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Orlando Pride vs. Portland Thorns: Final Score 2-1 as Pride Extend Unbeaten Streak to Three

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3 years ago

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The Orlando Pride hosted the Portland Thorns and came away with a 2-1 victory in front of 3,407 fans in Exploria Stadium. Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux both scored for the Pride (2-0-1, 7 points) for the second straight game, as Orlando’s undefeated streak to start the season stretched to three matches (2-0-1). The Pride temporarily move into first place in the league, albeit with an extra game played, by beating the Thorns (1-2-0, 3 points) for just the second time in the all-time series.

“I think tonight’s win is bigger than a result on a field,” Orlando Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner said after the game. “It’s a moment when a group are choosing to come together and choosing that their destiny lays within their own hands. And they’re putting performances on where we might not necessarily be the best footballing team at times but we are grinding together, we are working together, and those are the foundations we want in order to have the football future we know we’re going to have.”

The Pride came out with exactly the same lineup as they used Saturday night at North Carolina, save for goalkeeper. Ashlyn Harris went back into the net for Erin McLeod. The rest of the XI was unchanged and can be viewed below.

It was all Portland to start the match. Orlando had a few moments, but the Thorns were mainly in control. Orlando looked content to sit a bit deader and defend.

The first real chance for the Pride came in the 19th minute. Marta used some superb footwork to create space and sent in a cross. Taylor Kornieck headed it to the back post, but it sailed just a bit wide.

Minutes later, Kornieck and Morgan connected on a likely NWSL Goal of the Week candidate. Kornieck flicked the ball over the Thorns’ defense. Morgan picked her head up and smashed the ball into the far netting for the match’s first goal. It was Morgan’s third consecutive game with a goal.

“Taylor has an immense ability with the football,” said Skinner. “She’s gonna get better. I mean, if you see the goal — she’s chipped the ball over in a 15-yard (area), with the right spin, the right distance, so that Alex [Morgan] can let the ball come across a body to finish it like she did. So, it’s the detail of that quality that she has that you wouldn’t expect for somebody who’s so tall.”

Crystal Dunn had a chance to get Portland on the board in the 32nd minute. The ball went off of Phoebe McClernon, and Dunn was there to pick it up. The USWNT regular should have done better with the chance, but Harris was still forced to make a good save.

Portland found the equalizer in the 42nd minute. Natalia Kuikka won back the ball for the visitors and sent a perfect cross to the back post. Simone Charley jumped before Ali Riley could and headed it past Harris to bring the score level at 1-1.

“We weren’t happy with the press. We weren’t happy with the pressure and the time that they got. We weren’t happy with the give-and-go aspects that they had,” said Skinner. “And look, it’s a great header. She’s jumped early. It’s a wonderful, wonderful header. But we’ve got to stop the ball coming into the box.”

That was the end of the half. Portland dominated possession early on, but things evened out. Orlando ended the half with 47% of the ball. The Thorns had more shots (9-3) and shots on goal (5-1) than Orlando. The Pride did well on the counter and were threatening in the final third.

“There was some yelling, there was some anger,” said Leroux about what happened at halftime. “We knew that we had to come out and we had to come out strong and early. It always feels good to get a goal early and then you’re able to play a little bit more. So, we were on the front foot for, I mean, the 45th minute on.”

The Pride came out of the half on the front foot. After a long ball forward, Leroux was fighting for the ball with Kelli Hubly. Hubly won the battle, got the ball, and dribbled back towards her own net. Running out of options, it appeared Hubly would try to send the ball back to goalkeeper Adrianna Franch. But Leroux got to the ball first, sliding and stabbing the ball past Franch and into the net. Orlando took a 2-1 lead.

Portland almost equalized moments later. Halftime substitute Sophia Smith had space inside the box. She fired a shot that had Harris beat but also went wide of the post.

Portland kept the pressure on the Pride. The Thorns were unable to get past Orlando’s back line, as McClernon and Ali Krieger defended well and kept the Thorns attackers in check.

As the half went on, Portland made more and more attacking substitutions and forced the Pride to defend closer to their goal. Orlando had fewer opportunities on the counter as a result.

“Of course, we took some pressure in maybe the last 20 minutes. But I think we dealt with it well and our defense has been great,” Leroux said.

Ally Haran came in for Marta in the 85th minute. This was Haran’s regular season debut for the Pride. She dropped in at center back, and Orlando played with a back five to see the match out. Everyone was back defending for Orlando, except for Morgan, who remained at the halfway line for a potential counter opportunity.

