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Orlando Pride vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, NWSL Challenge Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

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Welcome to your match thread as the Orlando Pride (0-0-1, 1 point) take on NJ/NY Gotham FC (0-0-0, 0 points) at Exploria Stadium. This is the Pride’s second match in the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup, and Gotham’s first.

History 

The Pride hold the all-time advantage in the series, 5-3-3. The teams did not play in 2020. The last meeting came back on Sep. 29, 2019, when Gotham was then known as Sky Blue FC. Shelina Zadorsky finished from close range after a free kick from Claire Emslie to open the scoring. It looked like the Pride would get a season sweep, but Carli Lloyd headed home a corner to tie the game at 1-1.

Earlier that year on June 22, 2019, Orlando entered the game riding a 15-match winless streak that dated back to 2018. Two penalty kicks and an own goal decided this match, and the Pride finally won, 2-1

A month later on July 20, 2019, the teams met again. With the third-largest attendance for a Pride home game and the largest since the 2017 home opener, Orlando beat Sky Blue, 1-0. Marisa Viggiano, who created the game-winning own goal in the previous match against Sky Blue, got her first professional goal with the game-winner.  

The Pride only beat Sky Blue once in 2018. That win came on June 16, when Orlando edged out the New Jersey side, 3-2. Sydney Leroux recorded a first-half brace, and Rachel Hill scored the late game-winner.

The teams played to a 2-2 draw on Aug. 5 of that year as well. After a scoreless first half, Marta put away a rebound after Dani Weatherholt’s shot hit the post at the beginning of the second half. Two minutes later, Imani Dorsey tied the game and six minutes after that, Shea Groom gave Sky Blue its first lead of the season in any match. In the 73rd minute, Camila drew a foul during a run into the box. The referee played advantage when Weatherholt ended up with the ball, and she put the ball in the back of the net. Marta missed what would have been the game-winning penalty in stoppage time.

Sky Blue won in the last game of that season against Orlando. Carli Lloyd scored the game’s only goal, as the New Jersey side won 1-0

Orlando had the edge in 2017. The Pride lost the first meeting, but then followed that up by winning the next two matches by a combined score of 8-2. In Orlando’s inaugural season, the teams played in back-to-back games, and Orlando failed to win either. The teams drew 1-1 on Sept. 7, 2016 — the first draw in Pride history— and then Sky Blue won 2-1 three days later.


Overview

The Orlando Pride could temporarily move to the top spot in the East division with a win. Orlando will be the only team to play multiple games after tonight. If Gotham wins, it will be tied for first in the division with the North Carolina Courage.

As a reminder, the Challenge Cup has two divisions — East and West. Each team plays each other in their division. The top team from each division will then play each other in the final.

The Pride drew Racing Louisville FC over the weekend 2-2. Orlando was poor for much of the game, but vastly improved in the second half. Seven players made their Orlando Pride debuts in that match — Ali Riley, Phoebe McClernon, Jade Moore, Meggie Dougherty Howard, Taylor Kornieck, Erika Tymrak, and Abi Kim.

Kornieck was one of the best players on the field, and opened her NWSL scoring account with a powerful header in the first half. The rookie also picked up a yellow card and must now be careful. If any player gets two yellow cards in two separate matches they will be suspended for one match.

Gotham has yet to play a game in the Challenge Cup. The team was dismal in past years but has steadily made improvements in the organization. Gotham is now a formidable opponent and it should be a tough game for the Pride.

“I think we’re put at a little bit of a disadvantage again because we’ve got a team that hasn’t played so we don’t get any video on them,” said Skinner after training on Monday. “They get a head start. They haven’t played, so they’re fresh. So, it’s the way that we shoot that lens. We’ve played now so we’ve got experienced of playing, so hopefully that will show. We can be a little bit sharper. We can set the tone within our backyard because being in Orlando will be special for us and there’s no doubt about that.”

Orlando fell into some injury issues over the weekend, with a few players picking up some knocks. Riley has a few gashes under her knee due to a challenge that was shockingly only a yellow card. Moore and Dougherty Howard are both nursing injuries as well, but Skinner said that they should be available for selection.

The Pride will definitely be without Alex Morgan (USA), goalkeeper Erin McLeod (CAN), and midfielder Gunny Jónsdóttir (ICE) due to international duty. Crystal Thomas is out with a right hamstring injury. Dougherty Howard is listed as questionable on this week’s injury report.

