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Orlando Pride vs. San Diego Wave FC: Final Score 1-0 as Pride Extend Unbeaten Run to Six Games with Road Victory

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4 years ago

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The Orlando Pride (4-5-6, 18 points) held onto a one-goal lead for 67 minutes to beat San Diego Wave FC (7-5-4, 25 points), 1-0 at Torero Stadium in the first meeting ever between the two clubs. The hosts hit the woodwork three times, but the lone goal was a Meggie Dougherty Howard penalty conversion in the 23rd minute. 

Pride Interim Head Coach Seb Hines made two changes to the starting lineup that drew Angel City FC 2-2 last weekend. Carrie Lawrence was out due to concussion protocol and was replaced by Megan Montefusco, who returned from a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation. Additionally, Julie Doyle re-entered the lineup in place of Darian Jenkins.

As a result, the Pride lined up with a back line of Celia, Montefusco, Toni Pressley, and Kylie Strom in front of Erin McLeod. Dougherty Howard, Jordyn Listro, and Viviana Villacorta were in the midfield behind an attacking line of Kerry Abello, Doyle, and Erika Tymrak.

The game got off to a frantic start with the hosts having multiple early chances. Inside the first 30 seconds, Amirah Ali found herself with the ball right in front of goal when Strom’s wayward header fell at her feet. However, McLeod did well to get down and make a huge stop with her right leg. In the third minute, Ali sent a cross into the box looking for Kelsey Turnbow, but the ball was a bit too high for the forward. 

“Before the game started, we talked about how they were going to come out and stretch and, especially the first 10 minutes, it was going to be difficult to play,” Dougherty Howard said about the opening minutes. “But we needed to stay committed to our game plan and not get frustrated when the ball would bobble up or we’d have difficulty playing out and just stick with what we wanted to do. And I think things did settle down after that first initial period.”

The Pride got their first chance of the game in the fifth minute when Turnbow fouled Villacorta just outside of the San Diego box. Pressley and Villacorta stood over the ball but it was Dougherty Howard who took it. The Pride midfielder got the ball over the wall but it was just wide of the post. Even if it had been on target, it appeared as though Kailen Sheridan had it covered.

The Wave quickly pushed the other way and had their closest chance of the first half. Former Pride forward Taylor Kornieck sent a long ball for Alex Morgan, who was running alongside Montefusco. Morgan did well to shield the center back, creating a chance on goal. The former Pride star beat McLeod but the shot was off the post, allowing the Pride to escape the danger.

The Wave had another great chance in the ninth minute when the hosts had a three-on-two break. Morgan led the attack and had two teammates across from her, but decided to take the shot herself. It was probably an ill-advised decision as the shot skipped wide of the near post and out of play.

In the 22nd minute, Doyle attempted to cross the ball into the box from the left. Kaleigh Riehl attempted to block the cross, but it hit her outstretched arm. Referee Adorae Monroy didn’t hesitate to point to the spot as Riehl’s arm was clearly extended away from her body

It was only the second penalty this season for the Pride. The first was taken by Pressley after no other Pride players stepped up — something that resulted in Marta chastising her team after that game. This time, Dougherty Howard immediately grabbed the ball and walked to the spot. After a slight hesitation, Sheridan dove the right way, but it was an excellent penalty by Dougherty Howard, on the ground and just inside the post.

“I have kind of been preparing for that,” Dougherty Howard said about taking the penalty. “The last few weeks, if we have a penalty, that I was planning on taking it, so I’ve been training on them. Take some deep breaths, stay calm, and just know if you get it in a good spot, it’s going to be really hard to save. So I’m just trying to find a corner, stay calm, and thankfully it went in.”

It was Dougherty Howard’s second goal in her NWSL career and her first as a member of the Pride.

“If they’re on the field, if they’re feeling it,” Hines said about who would take the penalty. “Meggie was feeling it. She was practicing them yesterday. She stepped up and slotted it home. Can’t ask for more than that really.”

Following the goal, the game settled down and was mostly played in midfield. Both teams had excellent chances up to that point but few opportunities were created throughout the remainder of the first half.

In the 39th minute, Morgan cut back in the box to lose her defender. She should’ve been able to take the shot herself, but lost control for a brief moment and was forced to dump it back to Turnbow. It was a good opportunity for the forward but her shot was over the goal.

