Friday night the Orlando Pride defeated the Chicago Red Stars 4-1 to advance to the semifinals of the NWSL playoffs. The scoreline only partially reflected the comprehensiveness of the victory, as the Pride led 3-0 at half, were denied by the woodwork twice, and only conceded on a goalkeeper error after the match was out of reach. The Pride did everything right in this match and reminded the league why they won the NWSL Shield, despite looking vulnerable to close the regular season.

In the end, the formula was simple, though easier said than done; Orlando’s best players showed why they’re NWSL awards finalists, the whole roster pitched in with goal contributions and solid play, and the fans made Inter&Co Stadium an intimidating environment all night. For the Orlando Pride to beat the Kansas City Current this weekend and reach the championship game, they will want to repeat this blueprint.

Often one of the most important parts of a team’s deep playoff run is relying on its best players, and the Pride showed their star power against the Red Stars in attack and defense. In this match, Barbra Banda scored her 14th and 15th goals of the season, and Marta scored her 10th of the season on a penalty before narrowly missing out on her second of the game by hitting the crossbar on a direct free kick. For their impressive individual seasons, both players in this duo were named finalists for NWSL MVP.

Banda’s goals came in typical fashion, outrunning the defense and beating goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher on two occasions. These weren’t her only chances of the match, however, and Banda might have had a hat trick against most goalkeepers that don’t start for the U.S. Women’s National Team. After a relatively dry spell to end the regular season, “Getting Barbara [Banda] going is massive for us,” said midfielder Haley McCutcheon, who was a goal scorer in this match herself. 

In the Red Stars match, Orlando’s entire back line defended superbly. Emily Sams and Kylie Strom, both NWSL Defender of the Year nominees, were lively and proactive in defense, keeping play in front of them, intercepting long balls, and breaking up plays before they could get started. In the midfield, Orlando possessed the ball comfortably and avoided unforced errors and dangerous turnovers. The result was that the Red Stars did not attempt a shot until the score was already 4-0 and out of reach. Chicago went on to pick up a lone goal by pressuring Anna Moorhouse on a back pass, leading to her error while taking an extra touch she didn’t have time to take. Moorhouse has largely cut these mistakes from her game and earned a nomination for NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year this week due to her shot-stopping prowess.

The Red Stars did not produce any other moments of danger the rest of the game, and a 4-1 scoreline did not flatter the Pride, who could have won by four or five goals. 

Against Chicago, it wasn’t just the award-nominated players who made a difference, and the Pride continued a two-game trend of getting goal contributions from unexpected places. In this match, McCutcheon started the scoring with her first goal in more than a year and a half. The goal was created off a dangerous ball into the box from Summer Yates and a blocked Angelina shot, before Ally Watt sent a misdirected shot towards McCutcheon. The prior week against Seattle, it was Kerry Abello who scored her first of the year after chaos in the box — once again with a critical touch coming from Watt. This mini trend of defender goal contributions has also included assists from Sams. In back-to-back matches she has played progressive passes through the lines, assisting Marta against Seattle and then Banda against Chicago. In total, four contributions from defenders in two matches has been a big part of the scoring output, and it makes the team much harder to defend against. 

While it’s not quite unexpected for an attacker to be among the goals, Watt has stepped up in a big way the last two matches. She has been a big part of the Pride’s offensive output, and one goal and two assists in two matches justifies her recent inclusion in the starting lineup. Watt’s goal against Seattle showed exactly what she is on the pitch to do. She made a fast, well-timed run behind the defense, received an excellent ball from Summer Yates, and scored clinically. Against Chicago, Watt turned provider twice, with her contribution to the McCutcheon goal and a well-played through ball to Banda for her second of the match. 

Watt’s play is also a positive development for the playoff semifinals. The last time the Kansas City Current visited Orlando, the teams played to a 0-0 draw. Temwa Chawinga, who has scored 21 goals on the season, may be in her best form all year. She has now scored in seven consecutive matches — each game since the draw with Orlando — and it seems that the Pride may have to score multiple goals to win. After the Current revamped their defense midseason, their talented fullbacks shut down Orlando’s wide attack, including Yates and Adriana. Watt could provide a different look than last time out, serving as the x-factor needed to unlock goal-scoring chances for the Pride.

