Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Chicago Red Stars: Player Grades and Player of the Match
On a short turnaround from the Seattle match, it would be forgivable to see some rough play and miscues, but the impending weather that would cause a delay in the second half was not the only storm to blow through Chicago on Wednesday night. The Pride came out looking sharp and kept a clean sheet against the likes of Sam Kerr, Sofia Huerta, and company to take all the points in a place where they’ve never accomplished the feat before.
This was the toughest match for me personally to try to single out one standout performance, and as of right now, typing this sentence, I still haven’t chosen just yet, so let’s break it down and see if we can find our player of the match.
Starters
GK, Ashlyn Harris, 5.5 — Harris wasn’t tested all that much on Wednesday night, her duties were mostly making calls for the defense and distributing. The one time she got the chance to stop a shot, it was low and right down the center. Overall, a fairly easy shift for the Orlando keeper.
D, Ali Krieger, 8 — Ali once again spent the night all over the right side of the field and continued to have some great moments and looks to get the ball forward. One specific moment was a great sequence from the team in the 36th minute that ended with a fantastic through ball from Ali to Sydney Leroux for a difficult shot on goal. Also of course, her interception in the second half that got the Pride their second goal.
D, Monica, 7.5 — Monica’s duties were keeping her eyes on Sam Kerr, and she didn’t disappoint. Kerr was constantly on the prowl, finding pockets of space and just when the midfield would go for the connection, Monica would appear and kill the ball. She did get beat a couple of times on the night by Kerr, but we are talking about the 2017 NWSL MVP here.
D, Shelina Zadorsky, 7.5 — Shelina too had a good night and the couple of times Monica did get beat, she was there to help out. She was often the release valve in getting the defense out of tight spots. A pretty amazing sequence happened around the 17:45 mark, where she connected with Harris and Dani Weatherholt, and others to spring a counter attack.
D, Carson Pickett, 7 — This was the Carson Pickett I watched last year and it was great to see her a lot more settled in. Her vision to become part of the attack is top notch and I think we’ll continue to see improvement in that area as the season progresses. The only knock in this one was at times her touch on the ball was a bit off.
MF, Emily van Egmond, 8 (PotM) — I’ve been really impressed with every minute of van Egmond’s play so far since she arrived, and Wednesday night was an awesome performance from her. She continually found the open attacker and would almost always put the ball in the right spot to make it dangerous. This is exemplified by her fantastic ball to Hill in the 81st minute to close out the game.
MF, Alanna Kennedy, 7.5 — Alanna was heavily involved in disrupting any build of play from Chicago, and, like Shelina and Monica, she was a part of keeping Kerr and Huerta in check all night. There were a couple of times on the offensive side that things didn’t connect too well, but she did put in a great ball to Leroux in the 18th minute.
MF, Dani Weatherholt, 7 — On a night that brought out a lot of great performances from the team, Dani’s ferocity was finally overshadowed a bit. She did great moving from box to box and always putting pressure on Chicago.
F, Sydney Leroux, 7.5 — She just puts in so much work, and yes, her shots still aren’t producing, but the impact she has in all other phases of the game make up for it. She is a beast on defense and she continued that trend on Wednesday. Not only that, but she continues to find that space on offense and is almost always a part of the attack.
F, Marta, 7 — I’m putting this in the context of what I’ve seen from Marta in the past, and this one wasn’t all that it could have been. Still a solid game from her, but just not quite there yet given the short amount of time, and lack of rest since she’s rejoined the team. I suspect by next match, we’ll start to see the constant brilliance again. It’ll be hard to get the numbers we know she can get if defenses keep piling onto her, but that is what it is. The opposition is paying for it one way or the other.
F, Chioma Ubogagu, 7.5 — Chi opened up the match when she notched her third goal on the season. She also played a large part of dropping into the midfield to bring the ball up, which is exactly what happened when she intercepted the ball, dribbled to the top of the box before feeding it to Syd who then laid it off for the finish. Still a couple of miscues, but this was Chi’s most complete performance so far, to me.