The Pride had a dangerous moment two minutes into injury time when a San Diego free kick sailed into the Pride box. Montefusco attempted to head it out but it glanced off the top and went right to Celia. The right back attempted to clear it but sent it towards her own goal. Morgan was on the chase but couldn’t get to it before the ball went out of play for a corner kick.

In the opening minutes, it looked like San Diego would dominate the game. However, the first half ended quite even. San Diego had more possession (53.3%-46.7%), shots (5-4), corner kicks (2-0), and crosses (10-3), but the teams had the same number of shots on goal (2-2). More importantly, the Pride had an attempt from the spot and took a one-goal advantage into the break.

San Diego players felt that they should’ve had a penalty five minutes into the second half. After Tymrak beat Turnbow, the Wave forward quickly won it back and sent the ball in for Morgan. Both Morgan and Montefusco went for the ball and it appeared as though Montefusco kicked the back of the striker. However, Monroy determined that there wasn’t enough contact for a foul.

The Pride nearly made a costly mistake in the 53rd minute when Katie Johnson sent the ball into the box. McLeod was too close to the near post, creating an open goal. Johnson was aiming for McNabb but Celia did well to cover the open space and clear it away.

In the 57th minute, a Kornieck shot created a little more chaos in the Pride box. Pressley tried to clear the ball, but her attempted clearance rolled back across the six-yard box. Fortunately, McLeod was in the right position this time and was able to jump on the ball.

In the 59th minute, Listro fouled Morgan as she was entering the box. It was close to being a penalty, but the contact was made just outside of the area. The ensuing free kick setup consisted of Turnbow and Emily van Egmond standing next to the ball as Morgan was just behind. Turnbow and van Egmond tapped it, allowing Morgan to run up and fire towards goal.

The ball slammed on the far post — the second time in the game that Morgan hit the woodwork — and went right to Kornieck in front of goal. The forward tried to put the rebound in, but Montefusco was there to block it out of play. The following corner found the head of Kornieck but her shot was wide and the Pride were able to clear.

In the 66th minute, Turnbow sent a cross into the box looking for Kornieck at the far post. Kornieck tried to lift her foot high enough to redirect it in. Had she knocked it down or directly ahead, it would’ve been an equalizer. However, the ball went straight up and over the crossbar.

Kornieck had a pair of chances in the 70th and 73rd minutes from Westphal corner kicks. The first one was right into the arms of McLeod and the second was just wide of the near post.

As time wound down, San Diego had the majority of the chances. In the 84th minute, a van Egmond cross found Morgan but her header wasn’t very strong, allowing the Pride to clear. In the 88th minute, Sofia Jakobsson stormed into the box. After fighting off Celia, she had contact with Jenkins. Both players went down and Jakobsson thought she earned a penalty, but a goal kick was awarded.

In the 89th minute, a van Egmond ball into the box was flicked on by Kornieck for Kristen McNabb. The defender headed it toward goal but couldn’t get it down enough as it bounced off the top of the crossbar. It was the third time in the game that San Diego had hit the woodwork.

“The post was one of our best players as well,” Hines said after the game. “But there’s been other games where we’ve not won games and we’ve dominated, so we probably deserved that luck today.”

Four minutes into injury time, McLeod was called upon for one more big save. A nice run by substitute Marleen Schimmer created a shot just outside the box. It was a hard, low shot on target but McLeod did well to get down and make the stop without allowing a rebound.

San Diego led most statistical categories, with more possession (55.8%-44.2%), shots (19-8), shots on target (6-2), corners (5-1), and crosses (22-8). However, the Wave hit the post twice and the crossbar once, allowing the Pride to hold on to win.

“This one was, I mean, it was massive,” Hines said about the win. “We’re running out of games as we’re coming towards the end of the season. You know, I’ve said from the start, we are reaching to get to playoffs and it’s really important that we start picking up wins and three points and what better way to do it with a 1-0 win away from home. So I’ll keep saying that we have to keep this momentum going. We have to look at the next game. Obviously enjoy the moment right now. But again, we’re looking forward, you know, to Gotham and then trying to get three points away from home again.”

“This team has been through a lot this year,” Montefusco added. “And to come out here and win like we did tonight. We played football, and we played great soccer tonight. And I’m just so proud of this team. It’s emotional honestly.”

The win extends the Pride’s unbeaten run to six games (2-0-4) dating back to the team’s 2-2 draw with Racing Louisville FC on July 3. Three of the team’s four wins have now come away from home.