Fan support was a final piece to the puzzle Friday against the Chicago Red Stars. After averaging 8,340 fans in attendance in the regular season, 11,496 fans attended the playoff match. The weather was beautiful for the match and it was obvious fans were energized for an elimination game. Seb Hines, who was nominated for NWSL Coach of the Year, said he was appreciative of the support and the atmosphere as well.

“It was great to see so many fans come out and support the players. You could really hear them,” he said after the match. “It’s probably the loudest it’s been since we’ve been in this stadium, and we’re going to need them to come back next week in the semifinal.”

While this attendance was among the highest attendance numbers in Inter&Co Stadium to watch the Pride, it was fewer than the 17,089 fans that watched Orlando defeat the Houston Dash earlier this season. Attendance for the Pride may have been lowered by the fact that Orlando City played a playoff match in the same stadium just one day later and a busy schedule of large events downtown, but that will not be the case this weekend for the match against the Current.

A competitive semifinal match at 3 p.m. on a Sunday seems like the perfect opportunity to try to set a new attendance record for the club. Regardless of the final numbers of fans in the stands, everyone is sure to be excited and loud in an effort to push their favorite team to new heights.

The Orlando Pride kicked off their 2024 NWSL playoff campaign with a dominant 4-1 win against the Chicago Red Stars. Haley McCutcheon opened the scoring in the 26th minute before Barbra Banda netted a first-half brace with goals in the 39th minute and first-half injury time. A Marta penalty put the game away in the 56th minute, though Jameese Joseph got a consolation goal for Chicago at the hour mark.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made one change to the team that beat Seattle Reign FC 3-2 in the regular season finale as Angelina started in place of Viviana Villacorta. The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Kerry Abello, Kylie Strom, Emily Sams, and Cori Dyke. Angelina and McCutcheon were the defensive midfielders behind Summer Yates, Marta, and Ally Watt with Banda up top.

This game was never in doubt for the Pride as they dominated the entire 90 minutes. They were better than the 3-0 halftime scoreline and it would’ve been a clean sheet if not for a Moorhouse mistake in the 60th minute and two Orlando shots off the woodwork. Overall, it was a great way to start the playoffs for the club.

The Pride kicked off the game and started quickly. Immediately after the start, Angelina found Banda making a run behind the Chicago back line. The striker was looking to slip the ball inside the far post but missed just wide.

A minute later, Banda played a nice long ball to the right side of the field where Watt was making a run. She took Taylor Malham one-on-one and found enough space for a shot but missed the target.

The Pride’s third chance of the game came in the fifth minute when Yates made a run into the middle of the field. She let her final touch get a little too far in front of her, but Angelina was there to shoot from just outside the box. Unfortunately, this attempt also went wide.

It looked like the Pride would open the scoring in the 10th minute when Marta and Angelina combined to send Banda behind the Red Stars’ back line. The striker was in on goal with only goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to beat, but decided to pass it across for Yates instead of shooting. The pass was behind the midfielder and Bea Franklin was able to clear.

“We always talk about setting a tone early. And so, you know, having that fear factor when a team comes to our environment, and, you know, we always want to make it difficult,” Hines said about creating four chances in the first 10 minutes. “So that first 5-10 minutes is really important to set a tone.”

In the 19th minute, McCutcheon found Watt on the right. The attacker attempted a shot from a tight angle, but Malham blocked it out for a corner kick. The set piece by Marta was headed back out to the Pride captain and her second ball in was cleared, ending the threat.

The Pride finally broke through in the 26th minute from another set piece. It started with a give-and-go between Abello and Watt, enabling the former to send a cross into the box that was cleared behind the goal by Cari Roccaro. The ensuing corner kick was short to Yates, whose cross was blocked to Angelina. Franklin got in front of the Brazilian midfielder’s shot, but it went straight to Watt, who tried to put it on target. While the attacker couldn’t get much on the ball, McCutcheon was in the right place at the right time to redirect the ball in with her head, giving the Pride a well-deserved 1-0 lead.