Kailen Sheridan (right quad) and Kenie Wright (right knee) are out for Gotham with injuries. Estelle Johnson (CMR), Carli Lloyd (USA), Margaret Purce (USA), and Evelyne Viens (CAN) are on international duty.


Projected Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Ashlyn Harris.

Defenders: Ali Riley, Toni Pressley, Phoebe McClernon, Ali Krieger. 

Midfielders: Courtney Petersen, Marisa Viggiano, Jade Moore.

Forwards: Marta, Taylor Kornieck, Sydney Leroux.

Bench: Brittany Wilson, Ally Haran, Erika Tymrak, Chelsea Washington, Carrie Lawrence, Konya Plummer, Abi Kim.

NJ/NY Gotham FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper:  DiDi Haracic. 

Defenders: Imani Dorsey, Mandy Freeman, Gina Lewandowski, Erica Skroski. 

Midfielders: Nicole Baxter, Jennifer Cudjoe, Soham Lee.

Forwards: Nahomi Kawasumi, Ifeoma Onumonu, Paige Monaghan.

Bench: Dominique Richardson, Sabrina Flores, Caprice Dydasco, Elizabeth Eddy, Taylor Aylmer, Mandy McGlynn, Claire Winter. 

Referees

Ref: Natalie Simon.

AR1: Ashlee Varnson.

AR2: Melissa Beck.

4th: Alex Billeter.


How to Watch

Match Time: 7 p.m. (ET).

Venue: Exploria Stadium — Orlando, FL.

TV: CBS Sports Network.

Streaming: Twitch (International only). [Editor’s note: This story originally stated the match was going to stream domestically on Paramount+. That is not the case and we have removed that from the post. We apologize for the error.]

Twitter: For live updates, follow along at the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter feed (@ORLPride) and on The Mane Land’s Twitter (@TheManeLand).


Enjoy the match. Go Pride!

Orlando Pride

2023 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Anna Moorhouse

The 2023 NWSL season was Anna Moorhouse’s first as the Orlando Pride’s starting goalkeeper.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The 2023 NWSL season was Anna Moorhouse’s second with the Orlando Pride and her first as the team’s starting goalkeeper. She was originally signed prior to the 2022 season, backing up veteran Erin McLeod that year. However, the Canadian international left the team, resulting in Moorhouse taking over the starting role.

Let’s take a look at Moorhouse’s first season starting for the Pride.

Statistical Breakdown

Moorhouse started 19 of the team’s 22 regular-season games, playing 1,623 minutes. The team’s record in those games was 9-9-1, as she conceded 22 goals, saving 72 of her 94 shots faced (76.6%). She ended the year with seven clean sheets, 19 catches, six punches, and four drops. The Pride’s number one completed 387 of her 573 passes (67.5%) out of the back and 115 of her 292 long balls. The passing accuracy in her own half was 79.1% and 32.4% in the opposing half. She conceded one foul and won two, getting sent off in the third minute of the team’s 1-0 loss to OL Reign on Sept. 3.

The English shot stopper also played in four Challenge Cup games, recording 360 minutes. She conceded 10 goals in the competition with no clean sheets and saved 13 of her 23 shots faced (56.5%). Moorhouse had three catches, one punch, and no drops in the secondary competition. She successfully completed 69 of her 111 passes (62.2%) and 29 of her 68 long passes (42.6%). Similar to the regular season, her pass completion percentage was far higher in her own half (76.4%) than in the opposing half (35.9%). Additionally, she won a foul and didn’t concede any.

Best Game

Moorhouse’s most active game was the season opener against the Portland Thorns, where she faced 27 shots and made 12 saves. However she conceded four goals and one was her fault. Her best game of the year came on Oct. 2 in Los Angeles and it was a critical one. Adriana scored in the 22nd minute against Angel City FC to give the Pride a 1-0 lead and the visitors held on for dear life to claim three points that put them in the running for a playoff spot.

One of Moorhouse’s seven clean sheets, the goalkeeper made seven saves on the night, her second-most of the season. Most of Angel City’s shots were right at the goalkeeper, but she was sure-handed, something that plagued her earlier in the year. In the 57th minute, Claire Emslie beat Haley McCutcheon to the ball inside the six-yard box, but Moorhouse was decisive in coming out, forcing the forward to send her shot into the side netting. Her biggest moment of the game came in the 86th minute, when substitute Sydney Leroux got her head on the ball and put it on target. Moorhouse tipped the attempt over the crossbar, maintaining the Pride’s narrow 1-0 lead.