Substitutes
Rachel Hill, (70’) 7.5 — I said last week I would have liked to have seen Hill come on 10 minutes earlier, and that’s just what I got in this one. She had time to settle in and provide a spark on offense as well as defense. Her run and finish to put the game out of reach shows exactly what she’s capable of. Hopefully this is the first of many brilliant moments for the young forward.
Kristen Edmonds, (76’) 7 — Edmonds coming off of the bench with a bit less pressure is just what she needed, I think. And it showed in her brilliant flick to van Egmond, which led to the Rachel Hill goal.
Poliana, (84’) N/A — It was good to see Poliana back on the scene, and, like Edmonds and Hill, to provide a spark with not as much pressure, proved to be just what was needed. It’ll be interesting to see how the lineups start to shake out going forward. A lot of options.
There we have it, you know the drill. Put in your vote, and let me know how you saw the match. Thanks for reading.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Ali Krieger | 17 |
| Monica | 5 |
| Shelina Zadorsky | 2 |
| Emily van Egmond | 7 |
| Chioma Ubogagu | 5 |
| Other (comment below) | 1 |
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Final Score 3-1 as Banda Brace Leads Pride to Victory
Barbra Banda bags a brace and an assist but goes down injured late in the victory.
After dropping two games to expansion teams and stealing a win in San Diego, the Orlando Pride looked to enter the summer break on a good note. The Pride (5-5-2, 17 points) had never lost to Bay FC (3-6-2, 11 points) and used a second-half burst to maintain that winning record and won 3-1 at Inter&Co Stadium.
Barbra Banda opened the scoring in the fourth minute and followed it up in the 51st minute with her second. She added an assist to Cori Dyke in the 55th minute to close out the Pride scoring. Caroline Conti scored the lone Bay FC goal at the seven-minute mark.
“No better gift than a 3-1 victory at home in front of our fans,” Pride Head Coach (and birthday boy) Seb Hines said after the game. “It feels good that we’re ending this period on a high. I think it’s the first time this season we’ve got back-to-back victories.”
The Pride made one change in the lineup, giving Kerry Abello her first start of the season over Julie Doyle. Anna Moorhouse started in goal with Abello, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, and Oihane on defense. Haley McCutcheon and Ally Lemos played midfield in front of them with Mace, Luana, and Nicole Payne attacking from the midfield. Banda and her leading-leading nine goals played alone up top.
After an hour weather delay, the Pride went with the in-vogue start these days by kicking the ball straight out of bounds deep on the start and pressing high. It led to an opening three minutes of play in which the Pride kept the pressure up and forced the ball to stay on the Bay FC side. In the fourth minute, Luana headed a ball towards the center which Banda controlled, bodied Bay FC’s Joelle Anderson off the ball, and slotted the opening goal with her left foot.
Bay FC fought right back in the seventh minute as the visitors didn’t have to fight through the press off their kickoff. Claire Hutton crossed the ball into the box, Abello deflected it wide but there was no Pride defender there and it fell to Caroline Conti. Abello tried to fight all the way over but Conti was able to put it past Moorhouse before any help arrived.
The entire back line got pulled to the right on the play and Mace could not get back to help out wide.
“Hailie Mace came into NWSL as a winger. She’s got some tendencies that fit a winger profile. We knew Bay FC had a high back line. How do we get behind that back line? Having someone to support Barbra and not just Nicole but add in another player who can get into the attack,” Hines said regarding the switch.
In the 16th minute, Rachael Kundananji beat Oihane and crossed the ball to Hannah Bebar, who headed it into the net, but Cristiana Girelli was in an offside position threatening the goal, so the assistant referee ruled that it put Moorhouse off enough to interfere with the play.
The teams settled down a bit and traded possession until the 27th minute when Oihane centered the ball to Payne, who scuffed the shot high. One minute later, Luana sent a through ball for Banda to run onto and she went down in the box in a collision with Brooklyn Courtnall. It was fairly evident, however, that Banda got her leg into Courtnall’s to either try to control the ball or draw a foul, and the referee, Jaclyn Metz, saw it the same way.
In the 33rd minute, Oihane was subbed out for Hannah Anderson. Oihane had been laboring a little and may have picked up a knock somewhere.
