Connect with us

Uncategorized

USA vs. Thailand International Friendly: Final Score 9-0 as Heather O’Reilly’s Career Ends on a High Note

Published

on

The USWNT’s match against Thailand at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus was all about Heather O’Reilly, and the long-time fixture in the United States lineup – wearing the captain’s armband – delivered in her 231st and final international game. “HAO” notched a goal and an assist before many fans had even found their seats as the Yanks romped to a 9-0 victory in their first game since the Rio Olympics.

Carli Lloyd was involved in seven of the goals with a hat trick and four assists, and Pride captain Alex Morgan scored a brace off the bench in the second half. How perfect it seems that the USWNT sent No. 9 into retirement by scoring nine times.

HAO’s got things started early. Skipping around a Thailand defender, O’Reilly launched a perfect back-post cross that found Lloyd’s head. Lloyd nodded back across goal and just over the goalkeeper’s outstretched hand, putting the U.S. ahead, 1-0, less than a minute into the match. It was Lloyd’s 91st career goal and her 12th of 2016.

Just three minutes later, Christen Press scored her 35th international goal into an empty net off a Lloyd touch that was either a mishit shot or a sparkling pass.

HAO scored her 47th international goal a minute after Press’ goal off Lloyd’s second assist, giving O’Reilly a goal and an assist in the first five minutes of her last international game.

The United States attacked at will, creating chance after chance. In the 17th minute, O’Reilly missed a sitter off a cross from Press by not hitting it hard enough and allowing Thai defender Sunisa Srangthaisong to clear it off the line. In the 19th minute O’Reilly appeared to go for a cheeky Olimpico off a corner kick but goalkeeper Yada Sengyong palmed it down.

The attack continued. Samantha Mewis missed just wide with a header off an O’Reilly cross in the 26th minute. Press blasted a shot a half hour in that Sengyong fought off to keep it 3-0.

Pride goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris got the start in the team’s first game since Hope Solo was suspended from the USWNT, but she was barely involved. She got her first touch of the game (I think) in the 34th minute on a back pass.

The USWNT had come close on a number of chances, but finally made it 4-0 in the 36th minute, as Lloyd sent in Tobin Heath, who took a couple quick touches and chipped one in from close range off the keeper’s hands. The ball crossed the line just a split second before HAO arrived to make sure it hit the back of the net. The goal gave Lloyd her third consecutive assist.

Lloyd was robbed of a second goal in the 39th from close range by Sengyong. Heath chiped the rebound back in for Press but it was cut out to O’Reilly, who missed wide from the top of the box as the onslaught continued.

Thailand finally got a shot attempt off in the 41st minute, but Harris just watched it sail well wide of her net and wasn’t called into action.

A minute later, O’Reilly buzzed a shot just over the crossbar with a left-footed effort from the right side in the relentless U.S. attack. Lloyd’s volley shot off a Julie Johnston cross sailed wide in the 43rd minute as the Yanks maintained about a shot-a-minute pace for part of the first half against the shell-shocked Thailand players. Heath had a backheel flick blocked by Thai captain Duangnapa Sritala. Heath then closed the first half by sending a rocket over the net in first-half stoppage time.

It was a relentless and overwhelming first 45 minutes and the USWNT could easily have scored eight or 10 goals.

Jill Ellis brought on five substitutes for the second half, including Morgan, along with Emily Sonnett, Megan Rapinoe, Lindsey Horan, and Meghan Klingenberg.

Little changed in the second period. Shortly after halftime Julie Johnston headed over off a beautifully struck free kick from O’Reilly.

Harris finally got to come off her line to catch a cross in the 55th minute but there was little danger to her goal.

In the 58th minute, Sengyong kept the game at 4-0 with two outstanding saves on Lloyd and Horan on back-to-back, point-blank chances, off a Rapinoe cross. However, Lloyd made it 5-0 in the 60th minute after O’Reilly’s cross hit off of Thailand midfielder Pikul Khueanpet and fell perfectly for No. 10 to bang it home. For Lloyd, it was the fifth consecutive goal which she either scored or set up.

Morgan got her first good look at net in the 63rd but missed the target on the half volley.

Crystal Dunn came on for Johnston in the 64th minute in Jill Ellis’ final substitution and immediately got involved, pouncing on a blocked Morgan shot and sending a blast over the net just seconds after coming on.

Harris finally registered a save in the 69th minute, making a diving stop on Taneekarn Dangda after a Klingenberg turnover in the defensive third. That seemed to annoy the U.S., which responded with a Dunn rocket off the underside of the crossbar moments later to make it 6-0.

But Thailand came right back in the 71st and nearly pulled one back as Klingenberg got beat on the break and when Harris couldn’t get onto a Kanjana Sungngoen cross that took a bounce with a lot of spin on it. A Thai attacker got a shot off and Kelley O’Hara hooked off the line although replay showed it may have crossed for a Thailand goal.

In the 72nd minute, O’Reilly was denied by the keeper off a corner cross from Rapinoe as her night of scoring chances continued. In the 74th it was Horan blasting high off a good string of passes from Morgan and Dunn. Two minutes later, Rapinoe fizzed a corner into the box for O’Reilly who one-timed it over the bar in what must have been her 10th shot attempt.

Morgan sent in Horan in the 77th minute, but the Thorns midfielder took it awkwardly and fell trying to get the shot off.

The U.S. made it seven goals in the 81st minute on a play started by Morgan. The Pride captain sent Rapinoe in to the end line. Rapinoe’s cross found Horan who headed it strongly at Sengyong. Lloyd pounced on the rebound, scoring her third from close range for the 7-0 lead. That goal gave Lloyd the USWNT’s 2016 scoring lead pushing her past Morgan with 14 on the year.

Lloyd became just the fifth player to score seven or more career hat tricks with the USWNT.

Just for good measure, Lloyd set up Morgan for the eighth U.S. goal moments later, sending in the Pride forward for a cool left-footed finish 1-v-1 against Sengyong.

In the 88th minute, HAO came off the pitch for the United States for the final time, handing the armband to Lloyd and departing to a huge ovation and hugs from her teammates. It was a special end to a special evening in a special 15-year career for O’Reilly, who came off without anyone to substitute on for her.

In appropriate fashion, Morgan made it 9-0 with her second of the match with a blast from the right side in stoppage time. Nine goals to send No. 9 into international retirement.

The final whistle blew — mercifully for Thailand — moments later.

The United States women are back in action on Sunday at 7 p.m., taking on the Netherlands in Atlanta.

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

on

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content


Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.


How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.


Enjoy the match. Go City!

Continue Reading

Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

on

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.


Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

Continue Reading

Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

on

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.


Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

Continue Reading

Trending