Ally Sentnor, Carina Lageyre, Ary Borges.

Forward: Jun Endo, Sveindis Jonsdottir, Maiara Niehues.

Bench: Karsyn Cherry, Claire Emslie, Nealy Martin, Sophia Mattice, Faith Nguyen, Casey Phair, Hannah Seabert, Taylor Suarez, Riley Tiernan.

Referees

REF: Mark Verso.
AR1: Bruno Rizo.
AR2: Alexandra Arita.
4TH: Trevor Wiseman.
VAR: Joshua Encarnacion.
AVAR: Melissa Beck.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10 p.m.

Venue: BMO Stadium — Los Angeles, CA.

TV: None.

Streaming: Prime Video.

Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @themaneland.bsky.social on Bluesky and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter (@ORLPride) or Bluesky (@orlpride.com) feed.

Enjoy the game. Go Pride!

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Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Pride need to do to earn all three points against Angel City?

Published

3 days ago

on

July 2, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride/Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride are back in action Friday night against Angel City FC at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. It’s been over a month since we’ve seen any NWSL regular-season matches, and I am excited for the season to resume. The Pride were on a two-match winning streak before the break and will want to regain that momentum. What must the Pride do to earn all three points against Angel City?

Shake off the Rust

The Pride last played a competitive match on May 29. That essentially makes this break another off-season. That is a good thing and a bad thing. It’s a good thing because the Pride definitely needed to work on some issues, especially on the defensive end. It’s a bad thing because the team had won two in a row. Getting back to full match speed after a month can be a challenge.

Fortunately, it’s a challenge that Angel City shares. Angel City was probably grateful for the break given the team was 1-3-1 in its last five matches and had dropped two straight before the break. Both teams will need to shake off some rust, and whichever team is able to do so more quickly and more effectively will have an advantage.

Banda-less Scoring

As we heard on SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast, Seb Hines is being cautious when speaking about Barbra Banda’s availability for this match. That may indeed be the case, or Hines may be playing coy about the Pride striker’s availability. If it’s the former, then the Pride need to find goals without the league-leading scorer on the pitch.

There’s a good chance we’ll see Marta and Jacquie Ovalle on the pitch at the same time. While it would be better to have Banda out there for those two to feed, I’ll take defenses having to deal with them coming from either side of the box any day. It may be that they are able to play off each other to create and finish the chances the Pride need to win the match. Of course, I won’t argue with other Orlando attackers getting in on the fun.

Clean (Moor)house

The Pride have four clean sheets so far this season despite the defense not looking as solid as it has in the past. I’m hopeful that the team used the break to figure out the best back line with the available players. The Pride are still missing a true center back to pair with Rafaelle, though Cori Dyke has been adequate in recent matches. Angel City added Ally Sentnor to the roster and her first match for the club is against the Pride. It’s important for the defense to stop her, as she will want to put on a show in her debut.

Anna Moorhouse needs to switch back on. Statistically, she was one of the NWSL’s best goalkeepers during the 2024 season. That is not the case this season, as Andrew DeSalvo outlined in our subscriber newsletter. Moorhouse has a chance to get things back on the right track following the break, and it starts with a clean sheet against Angel City Friday.

That is what I will be looking for on Friday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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