The Pride couldn’t re-establish the high press so they turned into a lot of possession by Bay FC. Any attack by the Pride ended in a turnover off a bad pass or ill-conceived long shots as Orlando’s attackers were impatient in building play. Turnover after turnover plagued the Pride for the remainder of the half as they did not threaten at all until the 45th minute, when Banda took on Maddie Moreau and Kundananji, shook them both loose, and then crossed the ball into an empty area at the back post with no one to finish.
It was a fitting final piece of sound and fury, signifying nothing, as the half wrapped without any plays of interest. The Pride weren’t able to lead any of the statistics, tying Bay FC in shots (4-4), while Bay FC led in shots on target (3-1), possession (53%-47%), and passing accuracy (85%-83%). Neither team was able to force a corner in the first half.
To start the second half, Hines subbed in Summer Yates for Abello, which pushed Mace back to the back line. In the 48th minute, Kundananji got behind when Anderson got caught out and was sizing up a one-on-one with Moorhouse. Dyke hustled back and blocked the shot.
“We started the game super strong, super intense, but I think we fell off towards the end of that first half,” Dyke said. “We got a little too stretched between the lines and weren’t getting enough pressure on the ball and we talked about that at halftime. We needed to stay more compact and then pick our moments to go.”
Go they did. Three minutes later, Yates sent a through ball angled behind Banda which allowed her to run onto the ball unopposed. She beat goalkeeper Emmie Allen, who came out of the box aggressively to defend, and then passed the ball into the net in the 51st minute.
Four minutes later, Banda pressured Allen, forcing the goalkeeper into a clearance out of play. On the ensuing throw-in, Banda held off Bebar in the box, spun, and crossed the ball to Dyke, who put the ball in off the crossbar. The ability of the Pride to retain possession and work the ball in against a lesser opponent opened up the scoring and turned the game on its head.
Bay FC didn’t have a lot to do over the next stretch of time and Taylor Huff went down with an injury in the 61st minute, prompting a change as she was subbed out for Karlie Lema. Dorian Bailey came on for Joelle Anderson in the same stoppage but at the 62nd minute.
The teams went back and forth for a bit until the Pride drew a corner in the 71st minute. It deflected off a Bay FC defender and fell to Rafaelle at the far post, who headed it just wide. Three minutes later, Jacquie Ovalle and Zara Chavoshi wrapped up the Pride substitutions by coming in for Payne and Mace. Bay FC also took the stoppage in the 74th minute to sub two players in, bringing on Keria Barry and Onyeka Gamero for Kundananji and Girelli.
Unfortunately, in the 81st minute, Banda was dribbling down the left side when she pulled up lame and went to the ground off the pitch. She stayed there until tended to and was obviously upset. We’ll have to wait for any injury news on her. Bay FC made its final substitution in the ensuing stoppage in the 82nd minute, bringing on Kelli Hubly for Conti.
The injury to Banda left the Pride playing with only 10 players for the remaining 15 minutes (including added time) due to using up all three substitution windows. They stayed fairly solid in defense and played a lot of keep-away ball to see out the victory while playing short.
“A great way to finish this part of the season with a win at home. I think we were consistent today and we took the chances we created,” Luana said. “We’ve been having highs and lows in this part of the season but we bounced back in these two wins and it brought us a lot of confidence.”
Orlando City was ahead in the only stat that matters, goals, but trailed in every other major stat. Bay FC finished ahead in shots (14-8), shots on target (5-4), possession (54%-46%), passing accuracy (85%-84%), and corners (4-1).
The Orlando Pride now will be off until early July for the NWSL World Cup break. The next match is scheduled for July 3 in Los Angeles against Angel City FC.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Pride return home to face Bay FC in their final game before the FIFA World Cup break.
Welcome to your preview and match thread as the Orlando Pride (4-5-2, 14 points) return home from a three-game road trip to take on Bay FC (3-5-2, 11 points). This is the first of two meetings between the two teams with the return game scheduled for Sept. 27 in San Jose.
Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.
History
Bay FC is one of two expansion teams that entered the NWSL for the 2024 season. The teams have met four times, with the Pride holding a 3-0-1 record and a 1-0-1 mark at home in the series.