“Yeah, it’s really tough, especially when you go into a back five,” said Krieger about handling Portland’s pressure. “You need to really focus and you need to be prepared for different players running in. You have, you know, their three 10s running into pockets and you have their wide players dumping balls into the box. So, you have to be in the right spots and make sure that you’re covering for each other, you’re holding the line, you’re dropping together. It’s a lot of little details that you have to focus on. And I think we did a great job.”

The referee awarded six minutes of stoppage time. The majority of it was played in Orlando’s half. Harris killed as much time as she could when Orlando had goal kicks, and after almost seven and a half minutes of stoppage time, the match ended, and Orlando beat the Thorns, improving to just 2-9-1 in the all-time series and scoring more than one goal against Portland for just the third time in their 12 meetings.

Portland dominated the stat sheet. The Thorns had more shots (21-12), shots on target (8-3), duels won (59-56), passes (428-355), and possession (55%-45%) than Orlando.

The Pride are back in action on Sunday at home against Kansas City at 6 p.m.

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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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4 hours ago

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November 30, 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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2023 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Haley McCutcheon

The veteran fullback logged a lot of minutes for the Pride in 2023.

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1 day ago

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November 29, 2023

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Haley McCutcheon was still known as Haley Hanson when she joined the Orlando Pride on Aug. 18, 2022 in a midseason trade with the Houston Dash. The Pride gave up $75,000 in Allocation Money and a second-round draft selection. She joined Orlando for the stretch run, making her debut with the Pride on Aug. 20 in a 2-1 win over Gotham FC. Following the 2022 season, the Nebraska product signed a new contract through 2024 on Oct. 26 of last year.

Let’s look back at McCutcheon’s second year with the Pride.

Statistical Breakdown

The 27-year-old appeared in every one of the Pride’s 22 regular-season games, starting each of them, and was only subbed out twice all year. She logged 1,955 minutes this season, which was third most on the Pride behind only almost-an-iron-woman Emily Madril (1,977) and Kylie Strom (1,967). In other words, McCutcheon played 98.7% of all possible minutes for Orlando during the NWSL regular season. She scored one goal but did not assist on one, despite providing 15 key passes on the year. The defender attempted 17 shots, five of which were blocked and four were on target. She completed 504 of her 716 pass attempts (70.4%), but just 20.8% of her long passes, and nine of her 40 crosses were successful. In her own end, McCutcheon completed 77.6% of her passes but only 59.8% in the attacking half. Defensively, McCutcheon contributed 10 blocks and 18 interceptions while winning tackles at a 56.9% rate, duels at a 58.3% rate, and aerial duels at a 62.7% clip. Surprisingly, she did not tally a single clearance all season. McCutcheon conceded 18 fouls while winning only eight, and she was not booked.

In NWSL Challenge Cup play, McCutcheon appeared in four of the team’s six matches, starting two, and logging 233 minutes. She did not score or assist on a goal, attempting two shots and getting one on frame. Her passing rate in the competition was just 67.6%, and she was successful on 40% of her long passes while logging three key passes and going 1-for-4 on cross attempts. She completed 70.4% of her pass attempts in the defensive half and 62.7% in the attacking half. On defense, McCutcheon contributed two blocks and two interceptions while winning her tackles at a 75% rate, 77.3% of her duels, and 75% of her aerial duels. She conceded two fouls while winning one and was not booked.

Best Game

McCutcheon’s best match came back on April 29 in the Pride’s 3-1 win over the San Diego Wave at Snapdragon Stadium. She tied season highs in shots (2) and shots on target (1), passed at a 90.5% rate, and made three tackles. Those are all good things, but it gets better. In this match, McCutcheon scored her first goal with the Pride and her only goal of the season, and it proved to be the game-winning strike. And what a strike it was! With the ball on the other side of the field, McCutcheon made a smart run on the back side. Midfielder Viviana Villacorta spotted the run and delivered an excellent, long, diagonal ball into the area for her. But McCutcheon still had a lot to do. She put her head on it and powered it over the goalkeeper and inside the far post to give the Pride their first lead of the season.

The Pride added another goal and went on to grab their first win of the 2023 season. That sparked a 3-0-1 run in league play and got Orlando going in a season that came down to Decision Day.