Haley McCutcheon from in close 💪

The first goal of the #NWSLPlayoffs! pic.twitter.com/eCjeIciRhc

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 9, 2024

“I think we started on the front foot. We almost had one from kickoff I think. So yeah, we had just put the pressure on, you know, going forward. And I was happy to be the one to score,” McCutcheon said about the early conversion. “I honestly thought I was offside, so I didn’t really celebrate, but I’m happy that it was onside. And then, yeah, got the team going from there.”

Yates made a cut to beat Joseph in the 34th minute and the two bumped knees when the Orlando midfielder tried to move past her. The second-year player grimaced as the Pride medical staff looked at her and, after receiving more treatment off of the field, was forced to depart. She was replaced in the 38th minute by Adriana.

“Summer got a dead leg, charley horse, whatever you call it, which is pretty significant,” Hines said about Yates’ condition after the game. “But we’ll assess it going into next week. We had to bring her off because it was really painful for her.”

Immediately after the substitution, the Pride doubled their lead. Angelina won the ball off of Mallory Swanson and Sams picked it up, playing a long pass on the ground for Banda, who let it run and then blazed past the Red Stars back line, putting herself in alone on goal. Nobody could catch up with the speedster, who slipped it past Naeher to give the Pride a 2-0 advantage.

An unbelievable ball in and a calm finish from Barbra Banda 👊 pic.twitter.com/7LocBoxvAj

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 9, 2024

Banda nearly had her second goal in the 44th minute when she played a quick give-and-go with Adriana, getting in behind the back line on the left side. The striker was too fast for Natalia Kuikka to keep up, setting herself up for a curling shot around Naeher. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to get around it enough and the ball bounced wide of the far post.

Banda scored her second of the night and gave her team a 3-0 lead in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time after Watt sent the ball long into the Chicago half of the field. Roccaro tried to keep up with the striker, but was unable to as Banda played the ball past Naeher.

Showing up in a BIG way… Barbra Banda 🫶 pic.twitter.com/vO3KpGQ5sU

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 9, 2024

“Honestly, those balls are always very dangerous,” Banda said about her second goal of the night. “And I think I saw the keeper, she came out, but my instincts were right because I knew if she had to touch me, it was going to be a penalty. That’s why I had to put the ball down and I had to find the post. So I think my instincts were not wrong.”

“2-0 is always a dangerous scoreline, especially when you go into halftime,” Hines said about the importance of the third goal. “You know, the next goal is really important. So to go into halftime with 3-0 it kind of puts us at ease a little bit.”

It was an absolutely dominant first half by the Pride as they outshot their opponents 13-0 and put three of those shots on target. While Chicago had slightly more possession (53%-47%), the Pride also had more crosses (11-2) and corner kicks (4-1).

Hines made one halftime change, replacing Watt with Julie Doyle. It was the second substitution after Yates was forced off with an injury in the first half.

Marta tried to chip the ball into the Red Stars box in the 49th minute and it hit Hannah Anderson’s arm just outside the 18-yard box. The Pride captain took the set piece and went for goal, rattling the crossbar just above the upper right corner of the net.

Marta comes SO close to this stunning free kick goal 🤯 pic.twitter.com/pCcps5j7KJ

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 9, 2024

A minute later, Marta found Doyle on the left and the midfielder’s second touch was forward for Banda into the Chicago area. She tapped the ball around Naeher and it looked like she would score the first hat trick in Pride history but hit the near post with the net empty.

In the 54th minute, Dyke’s throw-in for Banda in the box saw the striker get behind her defender. Anderson reached out and grabbed her shirt just as Banda entered the box. Referee Alyssa Nichols didn’t award a penalty, but the video assistant referee had the official go to the monitor. After a short check, Nichols pointed to the spot.

It seemed like Banda might take the penalty as she was sitting on a hat trick, but Marta — the regular penalty taker — took it instead. The captain didn’t take any chances with the attempt, hitting the ball hard past Naeher to give the Pride a 4-0 lead.

