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Orlando Pride vs. North Carolina Courage: Final Score 3-0 as Turnovers Kill the Pride

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7 years ago

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After a brief 30-minute delay to start the match, the Orlando Pride (6-5-4, 22 points) committed countless turnovers. North Carolina (11-1-3, 36 points) did not fail to capitalize on these opportunities and beat the Pride 3-0 in Orlando City Stadium in front of 4,017 fans. This win just solidifies North Carolina’s lead at the top of the table, but results later in the day could see the Pride drop down to fourth place.

“Frankly, we were just beat by a team that is better than us,” said Head Coach Tom Sermanni. “Significantly better than us on the day, probably in all areas of the field. They were quicker to do things, they were more dynamic, they were more alert, they did things, football fundamental things, better than we did and we got ourselves a little bit rattled.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game. Probably the real disappointing thing of the performance was the manner and timing of losing the three goals. Particularly, the reaction to the first goal and then the reaction to the second goal. For a team of our caliber and professionalism is very poor. Sometimes you have to walk away from a game and say the other team was better and North Carolina this year have been better than everybody and today they showed it.”

After missing the past four games, Ali Krieger returned to the starting XI after suffering a right knee sprain in Orlando’s 5-2 win against the Chicago Red Stars. Sermanni brought Rachel Hill and Sydney Leroux into the starting lineup, after using them as substitutes on Wednesday, but Hill lasted just 45 minutes.

“Obviously, I have to be smart. As I get older, too, my body has changed over the year, but I’ve always been a fast healer,” Krieger said of her return. “As soon as I was injured I knew that process immediately started the next day, even after the game. I had a new job to do and that was my nine-to-five recovery, and doing my PT [physical therapy] and being on-field and doing my running. And as soon as I could I did everything I could, even at home, all the little details.”

It took just eight seconds into the game for North Carolina to get a shot off and it looked like it was going to be ugly from the start. However, the Pride hung in there early on and made a game out of it. Still, the visitors were on the attack for most of the first half. 

The Pride found the back of the net in the 21st minute off a corner. Marta put the ball in and it deflected in off a North Carolina defender, but Alex Morgan was called for a foul and the game remained 0-0. Orlando stuck with it, won another corner, and this time, on the third ball in, Shelina Zadorsky got a shot away, but it was too soft and Katelyn Rowland had no trouble with it. 

North Carolina kept the attack going but the Pride were defending well until the 37th minute. Monica and Emily van Egmond both failed to clear the ball and Debinha took a quick shot that rolled under Ashlyn Harris. 

Two minutes later, Krieger made a great pass to the wrong team and Denise O’Sullivan started the counter attack that ended with Merritt Mathias taking a shot from distance that deflected off Poliana and put the Courage up, 2-0.

Just a minute after the second goal, Dunn put a perfect through ball that fed McDonald into the area and one-on-one with Harris. Harris had no chance and McDonald flicked the ball into the upper 90. With her goal, McDonald became the second player in NWSL history to score 40 goals.

The Pride tried to bounce back after going down 3-0 and Hill did some work down the right hand side, however, the visitors defended well and the first half ended 3-0. North Carolina took just eight shots, compared to the 17 in the first half in the previous meeting, but scored on three of them. Possession was fairly even with the Pride holding 48% but it was turnovers that put them in a hole. 

Sermanni made a change at half, opting to take out Hill for Dani Weatherholt. Weatherholt immediately came in and brought a much-needed energy with her.

“I think we saw what Dani [Weatherholt] brings to the team. She brings energy, she brings running, she brings changes, she breaks things up, she starts moves off, she chases the front line, she chases the back line, and she just brings that extra energy to the team and I think you saw that in the second half,” said Sermanni. “We need more Dani Weatherholts to do that to change the game. And in fairness to Rachel [Hill], I could have taken 10 players off at halftime. The reason we took Rachel off was we had to tweak the shape a little bit.”