2023 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Moorhouse a composite grade of 6 out of 10 for the 2023 NWSL season. Shot stopping was her strength, but she struggled at other aspects, especially holding onto the ball. On multiple occasions this season, her inability to hold onto a catch resulted in second chances and goals for the opposition. She struggled in the team’s penultimate game against Racing Louisville, effectively ending the Pride’s season, and her third-minute red card against OL Reign was likely a determining factor in a crucial 1-0 loss. However, she had seven clean sheets on the season and was the team’s best goalkeeper.

2024 Outlook

Moorhouse’s initial contract was a two-year deal, running through the 2023 season. While there were questions about her dependability in goal this season, Seb Hines and Haley Carter were pleased with her performances, awarding her with a new contract on Oct. 5, keeping the goalkeeper in purple through at least the 2025 season. The Pride now have four goalkeepers under contract for next year, and Moorhouse will be challenged for her role as the starter by new signing Sofia Manner.


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Orlando Pride Sign Finnish Goalkeeper Sofia Manner

The Pride have added a fourth goalkeeper and the second one from abroad ahead of the 2024 NWSL season.

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Image courtesy of the Orlando Pride and FC Honka

The Orlando Pride announced today the signing of goalkeeper Sofia Manner, who was acquired for an undisclosed transfer fee from FC Honka of Finland’s top flight, the Kansallinen Liiga. Manner has signed a two-year contract through the 2025 season with a club option for 2026. The signing is a bit curious as it comes less than two months after the Pride extended English goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse through the 2025 season, giving Orlando two international goalkeepers and four total netminders under contract.

“I am immensely grateful for this opportunity to join Orlando Pride, a team I have admired since my youth,” Manner said in a club press release. “It has been a lifelong dream of mine to contribute to such a renowned organization in women’s soccer. The prospect of starting this journey fills me with great enthusiasm, and I am eagerly looking forward to bringing my passion and dedication to the team. I’m ready to put in hard work and help write a new chapter for the Orlando Pride.” 

Manner, who turned 26 on Nov. 9, conceded the fewest goals in the Kansallinen Liiga this season and is a nominee for the league’s Best Player and Goalkeeper of the Year awards. She appeared in 23 matches and earned 10 clean sheets across all competitions, was twice named the league’s Goalkeeper of the Month this season, and was Player of the Month in April.

“Sofia is a tremendous addition to our goalkeeping corps and one we expect to challenge for the starting position,” Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Haley Carter said. “She brings an underdog mentality and gritty work ethic and fits every aspect of the profile we have built for our goalkeepers. Her size, aerial ability, shot-stopping prowess, and distribution are world class. She brings international experience and has led the Kansallinen Liiga in nearly every goalkeeping metric. Her nominations for Goalkeeper of the Year and Best Player are indicative of her winning mentality and drive to be the best. We are excited to bring her to Orlando and to give her an opportunity to prove herself in our environment and in the NWSL.” 

The shot stopper has experience playing in the United States, having played collegiately with Stony Brook University. She compiled a 1.14 career goals-against average across three seasons, which is fourth-best in Seawolves’ history. Her 20 shutouts ranks third in program history, and she compiled a .796 save percentage, which is ninth best all time.

While at Stony Brook, Manner was named America East Freshman of the Year in 2017, was a first-team all-conference selection in 2019, and was the conference’s Goalkeeper of the Year in 2018 and 2019. She started in every match in her final two seasons at Stony Brook, backstopping the Seawolves to an America East conference championship in 2019 and a regular-season title in 2018.

What It Means for Orlando

The Pride currently have four goalkeepers under contract: 2023 starter Anna Moorhouse (through 2025), backup Carly Nelson (through 2024), third keeper Kaylie Collins (through 2024), and now Manner (through 2025). Collins is on loan with Western Sydney Wanderers FC of the A-League Women in Australia. Four goalkeepers will provide spirited competition in preseason camp, to be sure, but it’s likely that one of these players will be on the move at some point.