The most recent meeting took place on Sept. 13, 2025, in Orlando. The visitors took the lead just before halftime when Racheal Kundananji headed in a long pass by Caprice Dydasco. The Pride equalized in the second half, when Ally Watt headed a Jacquie Ovalle cross past Jordan Silkowitz to claim a 1-1 draw.
On June 13 of last year in San Jose, CA, Bay FC led almost every statistical category, but the Pride defense held strong until Barbra Banda scored shortly after halftime. The Pride withstood attack after attack, coming away with a hard-fought 1-0 win.
The teams met twice in 2024, with the first-ever game between the clubs occurring on May 11. Just prior to the half-hour mark, Banda dribbled inside and Deyna Castellanos attempted an ill-advised challenge, resulting in a foul in the box and a Pride penalty. Adriana put the ball into the bottom left corner for the only goal, lifting the Pride to a 1-0 win. It was the sixth win in an NWSL-record, eight-game win streak.
The teams met for the second time on Sept. 20, 2024. It looked like the game might be headed for a scoreless draw until Banda got her head on the end of a Carson Pickett cross, redirecting it past Katelyn Rowland to give the Pride the 1-0 win.
Overview
The Pride return home tonight after a difficult road trip that saw the team fall 2-1 to Boston Legacy FC and 3-1 to Denver Summit FC. Having already lost to both expansion teams, they headed west to face San Diego Wave FC, a team near the top of the standings. But Nicole Payne’s first professional goal lifted Orlando to a 1-0 win.
Despite not scoring in two of the last three games, Banda still leads the league with nine goals in 10 games this season. She has a two-goal lead on Ashley Sanchez, who is second in the league. Haley McCutcheon is the only other Pride player with multiple goals, scoring twice in the same game. Ovalle, Marta, and Hannah Anderson have the team’s other three goals. The assists have been spread out much more evenly with Ovalle, McCutcheon, and Rafaelle all sharing the team lead with two.
The clean sheet against San Diego was big for the back line as the team has conceded too many goals recently. Dating back to their 3-2 loss to Racing Louisville FC on April 24, the Pride have conceded multiple goals in four of the last six games. The only other game in which they didn’t concede at least twice was a 1-0 win over the North Carolina Courage on May 8, their last home game.
Tonight is the Pride’s last game before the league breaks for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. After the game, they won’t play again until July 3 and won’t play at home until July 10. That makes getting a quality result tonight essential for momentum going through the remainder of the season.
If you’re looking for a team to win against, Bay FC is one of the most likely candidates. The Bay -area side sits 13th in the NWSL on 11 points, just four points ahead of Louisville for last place. Tonight’s visitors are currently on a four-game winless run (0-2-2) and a two-game losing streak. Their last win was a 1-0 victory against San Diego on May 3. The club’s most recent games are a 2-0 loss to Portland Thorns FC on May 20 and a 1-0 loss to Chicago Stars FC on May 24.
Bay FC has struggled this year on both ends of the field. Its eight goals are second fewest in the league and Bay is one of three teams with single-digit goals this year. Meanwhile, the team’s 14 goals conceded are sixth in the league. The California side has been better defensively overall than the Pride, who have conceded 16 goals, but worse offensively, as the Pride have scored 15 goals so far this year.
Bay FC has been led in the attack by Alex Pfeiffer and Dorian Bailey with two goals each. Kundananji, Taylor Huff, Keira Barry, and Joelle Anderson have one apiece. Pfeiffer also leads the team in assists with two, tied with Cristina Girelli. Huff and Sydney Collins are the only other players with assists this season.
It should help the Pride tonight that Bay FC will be missing two key players. Silkowitz and starting center back Aldana Cometti were sent off against Chicago Sunday, meaning they’ll miss tonight’s game.
However, the Pride have their own key absences. In addition to injuries that have accumulated this season, Angelina was handed an additional game’s suspension after being sent off on May 16 for pulling Delanie Sheehan’s hair.
“We’re looking forward to it. Looking forward to being back home,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said about tonight’s game. “It’s been a long road trip. Excited to get in front of our own fans. Want to create that atmosphere, make it hostile for Bay FC. We know it’s a quick turnaround for both teams as well, so we want to make sure that we start off on the front foot, build on what we achieved last Sunday in San Diego, and finish this part of the season on a high.”