The Pride looked a better team in the opening of the half and had a plethora of chances. Van Egmond’s header off a corner went wide in the 50th minute. Three minutes later, Poliana’s shot from distance went into the arms of Rowland. Orlando then had four corners in the next three minutes, including one that Marta nearly put directly in but Rowland got a slight touch on it and it hit the crossbar. 

Morgan took a pass from Leroux and nearly got Orlando on the board in the 60th minute but Rowland again got just enough of the shot to knock it off the woodwork.

Orlando did a decent job of keeping possession for most of the second half but, on a three-goal lead, North Carolina was clearly happy with the game. Instead, the league leaders just waited for Orlando to make mistakes and turn it over. The game plan worked perfectly as the Pride continuously gave the ball right to the opposition and this led to North Carolina counter attacks, though nothing came of them. 

“I just think our mentality changed [in the second half]. We are not about to roll over and die, we want to fight until the end. But obviously I think that needs to happen from the start,” Alanna Kennedy said. “Not that we didn’t go out and weren’t prepared and weren’t mentally ready to give it a go. It was more so that it took those goals for us to give that extra gear, and I don’t think that’s what we need to be doing. We need to be starting the game like that.”

After Sermanni used all of his substitutions, Morgan walked off the field in the 81st minute and the Pride played the rest of the match with 10 players. TV reports from Lifetime said Morgan told the trainer she could no longer sprint. The Pride were unable to do much after Morgan left the field and the game ended 3-0 after a scoreless second half.

“[Morgan] felt her calf being tight,” said Sermanni. “It doesn’t look too serious. I don’t know at this state but it wasn’t something that she felt pull. She just started to feel it real tight. When that happens and the game is in the state that it was, there’s no point in keeping someone in the game that could do themselves more severe damage. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious and we get her fixed up quickly.”

With so much more of the ball in the second half, Orlando won the possession battle, holding it 55% of the game. The Pride had the better passing accuracy (76%-70%) on 70 more passes, and shots were even at 15 apiece, although the Courage had the edge in shots on target (7-5).

“We just need to be better and when we do go down a goal, not to drop our heads, and I think, obviously, the second half was much better,” Kennedy said. “We fought til the end but you’ve got to give credit to the Courage. They are a good team but I think we just made it real hard for ourselves tonight.”

The Pride return to action again on July 7 when they take on the Washington Spirit to close out what has so far been a disappointing 0-2-0 home stand.

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Orlando Pride vs. Houston Dash: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Pride return home looking to build on their win in Utah as they welcome the Houston Dash.

Published

6 hours ago

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June 7, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Welcome to your match thread as the Orlando Pride (6-3-1, 19 points) return home to face the Houston Dash (3-5-2, 11 points) at 7 p.m. (FanDuel Sports Network Sun, NWSL+) at Inter&Co Stadium. This is the first of two games the two teams will play this season with the other scheduled for Oct. 3 in Houston.

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

History

The Pride and Dash have played 22 times since the Pride joined the NWSL in 2016. Orlando has a record of 9-9-2 against the Dash in regular-season play and a 6-4-1 regular-season record at home. Additionally, the teams played two Fall Series games in 2020, both of which were won by the Dash.

The most recent meeting between the two teams took place Sept. 28, 2024 in Orlando. Carson Pickett gave the hosts the lead in the 29th minute and Angelina doubled the advantage in the 51st minute. Yuki Nagasato got one back two minutes later, but Marta secured the 3-1 win in second-half stoppage time. On Aug. 23 in Houston, Angelina sent Summer Yates through in the 67th minute, giving the Pride the lead. Andressa nearly equalized in the 86th minute, hitting the post, but the Pride held on for the 1-0 win.