If Manner wins the starting goalkeeper spot from Moorhouse, it may be for reasons other than stopping shots. Moorhouse did a good enough job of that, but often struggled with balls in from the wings, which was illustrated in the Pride’s penultimate game of the year — a must-win match at Racing Louisville — when a routine-looking corner kick cross appeared to be easily catchable, but Moorhouse went for a punch instead and knocked the winning goal for Louisville into her own net. That dropped point in the standings put Orlando in jeopardy on Decision Day and indeed the Pride beat Houston but missed the postseason on goal differential. It was a crucial point dropped.

That wasn’t Moorhouse’s only major error on the season, as she set an NWSL record with the earliest sending off in league history with her third-minute red card at OL Reign on Sept. 3 — a match the Pride lost 1-0 while playing one player short for 87 minutes plus stoppage. She has also frequently spilled crosses and shots from distance.

Orlando needed to upgrade the position. Whether Manner is an upgrade remains to be seen, but as Carter said, she is expected to compete for the starting spot. If nothing else, the competition should be good for the Pride. If Manner does take the starting position, it seems logical that the club will look to move either Moorhouse or Nelson.

The goalkeeper position will provide one of the Pride’s most intriging camp battles.

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2023 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Kylie Strom

The veteran defender was a consistent starter for the Pride in 2023.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

The Orlando Pride signed Kylie Strom from Atletico Madrid on July 5, 2021 to a two-year contract with an option for 2023. Previously, Strom spent time with the Boston Breakers, FFC Frankfurt II in Germany, and Sparta in the Czech Women’s League. The Pride exercised her option prior to the 2023 season. Strom played a much bigger role for the Pride in 2023. 

Let’s take a look at the defender’s 2023 season with the Orlando Pride.

Statistical Breakdown

Strom appeared in 22 regular-season matches, starting all 22, for a total of 1,967 minutes. She scored one goal on six shots, putting one on target. She provided one assist and made 17 key passes. Strom completed 590 of her 880 total passes (67%). She was accurate on 58.7% of her passes in the opponent’s half, and went 73.8% in her own half. She was 29 of 106 on her long passes (27.4%). She also completed seven of her 36 crosses. Defensively, she logged 34 interceptions and 10 blocks, won 43 of her 81 tackles (53.1%), won 181 of her 291 duels (62.2%), and won 39 of her 64 aerial duels (60.9%). She also committed 18 fouls, suffered 42 fouls, and was not booked.

The 31-year-old made four appearances in NWSL Challenge Cup play, starting four games and playing 314 total minutes. Strom did not score any goals but took two shots with one on target. She attempted three crosses (one successful), and registered no assists. Strom completed 93 of her 134 total passes (69.4%). She was accurate on 61.8% of her passes in the opponent’s half, and 75.8% in her own half.  Strom was 11 of 19 on her long passes (57.9%), and made two key passes. Defensively, she made three blocks and eight interceptions, and won eight of her 10 tackles (80%), 29 of her 46 duels (63%), and eight of her 10 aerial duels (80%). She also committed five fouls, suffered five fouls, and was not booked.

Best Game

Strom’s best match was the 2-1 win over the Washington Spirit on May 20. She scored her only goal of the season on a header at the back post in the 77th minute to give the Pride the win. It was the type of goal that you want from defenders and it came at just the right time.

Strom played the full 90 minutes and she was active in both the defensive and offensive aspects of the match. She nearly put Messiah Bright in on goal but it was knocked out for a corner. Her goal came on three shots with one on target. She also completed 15 of her 30 passes (50%) on 52 touches, committed no fouls, suffered three fouls, and was not booked.

2023 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Strom a composite rating of 6 for the 2023 season. Strom received a grade of 4.5 in 2022 due to being a part of a defense that gave up 45 goals with a -23 goal differential. That is a big year-over-year improvement for the defender and part of that is the defense as a whole was better. Strom also did well individually though she had a bad habit of cheaply giving the ball away in her own half. She previously received an incomplete during what was a rough stretch run in 2021 after joining the club midseason.

2024 Outlook

Strom is out of contract and will be 32 years old prior to the 2024 season starting. She’s also a free agent. Despite that, it’s very possible she is back with the Pride next season unless additional defensive signings are made. It would mean a new contract, but given she started every regular season match in 2023 and finished second only to Emily Madril in minutes played, Seb Hines evidently has faith in her ability to contribute.


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