2023 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave McCutcheon a composite rating of 6 out of 10 for her 2023 season, which is a slight improvement over her score of 5 last season. She was a good facilitator down the right side of the pitch and could fill in at times in the midfield with her versatility. Where she continued to struggle at times was with her 1-v-1 defending down the Pride’s right side and with her crossing accuracy at times.

2024 Outlook

As mentioned above, McCutcheon is on a deal through the 2024 season and since the Pride are safe from the NWSL Expansion Draft, the only way she wouldn’t be back is via trade or transfer. I expect her back in purple next year as she’s a versatile player who can fill in at multiple spots and she is obviously valued by the club, playing a lot of minutes and even wearing the captain’s armband five times during the 2023 NWSL campaign and twice in the Challenge Cup.

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2023 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Erika Tymrak

The veteran midfielder completed her third season in Orlando purple.

Published

2 days ago

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November 28, 2023

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Veteran midfielder Erika Tymrak signed a two-year deal with the Pride on Dec. 9, 2022, in order to stay in Orlando through the 2024 season. The Pride originally acquired the rights to Tymrak from Kansas City, along with midfielder Gunny Jónsdóttir, on Jan. 30, 2021. In exchange, the Pride gave up the rights to Kristen Edmonds and a second-round draft pick. Tymrak had retired in January of 2020 but decided to return to her pro career, and the Pride signed her to a contract on Feb. 5, 2021, just days after acquiring her rights. The Pride picked up Tymrak’s 2022 contract option following the 2021 season before re-signing her to her current contract.

Let’s look back at Tymrak’s third year with the Pride.

Statistical Breakdown

The 32-year-old appeared in 13 matches, starting 10 and playing 806 total minutes in the NWSL regular season. She was subbed off every time she started. Tymrak did not score a goal in 2023 but did contribute three assists on 21 key passes. Of her 11 shots on the season, she put just three of them on target while three others were blocked. She passed at a 73.4% rate, completing 174 of 237, connected six times on 12 long passes, and was successful twice on five total crosses. In her own half, her passing was better (85%) than in the attacking half (65.1%), as is typical of most players. Defensively, Tymrak won eight of 17 tackles (47.1%), 40 of 93 duels (43%), and just one of nine aerial duels (11.1%). She tallied three interceptions on the year. Tymrak won 14 fouls from the opposition while committing only four and was not booked on the season.

In the NWSL Challenge Cup, Tymrak appeared in all six of Orlando’s games, starting four, and playing 337 minutes. Again, she was subbed off every time she started. She did not score a goal but contributed one assist on four key passes. Tymrak attempted two shots in the competition. Neither was on goal and one was blocked. During the tournament, Tymrak passed at just a 64.9% rate on 74 attempts, was accurate just 33.3% of the time on six long passes, and went 0-for-3 on crosses. She connected on 81.5% of her passes in the defensive half and 43.5% in the attacking half. The Detroit native and University of Florida product recorded five interceptions on the defensive end, won two of three tackle attempts (66.7%), and won 19 of 42 duels (45.2%). She did not win any of her four aerial duels (0%). Tymrak won 11 fouls from the opposition while committing just two and was not booked.

Best Game

There were some good ones to choose from, but I’ll say Tymrak’s best match came on July 1 against the Washington Spirit on the road — a dominant 3-0 Pride victory. Tymrak started and played a season-high 89 minutes (tied with her next outing on July 7 against OL Reign and the April 15 game against Gotham FC). Her big moment in the match was providing the pass that set up this beauty of a goal from Julie Doyle that allowed Orlando to take full control of the match:

Tymrak also drew two fouls on the Spirit in the match and helped her teammates control the game. With the win, the Pride swept the season series from the Spirit.

2023 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Tymrak a composite rating of 5.5 out of 10. This is the same score she received from us for her 2022 season after securing a 6.5 in her first year with Orlando in 2021. Tymrak is a savvy veteran who can read the game well. She doesn’t produce much in the way of offense but she’s helpful with possession, facilitating between the defensive and offensive players around her on the pitch. She has a role on the team and is a useful player to have around to provide depth at this stage of her career.

2024 Outlook

Tymrak is signed through the 2024 season, so it’s likely she’ll occupy a similar role on the Pride next year — a reliable and versatile midfielder off the bench who can find teammates in the attack. Unless the Pride’s shooters are more lethal in 2024, I wouldn’t expect her assist numbers to go up, but perhaps she can find the net herself once or twice next season.

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