The first matchup between the teams last year was on June 3, 2023 in Houston. The Pride had trouble playing the ball out of the back and were hit on the counterattack, leading to a difficult night. Sophie Hirst gave the hosts the lead early and Michelle Alozie doubled the advantage just before halftime. Despite having more possession and shots, the Pride fell 2-0. The second game took place Oct. 15 in Orlando. While the Pride were the better team, the game was scoreless heading into the late stages. However, a late penalty conversion by Marta gave the Pride the 1-0 win. 

The teams first met for the first of two matches in 2022 on June 3 in Houston. The hosts were led by a Nichelle Prince hat trick, while Rachel Daly and Alozie added goals in a 5-0 Dash win. It was the last game the Pride played before then-head coach Amanda Cromwell was placed on administrative leave. The teams met again on July 8, 2022 in Orlando. Ally Prisock’s own goal was the only scoring as the Pride took the 1-0 win, the second result in a seven-game unbeaten run.

The Pride and Dash played twice during the 2021 season. The first game was held June 26 in Houston. Maria Sanchez and Veronica Latsko gave the hosts a 2-0 lead. Gunny Jonsdottir got one back, but it wasn’t enough as the Dash won 2-1. The second meeting came on Sept. 5 at Exploria Stadium. The Dash took an early lead through Daly. However, Taylor Kornieck equalized late in a 1-1 draw.

The 2020 NWSL season was canceled due to COVID but these two teams were matched up in the Fall Series. On Sept. 26, 2020 in Houston, Prince put the Dash ahead, but Marisa Viggiano responded just before halftime. Sophie Schmidt gave the hosts another lead and Shea Groom put the game away as Houston won 3-1. The two teams played again on Oct. 9 at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee — the only time the Pride have played at the venue. Groom opened the scoring early and Latsko soon made it 2-0. Sydney Leroux got one back for the hosts, but Houston held on for a 2-1 win.

The Pride and Dash played three times in 2019, with the Pride going 0-2-1. During the first game in Houston on May 5, the Pride only recorded one shot on target. However, Houston only got one goal through Kealia Ohai in a 1-0 win. The second game on June 15 was also in Houston. Joanna Boyles scored her first professional goal to give the Pride the lead, but the Dash scored twice to take the advantage. A Danica Evans conversion allowed the Pride to escape the Oven with a 2-2 draw.

The third and final meeting in 2019 occurred on Aug. 10 in Orlando. The Pride ended the game with nine players as Julie King was sent off in the 61st minute and Marta was sent off in the 85th minute. However, the Dash were only able to convert once — a late penalty by Daly — and won 1-0.

The teams played three times during the 2018 season. The first game was on April 22 in Orlando. Chioma Ubogagu scored the lone goal, leading the Pride to a 1-0 win. They met again in Orlando on June 27. Alex Morgan opened the scoring and the Pride held that lead at the break. But the second half was all Houston, as Ohai and Sofia Huerta scored, resulting in a 2-1 Houston win. The final meeting that season was on July 11 in Houston, where Daly’s brace led the Dash to a 3-1 win. 

The Pride and Dash played twice during the 2017 season and the visiting team won both games. The first was on June 17 in Houston. Camila and Alanna Kennedy added to a Marta brace as the Pride took a commanding 4-0 lead. The Dash tried to come back with goals by Poliana and Prince, but the Pride took home a 4-2 win. A week later in Orlando, Carli Lloyd and Daly scored in a 2-0 Houston win. 

The teams met four times during the 2016 season — the Pride’s first in existence. The first meeting was the Pride’s first-ever regular-season home game on April 23. An Andressa own goal gave the Pride the lead just after the half before Lianne Sanderson and Morgan made it 3-0 for the hosts. Andressa scored one for her own team, but that was it for Houston as the Pride won 3-1 in front of a then-NWSL record 23,403 fans.

The second meeting was in Houston on May 20. Kristen Edmonds scored the only goal in the 81st minute as the Pride won 1-0. The third meeting that year came on June 23 in Orlando. Jasmyne Spencer broke the scoreless deadlock in second-half injury time as the Pride won 1-0. The fourth and final meeting came on Sept. 3 in Houston. The Dash took a 3-0 lead with goals by Janine Beckie, Poliana, and Ohai. Morgan and Edmonds got the Pride back into the game, but Ohai put it away with her second in a 4-2 Dash win.