Marta's first career playoff goal is a beauty 🎯 pic.twitter.com/8pmtR5LLfK

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 9, 2024

“Fully deserved the penalty as well, which Barbra won. Class that as an assist. Anytime a player gets a penalty, we class that as an assist,” Hines said. “So Barbra contributed to that also, and Marta puts it away like she’s done all season.”

The only way the Red Stars were going to get on the board in this game was from a mistake and that happened in the 60th minute. Dyke played the ball back to Moorhouse and the goalkeeper took a touch with Joseph putting pressure on her, rather than simply clearing it up the field. As a result, Moorhouse’s attempted clearance was blocked into the net by Joseph, cutting the Pride lead to 4-1.

Jameese Joseph with the press that pays off! pic.twitter.com/o1fgvmKTOO

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 9, 2024

A Chicago corner kick in the 72nd minute gave the Red Stars their best attack of the game. The set piece went long to Anderson, who headed the ball towards goal. Moorhouse was caught in a bad position, but Sams cleared it off the line.

The Pride broke the other way with Marta sprinting towards the Chicago box. Banda was making a run on the far side but was covered, so the captain played it back for Adriana instead. Taking a touch to create space, the Brazilian’s shot was straight to Naeher.

Abello dribbled the ball into the Red Stars’ box in the 78th minute before running out of space and playing it back for Doyle. The midfielder had plenty of time to shoot and forced Naeher to tip the attempt over the crossbar. The ensuing set piece was punched away by Naeher.

A similar play occurred on the other side of the box in the 81st minute, but this time it was Adriana playing the ball back for second-half sub Morgan Gautrat. The defensive midfielder’s first touch was a shot that was tipped over the top by Naeher. Again, the Pride were unable to create anything from the corner kick.

Chicago broke out of the back in the 84th minute after Gautrat gave up possession near midfield. Swanson found Jenna Bike charging down the right. The second-half substitute took a touch inside to lose her defender and shot, but the attempt was right into the arms of Moorhouse.

Hines made his final two changes in the 87th minute as Banda and Marta made way for Carson Pickett and Villacorta.

Adriana was sent behind her defender in the 88th minute but was unable to get enough space for a shot. Moving towards the center of the box, she played it back for Angelina, running behind her. However, Angelina’s shot was right to Naeher.

The final chance of the game came in the third minute of stoppage time when Swanson sent Bike down the right again. Slipping behind her defender, Bike sent a shot towards goal that Moorhouse tipped wide. The ensuing corner kick was headed by Anderson and Ally Cook, before Joseph sent it over the crossbar with her right foot.

The Pride finished the game with the advantage in possession (50.7%-49.3%), shots (27-8), shots on target (9-4), crosses (13-7), corner kicks (8-7), and passing accuracy (82.7%-82%).

“Brilliant, brilliant from start to finish,” Hines said about the performance. “Started the game really well, created two opportunities within the first two minutes. You can see the hunger within the team. You can see the commitment and fully deserved. I think we were phenomenal today.”

“Oh my gosh, I think we’re finding form at the perfect time,” McCutcheon added. “Getting Barbra going is massive for us. And so, yeah, we’re just firing on all cylinders. And can’t be more excited to make history again.”

In a season full of making history, the Pride did it again in this game. They lost 4-1 to the Portland Thorns in 2017 and matched that score tonight but were on the right side this time. The first home playoff game in team history resulted in the first postseason win in team history in front of 11,496 fans.

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The Pride have already advanced to the NWSL semifinals for the first time and can reach the NWSL Championship if they beat the winner of the match between the Kansas City Current and North Carolina Courage at Inter&Co Stadium next weekend.

Welcome to your match preview as the Orlando Pride prepare for their first-ever playoff home game against the Chicago Red Stars. This is the first time the two teams have met in the postseason and the third time they’ll play this year.

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

History

The Pride and Red Stars have played every season since Orlando’s entrance into the NWSL except 2020. The teams have played 20 games, with the Pride going 6-12-2. The Pride have struggled against the Red Stars in Orlando with a record of 1-7-2.