The Pride will be without Angelina (suspension), Cosette Morche (ankle), Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Viviana Villacorta (knee), and Solai Washington (knee). Marta (thigh) and Ovalle (thigh) are listed as questionable. Bay FC will be without Cornetti (suspension), Abby Dahlkemper (maternity leave), Anouk Denton (lower leg), Dydasco (maternity leave), Heather Gilchrist (knee), Alyssa Malonson (knee), Emily Menges (maternity leave), Pfeiffer (knee), and Silkowitz (suspension).
Official Lineups
Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.
Defenders: Oihane, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, Hailie Mace.
Defensive Midfielders: Ally Lemos, Haley McCutcheon.
Attacking Midfielders: Kerry Abello, Luana, Nicole Payne.
Forward: Barbra Banda.
Bench: McKinley Crone, Zara Chavoshi, Hannah Anderson, Julie Doyle, Marta, Jacquie Ovalle, Summer Yates, Seven Castain, Simone Jackson.
Bay FC (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Emmie Allen.
Defenders: Sydney Collins, Joelle Anderson, Brooklyn Courtnall, Maddie Moreau.
Defensive Midfielders: Hannah Bebar, Claire Hutton.
Attacking Midfielders: Racheal Kundananji, Caroline Conti, Taylor Huff.
Forward: Cristiana Girelli.
Bench: Camryn Miller, Kelli Hubly, Jamie Shepherd, Dorian Bailey, Karlie Lema, Onyeka Gamero, Tess Boade, Keira Barry.
Referees
REF: Jaclyn Metz.
AR1: Art Arustamyan.
AR2: Adam Cook.
4TH: Edson Carvajal.
VAR: Anya Voigt.
AVAR: Katarzyna Wasiak.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.
TV: None.
Streaming: NWSL+.
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!
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Three Keys to Victory
What do the Pride need to do to earn all three points against Bay FC?
The Orlando Pride welcome Bay FC to Inter&Co Stadium this Friday night for the last match before the World Cup break. This is an opportunity to get a win over a team lower in the table and move up in the standings. What must the Pride do to earn all three points against Bay FC this weekend?
Keep the Chip
I have been asking all season on SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast for the Pride to play with the chip on their shoulder that they had when they won the double in 2024. We saw that against the San Diego Wave. My hope is that the players have now remembered what that feels like and will execute with the same level of intensity going forward.
The task is potentially a little easier against Bay FC, as the California-based side has scored less than half the number of goals that the Wave have this season. Of course, that is the trap. The Pride cannot slack off against Bay FC. Having Rafaelle anchoring the defense is a big help, and moving Hailie Mace out to right back has proven effective. In 2024, this team hated — with a capital “H” — conceding goals. They took it personally. That is the passion I want again. The chip on the shoulder.
Overwhelm and Outscore
As I mentioned above, Bay FC is not a prolific scoring team. Friday’s visitors have also given up 14 goals this season. That’s not the best or the worst in the league, but they haven’t faced Barbra Banda yet. The Orlando Pride don’t have any trouble creating chances, but they have had trouble getting anyone other than Banda to finish them this season. Banda leads the league in goals, and she has an opportunity to maintain or extend that lead against Bay FC.
What will truly make the difference for the Pride against Bay FC is if any of the other players can contribute a goal. We saw the space that Banda can provide her teammates when Nicole Payne scored her first goal against San Diego. Now I want other players to take advantage of that space to provide some goals for the Pride.
More Luana
Luana got her first start since coming back to the squad cancer-free. I think we’ve forgotten that she was a starter on the 2024 squad before her Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis. She was a starter on a team that won the double. Now she is back and she is a leader and an inspiration for her fellow players.
Given Marta’s limited minutes, having Luana out there as a stabilizing presence is important. Obviously, she brings a different skill set than Marta but still a critical one. Much like the defense, the midfield was better last match, and I feel she was a big part of that.
That is what I will be looking for on Friday night. The Pride can head into the World Cup break on a high with a victory. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!
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