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Orlando Pride vs. Chicago Red Stars: Final Score 1-0 as Pride Drop Final Game of 2021

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5 years ago

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The Orlando Pride (7-10-7, 28 points) fell 1-0 to the Chicago Red Stars (11-8-5, 38 points) tonight in the final game of the season. Kealia Watt’s 65th-minute strike was the difference between the two teams as Orlando finished the season with a fifth consecutive loss.

The Pride came into this game shorthanded, as they were missing multiple key contributors. Marta (right knee), Meggie Dougherty Howard (right foot), Taylor Kornieck (right ankle), Ashlyn Harris (right hip), and Ali Krieger (right knee) were left out of the team. Amy Turner (right calf) was listed as questionable and was on the bench.

“Some of it was medically related,” interim head coach Burleigh said about players missing from the lineup. “And that international break, the travel doesn’t really help people like Marta and Emily (van Egmond). That was tough. That’s a long haul to go halfway around the world and then return two days before you play.”

The Red Stars controlled this game from the beginning, with the Pride not getting their first shot until the closing minutes of the first half. If not for some strong defending in the box, the final score could’ve been much more lopsided than it eventually was.

Chicago’s attack started in the eighth minute when the always dangerous Mallory Pugh found some space at the top of the box. She fired a shot but it was weak and wide of the target. 

Shortly after, Watt carried the ball to the end line, beating Kylie Strom. She played a dangerous ball to the middle of the box, but didn’t have any teammates inside the 18.

The Pride should’ve had their first opportunity in the 10th minute when Alex Morgan received the ball about 35 yards away from goal. She had plenty of space to collect the ball and dribble in on goal, but her poor touch resulted in a quick loss of possession. It was one of many chances blown by poor touches from the front three.

In the 15th minute, Courtney Petersen sent a great ball into the box toward Jodie Taylor. The English striker went up for it but the taller and stronger Arin Wright was able to head it away, ending the Pride’s last good chance of the game’s early stages.

Following the Petersen cross, the Red Stars took control. In the 23rd minute, Pugh had a second chance from the top of the box. This time she made a strong connection and nearly beat Erin McLeod to the near post. Fortunately, the ball just went wide, allowing the Pride to escape.

Watt had a pair of chances from outside of the box 10 minutes later. The first shot was wide of the target, but an inability to clear by the Pride gave her a second chance. This time, she got her shot on frame, but it was right at McLeod, who made the easy catch.

The Pride were outshot 10-0 before finally getting a chance on goal in the 37th minute. A free kick landed at the feet of Marisa Viggiano who fired on goal, but her shot was blocked.

Despite being thoroughly outplayed, the Pride were able to create multiple chances in the final minutes of the first half. After receiving the ball from Strom in the 43rd minute, Taylor’s first touch was a backheel to Gunny Jonsdottir darting past. The midfielder aimed toward the far post but the ball rolled just wide of the target.

Two minutes later, a Petersen cross was misplayed by Cassie Miller, who had come off her line to punch it out. Morgan had challenged for the ball but couldn’t find it after coming down. She was the first to the ball but it Wright bothered her just enough to force her to tap it wide of goal.

It was a dominating first half by Chicago, which led in shots (10-3), shots on goal (2-0), corners (1-0), crosses (4-2), and passing accuracy (81.1%-80.8%). The Pride did have more possession (57.2%-42.8%), but most of it was in a neutral part of the field.

The Pride were outplayed in the first half and things didn’t change when they came out of the break. The Red Stars’ first second-half chance came in the 49th minute when Pugh sent a corner kick into the box. Wright charged into the box and beat McLeod to the ball, but headed it over the crossbar.

Two minutes later, Pugh kept it herself when she found space at the top of the box. Shielding Viggiano, she was able to get a shot on target. However, she was dribbling away from goal and the shot didn’t cause any trouble for McLeod.

Former Pride forward Rachel Hill entered the game at halftime and started to make her presence known in the 60th minute. After carrying the ball to the end line, Hill sent a low ball back across goal. It looked as though Watt would get on the end of it but just missed and Ali Riley was able to clear.

In the 63rd minute, Hill was on the end of a cross, which she was able to head toward the far post. There was no way that McLeod could get to the well-flicked header, but it went just wide of the post.

After 15 shots, the Red Stars were finally able to convert in the 65th minute. Morgan Gautrat found Watt just outside the box to the left of goal. The forward turned Riley to create space for a shot and fired toward the far post. The hard shot traveled beyond the outstretched arms of McLeod and into the far corner.

The Red Stars nearly doubled their lead in the 73rd minute when Watt was able to get behind the Pride back line. Phoebe McClernon was the last defender and made a great tackle at the top of the box to win the ball. Had McClernon not gotten the tackle right, it likely would’ve been a red card.

The Pride had one more quality chance to equalize in the 77th minute. Dribbling the ball into the box. Morgan found second-half substitute Abi Kim. However, before she could get a shot off, the ball was blocked out of play.

The ensuing corner was headed out but landed at the feet of Emily van Egmond. The Australian international quickly shot on goal from distance, but it was right at Miller, who made the stop. That long-distance strike was the Pride’s only shot on target in the game.

The 1-0 defeat brings a disappointing season to an end. Given that the Pride had already been eliminated from playoff contention and the Red Stars were fighting for a home game, the result could’ve been worse.

“I thought both (center backs McClernon and Toni Pressley) played an outstanding game.” Burleigh said after the game. “The partnership at center back that we hadn’t played before. So for them to do such a great job with that was a real credit to both of them. I thought in the first half, we had a hard time keeping the ball in the final third. Just couldn’t quite connect and, obviously, you have to give Chicago a little bit of credit for that too. It got a little bit better in the second half, but still not quite enough quality chances to be able to break through.”

In the end, the Red Stars had more shots (17-6), shots on target (4-1), corners (3-1), and duels won (43-42). The Pride had better passing accuracy (78.2%-74.6%) and more possession (57.1%-42.9%).

After getting off to a great start and a resurgence under Burleigh, the Pride ended the season in eighth place in the 10-team league.

“The most difficult part to wrap my mind around was the lack of results for us,” Burleigh said about the season. “But if you take that away, I think the experience was one that I really enjoyed.”

“We always kind of knew what our potential was,” McClernon added. “So it’s always disappointing not to meet the potential that you kind of knew you could, and even the level that we set early on in the season and the expectations we set early in the season. That’s always going to be a bummer. But I think we come away from this season with a lot. A lot of learning, a lot of experience for players like me, Taylor (Kornieck), Courtney (Petersen), which obviously is going to be huge in the future of the club. And I think all we can do kind of with this season is just take away learning moments.”

With the 2021 season now complete, the Pride will start its coaching search in earnest as Burleigh has already taken her name out of the running for the permanent job.

“With new ownership, new attitude, new outlook, and I think they need to find someone that has got a little bit longer term perspective,” Bureligh said about not wanting to continue next season. “That was never going to be me. And I think it will really be best for the organization to start building for the future.”

The 2022 season should be brighter as there aren’t any major international tournaments scheduled for next year. That means the team can keep its international stars for the majority of the season.

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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.

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3 days ago

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May 29, 2026

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Image of Barbra Banda celebrating her goal against Bay FC.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Justin Glatt

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.

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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.

Published

3 days ago

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May 29, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

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!

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Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Pride need to do to earn all three points against Bay FC?

Published

4 days ago

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May 28, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

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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