The Pride and Red Stars last met on Sept. 8 in Illinois. Marta’s 37th-minute goal was the difference as the Pride came away with a 1-0 win. On March 29 in Orlando, the Pride took the lead early through a Taylor Malham own goal, but Mallory Swanson equalized in the 64th minute, resulting in a 1-1 draw.

The first meeting of 2023 was on May 27 in Illinois. Orlando dominated the entire 90 minutes, with Chicago only getting two chances on its home field. But the Pride struggled to hit the target, and Yuki Nagasato’s goal was the difference as the Pride fell 1-0.  The Aug. 20 matchup was the debut of Pride center back Rafaelle and the Brazilian scored in the 15th minute to give Orlando the lead. The hosts continued their attack, resulting in four more goals. Messiah Bright scored a pair, new signing Mariana Larroquette scored her first Pride goal, and Mikayla Cluff capped off the night with a goal as the Pride won 5-0.

The first meeting of 2022 took place on May 22 in Orlando. Sarah Griffin gave the visitors the lead, and Bianca St. Georges and Swanson made it 3-0 Chicago. It appeared as though the Red Stars would run away with the game, but the final 10 minutes saw three goals and two penalties for an exciting finish. Sydney Leroux missed a penalty, but Amy Turner scored the Pride’s first goal late. Swanson converted her penalty moments later, and Leah Pruitt scored her first goal for the Pride a minute after that in a 4-2 Red Stars win. The second meeting of the 2022 season was on June 12 in Illinois. Swanson capitalized on an early Pride turnover and the Red Stars held on for the 1-0 win.

The teams met three times during the 2021 season, but didn’t play until Aug. 8 in Illinois. Jodie Taylor and Leroux scored for the Pride before halftime. The 2-0 win ended a six-game winless streak and was the first NWSL victory for interim head coach Becky Burleigh.

The second meeting was Oct. 13 in Bridgeview, a rescheduled game that was originally supposed to take place Oct. 2. Kealia Watt scored early and the Red Stars defended that lead for 84 minutes on their way to a 1-0 result. The teams met again Oct. 29, 2021, in Orlando in the final game of the regular season. The Red Stars controlled the game but the Pride held off the Chicago attack for 65 minutes, at which point Watt scored the lone goal in a 1-0 Chicago win.

The Pride and Red Stars didn’t play in the 2020 Fall Series, so the last meeting prior to 2021 came in 2019. The first game was June 30 at Exploria Stadium. Goals by Chioma Ubogagu and Marta were topped by a Sam Kerr hat trick as the Red Stars won 3-2. The second game was on Aug. 21 in Bridgeview. The Pride took a 2-0 lead with goals by Rachel Hill and Ubogagu. Tierna Davidson cut the lead in half for Chicago, but it wasn’t enough as the Pride won 2-1. 

The third meeting in 2021 came on Sept. 11 in Orlando. Casey Short stole the game for Chicago with the game’s lone goal five minutes into second-half injury time as the Red Stars won, 1-0.

The 2018 NWSL season saw the Pride and Red Stars meet three times. On May 2 in Bridgeview, Hill and Ubogagu scored in a 2-0 Pride win. They met in the same location May 26, with a Leroux brace and goals by Hill, Alex Morgan, and Dani Weatherholt leading to a 5-2 Pride win. The Red Stars were led by a Kerr brace, resulting in a 3-1 victory over the Pride on Aug. 25 in Orlando in the third meeting of 2018.

The Pride and Red Stars met three times in 2017 — the first year that they played that many games against each other. A Christen Press goal on July 1 lifted Chicago to a 1-0 win. On July 22 in Bridgeview, a Press brace led her team to a 2-1 win. The final meeting came a week later in Orlando. Morgan and Sofia Huerta traded goals in a 1-1 draw.

The Red Stars won both meetings in 2016 by 1-0 final scores.

Overview

The Pride went unbeaten through their first 23 games of the season, capping off the run with a 2-0 win over the Washington Spirit on Oct. 6 to clinch the NWSL Shield. A heavily-rotated team lost to the Portland Thorns 2-0 the following game and a mostly-first choice lineup lost 3-1 to NJ/NY Gotham FC for their second-consecutive loss.