Overview

The Pride got the season off to a great start, winning their first four games before falling to the Washington Spirit in a rematch of the 2024 NWSL Championship. With the exception of a comeback 3-2 win over Angel City, the Pride went on a skid, losing three of their next five games (1-3-1).

The Pride went into their May 23 game in Utah needing a win, and Barbra Banda gave it to them.  The striker scored a hat trick in 38 minutes, the first hat trick in Pride history. More importantly, it ended thet team’s skid heading into the international break.

The defense has been the strength for the Pride this season. The 3-2 win over Angel City is the only game in which the Pride have conceded multiple goals. All three of the losses in the five-game skid were 1-0 defeats. That changed in Utah when the Pride netted multiple goals for the first time in nearly a month.

The coaching staff will be hoping the attack can continue scoring tonight. Banda now has a commanding team lead with seven goals. Marta is second with three goals and hasn’t scored since April 25.

Tonight, the internationals return home and the Pride return to action against a Dash side that sits in 12th. The blame can’t be pinned on Houston’s attack or defense. They’re 11th in goals scored with 10 and tied for eighth in goals conceded with 16.

The Dash have some attacking threats on their team like Alozie, Yazmeen Ryan, and former Pride striker Messiah Bright. But the team’s leading goal scorer is rookie Maggie Graham, who has three goals in 10 games. Avery Patterson, only in her second year, sits second in goals with two.

The Dash haven’t been terrible defensively this season. They’ve only conceded more than two goals on two occasions — a 3-1 loss to Angel City on April 12 and a 4-1 loss to the Portland Thorns on May 16. Their most recent game was a 2-2 draw with Bay FC, so they’ve conceded six goals in their last two games.

The Dash are in an interesting position at goalkeeper. Jane Campbell has been Houston’s unquestioned number one since her rookie 2017 season and has been a regular with the U.S. Women’s National Team. But, despite Campbell starting the season as club captain, new head coach Fabrice Gautrat (Pride midfielder Morgan Gautrat’s husband) dropped the veteran for Smith.

“It’s fantastic to be back at home and play in front of our fans,” Pride Assistant Coach Giles Barnes said about tonight’s game. “Houston, they’re a team that’s gone under a lot of changes over the last year and they’ve got a new coach in Fabrice. So he’s implemented his ideas. They’re definitely a different team than what they were last year. Team with a little more structure and a more possession-based team. But, as you know, there’s no easy game. So we have to prepare correctly for them.”

There’s no change to the Pride’s availability report. They remain without Simone Charley (ankle), Luana (illness), Amanda Allen (shoulder), and Rafaelle (thigh).

The Dash only have two players on their availability report. Ramona Bachmann (parental leave) is out and Patterson (thigh) is listed as questionable.

Projected Lineup

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

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

Defensive Midfielders: Haley McCutcheon, Morgan Gautrat.

Midfielders: Angelina, Marta, Ally Watt.

Forward: Barbra Banda.

Houston Dash (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Abby Smith.

Defenders: Paige Nielsen, Katie Lund, Natalie Jacobs, Christen Westphal.

Midfielders: Ryan Gareis, Daniele Colaprico, Delanie Sheehan, Yazmeen Ryan.

Forwards: Messiah Bright, Maggie Graham.

Referees

REF: Benjamin Meyer.
AR1: Ben Rigel.
AR2: Fernando Fierro.
4TH: Alejo Calume.
VAR: Kevin Broadley.
AVAR: Kevin Huet.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun.

Streaming: NWSL+.

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

Enjoy the game. Go Pride!

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Barba Banda’s Goal Contribution Percentage Pace Among the Highest in NWSL History

A dive into Banda’s numbers as a percentage of the Pride’s goal contributions.

