Orlando Pride at Houston Dash: Player Grades and Player of the Match

The Orlando Pride held a lead for the first time this year at the break, but the Houston Dash came out in the second half and equalized almost immediately. They traded goals one last time, and the Pride held on to get a point for only the second time this season in the 2-2 draw with the Dash.

I’m going to try to keep myself in check and not hand out a 10 to every player, because although the result was satisfying enough, the edges are still rough. There are plenty of opportunities for the Pride to play at greater heights.

Let’s get to work and talk about it.

Starters

GK, Haley Kopmeyer, 6 — Overall, it was a good shift for Kop. The first goal, she probably could have dove forward, rather than backward, and got her gloves on it. The second one was just a well-placed strike through traffic. Distribution was solid enough, and she finished the game with seven saves.

D, Erin Greening, 4.5 — This was a rough one for Greening. There weren’t many good looks forward from her, and defensively, Houston got the advantage a few times. The obvious moment worth mentioning is when Kealia Ohai burned past her in the 47th minute to put in the cross for the tap-in.

D, Morgan Reid, 4.5 — It was another surprisingly sub-par performance from someone I’ve seen as consistent since she started getting more minutes. A better effort on Ohai’s cross might have led to just a corner, instead of the equalizer. There were also several other moments where her touch or defense failed her and created opportunities for Houston.

D, Toni Pressley, 6.5 — Three clearances, three interceptions, and three blocks kept this game from getting out of hand. Her distribution was noticeably better than her previous outing, but it was her defensive effort that really impressed me in this one. Although the specific stats I mention aren’t huge my any means, it was more about what would have easily happened had she not been there to shut it down.

D, Carson Pickett, 6 — It was another solid night from one of the Pride’s more consistent players. Houston seemed content on playing the ball up and down the opposite side, which limited her involvement a bit, as did the lack of fouls won in dangerous areas to take advantage of her ability on set plays. A corner taken in the 24th minute was a great effort, but only found the cursed head of Rachel Hill.

MF, Joanna Boyles, 7 (PotM) — A low, sneaky free kick was all it took for Boyles to give the Pride the lead, and for another half hour she helped maintain that lead with steady ball movement and possession in the midfield. It seemed like Houston was getting comfortable in the 71st minute with its one-goal lead, but then she chipped the ball right to Danica Evans, who got the equalizer. A goal and an assist in the Pride’s first two-goal game of the year is noteworthy.

MF, Bridget Callahan, 5.5 — There wasn’t too much involvement from Callahan in 70 minutes of play. There seemed to be a real lack of hustle from her throughout the game, and no matter how the team shifted, she seemed to enter the frame just a bit late.

MF, Dani Weatherholt, 6 — Consistency is the word of the week, and Dani was a large part of that. She had a good game swinging the ball left or right into space and winning the ball in the 70th minute to get it to the attack led to the Pride’s second goal of the night.

MF, Chioma Ubogagu, 6.5 — In Chi’s 50th appearance for the Pride, she did some work. To me, it was her best game of the season. She put in a lot of work up and down the left side and most of the attacks involved her at some point. In the 52nd minute, she put a ball perfectly to Hill who just had to extend her foot for the tap-in.

MF, Abby Elinsky, 5.5 — You always seem to see great effort from Abby, but Houston did a good job of making her cover a lot of ground for nothing, which may be something to keep an eye on going forward as opponents start to key in on that. She stopped an attack in the box in the 32nd minute, but what’s worth noting is she did almost an entire lap around the field to end up where she was close to starting. If she can keep the pace, I suppose that’ll work a lot of the time but we’ll see.

F, Rachel Hill, 5 — I’ve seen quite a few jokes about Hill being cursed this year, but I’m starting to believe it. I’m not sure another player in the league has had this many looks and not produced for a myriad of reasons. Perhaps it’s time to take some of the pressure off her and return her to a super-sub role until she gets back to her scoring ways.

Substitutes

MF, Marisa Viggiano (60’), 5.5 — Viggiano was slightly above average on the night, just because of the minimal impact. She put a decent cross into the box a few minutes after coming on, but Chi couldn’t get enough on it for it to matter. She did get a yellow in the 66th minute for standing there, which is hard to do!

F, Danica Evans (70’), 7 — It took nine games for the Pride to have an impact from a sub, and it didn’t take long. It was only 47 seconds from the moment she stepped onto the field to the moment the ball went into goal. She tried to put a second one in nine minutes later, but the angle was just a bit too sharp. Head Coach Marc Skinner has some interesting choices to make in the near future.

F, Caitlin Farrell (90’), N/A — I’ve got to see more than a few minutes from Caitlin. We’ve got no fewer than three more games before the internationals make their way back, so if the bench players are fit, I’m ready to see what they can do for longer periods.

Like I said earlier, it was a satisfying result, especially if it means the Pride are on an upward trend. As always, let me have it down below if you have a different perspective, and vote for your Pride Player of the Match!

Polling Closed