Returning home for the season finale Saturday, the Pride were able to gain a little momentum by defeating Seattle Reign FC 3-2. However, the final three games were arguably the three worst performances of the regular season. Fortunately, the Pride didn’t lose any more players during the season’s final stretch, so Head Coach Seb Hines will have his full complement of players who led the team since the Summer Cup break ended.

Tonight, the Pride will play in just their second playoff game all-time and the first in Orlando. The only other playoff game was on Oct. 7, 2017, in Portland, which the Pride lost 4-1 away from home. That was back when only four teams made the postseason, with the Pride being the fourth seed.

The big question for the Pride in this game is how the defense will perform. The Pride conceded just 13 goals in the first 23 games of the season and then gave up seven in the final three. Rather than spectacular performances by the opposition, those goals largely were due to defensive errors and a lack of concentration, especially on set pieces.

The Pride took a commanding lead atop the league earlier this season, giving them plenty of room for a poor performance here and there. They won’t have that luxury tonight as the winners will move on to the semifinals and the losers will see their season come to an end.

The Red Stars had an opportunity to avoid the league’s best team in the quarterfinal round but lost 3-1 to the Kansas City Current at home on Sunday. As a result, they finished the regular season in the eighth and final playoff spot. The Red Stars were in the middle of the league in both goals scored and conceded this year. Their 31 goals scored were eighth most and their 38 goals conceded were seventh most.

While Chicago has leaked goals at times this year, the Pride have struggled to break the Red Stars down, only scoring once in each of their two matchups this season. However, the meeting in Orlando was in the third game of the season when the Pride were still finding themselves.

Defensively, the key to the game will be stopping Swanson. The U.S. international leads the team with seven goals and four assists in 24 games this season. The key to the Pride’s success in Bridgeview was their ability to keep Swanson off the ball. If they can do similar tonight, they’ll create most of the chances and have a good chance of getting through.

“We feel good. We feel excited,” Hines said about tonight’s game. “First game in Pride history that we’re hosting a playoff game. Hopefully, we’ll get a good turnout. We’ll need the fans to push us forward to get the win. But the players are excited, they’re ready, they’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. So, yeah, we’re excited that we get to host the Chicago Red Stars in the first playoff game.”

The Pride moved Rafaelle (thigh), who has been out since the Olympics, to the season-ending injury list on Tuesday. Other Pride players out for this game include Megan Montefusco (heel), Luana (illness), Simone Charley (ankle), and Grace Chanda (thigh). All of those players have season-ending injuries or illnesses.

Chicago will play tonight without Ludmila (suspension), Ava Cook (knee), Sam Staab (Achilles), and Sarah Griffith (ankle).

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Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Kerry Abello, Kylie Strom, Emily Sams, Cori Dyke.

Defensive Midfielders: Haley McCutcheon, Angelina.

Midfielders: Summer Yates, Marta, Ally Watt.

Forward: Barbra Banda.

Bench: McKinley Crone, Celia, Carrie Lawrence, Carson Pickett, Julie Doyle, Morgan Gautrat, Ally Lemos, Viviana Villacorta, Adriana.

Chicago Red Stars (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher.

Defenders: Natalia Kuikka, Hannah Anderson, Cari Roccaro, Taylor Malham.

Defensive Midfielders: Bea Franklin, Julia Grosso.

Midfielders: Mallory Swanson, Shea Groom, Jameese Joseph.

Forward: Ally Schlegel.

Bench: Mackenzie Wood, Camryn Biegalski, Tatumn Milazzo, Julia Bianchi, Chardonnay Curran, Leilanni Nesbeth, Rosella Ayane, Jenna Bike, Ally Cook.

Referees

REF: Alyssa Nichols.
AR1: Stephen McGonagle.
AR2: Rhett Hammil.
4TH: Nabil Bensalah.
VAR: Ekaterina Koroleva.
AVAR: Tom Felice.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 8 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV: None.

Streaming: Prime Video.

Twitter: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @TheManeLand and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter feed (@ORLPride).

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Enjoy the match. Go Pride!