Published

2 days ago

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June 5, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The NWSL took a collective break, as early June is scheduled as a FIFA international match window, so the league did not schedule any games. Several Pride players were called up to their national teams, including all three Zambian players: Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya. Zambia drew Botswana 1-1 and lost to South Africa 2-0 during its two matches during the window, and in a what I am sure will be a complete surprise to everyone, it was Banda who scored Zambia’s one goal in the two games.

In Zambia’s last two major tournaments, the 2024 Olympics and the 2023 World Cup, Banda scored five of the team’s nine goals and assisted on two others for a total of seven goal contributions, and when I was looking to see Zambia’s results over this window, I started thinking about the criticality of Banda’s goal contributions to her country’s performances, and I wondered about how that stacked up to when she plays for the Pride.

The 2025 NWSL season is only 10 games in, so one game — say, a game in which Banda had the Pride’s first ever hat trick — skews the data more than it would after a full season’s worth of games, but here is what I found when looking at the players who had the highest percentage of goal contributions as a percentage of their team’s goals in NWSL history (I removed penalty kicks and opponents’ own goals from the count of a team’s goals scored):

PlayerSeasonGoal Contributions*% of Team’s Goals*
Lauren Holiday20132067%
Crystal Dunn20151864%
Barbra Banda2025862%
Esther González2025660%
Abby Wambach20131759%
Diana Matheson2013758%
Sam Kerr20172158%
Sam Kerr20192358%
Adriana Leon20171257%
Sam Kerr20182057%
Barbra Banda**20241950%
  1. * Excluding own goals and penalty kicks
  2. ** Banda’s 2024 season was actually 19th all time, but I included it for comparison purposes and because I wanted to.

First of all, let’s get this out of the way: Sam Kerr was an absolute terror when she played in the NWSL. Despite leaving the league for Chelsea after the 2019 season, she still has the second (18) , third (17) and fourth (16) most goals scored in a season, with only Temwa Chaŵinga’s 2025 season (20) surpassing her. Kerr is one of the great strikers of the century, but even during her time on Chicago and Sky Blue (now Gotham) she was not as critical to the goal-scoring output as the top two on this list, Lauren Holiday and Crystal Dunn.

Back in 2013, Holiday was involved in an astounding two-thirds of the goals her team put into the net in all manners except penalty kicks, and two years later, Crystal Dunn —yes, the same player who started at left back for the U.S. Women’s National Team Saturday — gave her a run for her money by being involved in 64% of her team’s non-penalty goals when she was playing for the Washington Spirit.

During the 2024 season, Banda ended up contributing to exactly half of the Pride’s 38 non-penalty goals, and early returns indicate that this season is on pace for something similar. There is more than half of the season still left to play, but through 10 games Banda sits third on the all-time list with her eight goal contributions of the Pride’s 13 non-penalty goals. The Pride have scored 18 goals when you look at the league standings, but three of those came from own goals and the other two were penalty kicks, which of course were taken by Marta, because GOAT.

Whether it is actually a good thing that a player plays such an outsized role in the goal-contribution percentage is an unanswerable question, because so much of that is tied into offensive game plans and every team sets up differently. The Pride won the shield and the cup last season with Banda as the clear focal point of the offense, and despite a slightly rockier start this season, they are still in third place through 10 games.

I wrote a few weeks ago about how teams are defending the Pride, and Banda in particular, this season, and I expect that teams will continue to try to aggressively deny her the ball in areas where she can build up a head of steam and try to force her wide, preventing her from getting into the box and unleashing one of the league’s most powerful shots. It is all well and good to try that, but Banda is one of the world’s best strikers, and while most NWSL teams have excellent defenders, few are world class.

The Pride should, and do, look to exploit this advantage frequently, which plays a major role in why Banda ranks so high in her percentage of goal contributions. Her incredible talent and skill, in conjunction with the Pride’s focus on finding ways to get her the ball in the attacking third of the field, make it likely that she stays near the top of the all-time rankings as the 2025 season continues. By the end of the season I believe that she will dip below 60%, especially with several of her more attack-minded teammates like Julie Doyle and Summer Yates returning to full health, but I think she ends up above last season’s 50%.

The good news for Pride fans is that if Banda’s percentage decreases, it means that other players are contributing goals, and if it increases, it means that she is contributing goals, so we come out ahead either way. And if she continues to contribute to three out of every five goals and the Pride score handfuls and handfuls of goals, then we come out ahead that way as well. I like all these positive outcomes!

In their next match the Pride will host a Houston team which is in the bottom three in the standings and the bottom four in terms of goals allowed, so the team should have ample opportunities to score. If the Pride score three goals and Banda is involved in all three, she will move to the top of the chart, and while that would be pretty cool, the three that the Pride will care most about in that game is three points.

But as hosts Michael Citro and Dave Rohe often say on the SkoPurp PawedCast, por qué no los dos? And while I am working in a Spanish phrase, three more Banda goal contributions and three points sounds as sweet as tres leches, no?

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Orlando Pride vs. Houston Dash: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Pride need to do to secure a victory against Houston at home?

Published

2 days ago

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June 5, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride are back in action against the Houston Dash Saturday at Inter&Co Stadium. If you don’t listen to SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast you may not have heard that I will be there in person to enjoy the match with all of you. The NWSL returns from the international break as do several Pride players. We’ve already seen that every team is bringing its best when it plays Orlando, so what do the Pride need to do to take all three points from Houston at home?

Open the Offense

Barbra Banda scored a hat trick against the Utah Royals in the team’s last match. It was the first in Orlando Pride history, but hopefully it won’t be the last. I’m not expecting another hat trick from anyone this weekend, but there’s no reason to think that the Pride can’t score three goals in total. Of course, if Banda or another Pride player wants to do so, I won’t object.

Houston has allowed 16 goals this season and has a -6 goal differential. How difficult the team is to break down is still a question. I’m not certain if Houston will continue with Abby Smith in goal or if longtime keeper Jane Campbell will make her return to the starting lineup. Smith has started the last three matches, allowing six goals (an average of two per match) and has 10 saves. Campbell started the first seven matches, allowing 10 goals (an average of 1.43 per match) and has 22 saves. I’d be good not having to worry about Campbell, even if the dropoff in quality to Smith isn’t that great.

Limit the Gaffes

Looking to the other goal, I want to see Anna Moorhouse clean things up. She’s not been bad this season, but there have been more errors than last season. We know she can step it up as we saw last season, but if the Pride are to win this match — and others against better teams — I need her to get back to 2024 levels.

Of course, she’s not the only one in the defense that needs to re-adjust. Kylie Nadaner had her best season in 2024 but has reverted just a bit so far in 2025. I’m hoping the international break allowed her and the rest of the Pride to reset. Houston has only scored 10 goals this season, but the Dash have Messiah Bright. The former Pride striker only has one goal this year, but former Pride players always seem to play well against their former team, so I want the defense focused on getting a clean sheet.

Marta and the Midfield

I will probably keep asking for this until I get it or I’m proven it’s not the best strategy. I want Marta to drop back in the attack just a bit. She doesn’t need to be the one trying to keep up with Banda every time the team pushes forward. Ally Watt is a better partner up top. What Marta can do well is facilitate the attack and be the late runner to clean up any loose balls in the box.

If Marta drops to the more traditional 10 spot, that will allow Angelina to also drop back just a bit. I think she is also better in that traditional eight spot. Allow Angelina to be the one who is linking the play through the midfield, where she can either take it herself, or connect with Marta to set up the attacks. This is something I feel has largely been missing so far this season. A match against a team like Houston is the right time to get that fixed.

That’s what I’ll be looking for on Saturday when I’m actually in the stadium. Where do you think the game will be won or lost? Let us know in the comments section.

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