“Honestly, I think it’s just we changed our mentality,” Montefusco said about winning the second game in this unbeaten run. “We know we’re the underdog but now we know we have it in us that we can do it. And we train so hard every single day. We train with that underdog mentality. And we put in so much work and, like I said, we’ve been through a lot, so I think we’ve had to have these hard conversations with each other which has brought us extremely close.”

The Pride are now even on points with Angel City FC for seventh in the NWSL. The Los Angeles-based club has two games in hand, but the Pride are only three points behind OL Reign for the final playoff spot, with both teams having played 15 games. Orlando will visit Gotham next Saturday.

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Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Final Score 2-0 As Pride Are Dominated In California

The Pride returned to action from the summer break, falling 2-0 to Angel City.

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2 days ago

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July 4, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride (5-6-2, 17 points) returned from their month-long World Cup break, falling 2-0 to Angel City FC (5-6-1, 16 points) at BMO Field in Los Angeles, CA. A first-half goal by Maiara Niehues and a second-half strike by Sveindis Jonsdottir was the difference, although the game was thoroughly dominated by the hosts.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines deployed his typical 4-2-3-1 formation in the team’s return to action. However, they were without Barbra Banda, who was out with a thigh injury. The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was made up of Kerry Abello, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, and Hailie Mace. Angelina and Ally Lemos were the defensive midfielders behind Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, and Luana with Julie Doyle up top.

This was one of the worst performances by the Pride this year. With Banda missing, the team was unable to get anything going offensively, alhough that might not have mattered as Orlando couldn’t get the ball out of its own end. The 2-0 scoreline is a generous one for the Pride, who could’ve easily lost by more.

Ally Sentnor, who joined Angel City during the break, tried to make something happen early during her debut. Inside the first minute, the U.S. international made a run to the top of the box before dribbling inside. The attacker struggled to find space before finally shooting, but Dyke was there to block the attempt.

The Pride had their first chance in the seventh minute when Rafaelle played a ball forward to Luana over the midfield stripe. The Brazilian took the space the defense gave her, dribbling near the top of the box before unleashing a shot. It initially appeared to be on target, but began curving, hitting the outside of the post and going out of play. That was about as close to scoring as Orlando came all night.

The hosts threatened to take the lead in the 14th minute when Jun Endo sent a dangerous ball into the six-yard box. Sentnor got on the end of it, but Dyke, Mace, and Moorhouse were all in front of the goal to keep it out.

Evelyn Shores received a pass on the left in the 17th minute before playing it to Endo, who was making an overlapping run. The Japanese international took a hard shot from a tight angle, but Moorhouse had her near post covered, catching the attempt.

In the 25th minute, Luana slid to keep possession from an Abello clearance, trying to play it back to McCutcheon. Unfortunately, it went straight to Jonsdottir instead. Jonsdottir immediately played the ball to Sentnor, who dribbled into the Pride box before sending a low shot wide of the far post.

Shores fought through a pair of defenders in the 31st minute to get the ball to Niehues. The Brazilian attempted a low cross that McCutcheon cleared but only to Shores at the top corner of the box. The left back took a touch around Mace to create space for a shot, sending her attempt over the target.

The Pride struggled to clear in the 35th minute when Sentnor played a ball to Endo, who was making an underlapping run. Angelina chested down Endo’s cross in an attempt to clear, but it didn’t go far. Gisele Thompson was able to tap it to Jonsdottir, whose shot went wide.

A minute later, the Pride were unable to clear again, resulting in the game’s opening goal. Dyke got in front of Thompson’s ball into the box, but she knocked it to Ary Borges, who took a shot that Dyke blocked again, but she failed to get it out of the box. The rebound fell straight to Niehues, who curled a shot out of Moorhouse’s reach and into the corner to give Angel City the 1-0 lead.

“You’ve got to defend the cross, so stop the cross. And then you’ve got to defend the cross, and we don’t quite clear our lines,” Hines said. “We talk about clearing it out of dangerous areas. It lands at Ary Borges. She has a shot, it deflects, and then we don’t close the next shot from Niehues. We speak about that a lot. The closer you are, the less chance they are of scoring, and we stood off them. They took that opportunity really well, but we feel that with our standard and our level, we should be doing better.”

The Pride continued to play on the back foot, defending desperately as Angel City created chances. In the 38th minute, Borges picked out Niehues near the top of the Pride box. The attacker shot as McCutcheon closed her down, sending her attempt wide of the near post.

Angel City continued on the attack, keeping the ball in the Pride half as they struggled to clear. In the 42nd minute, Jonsdottir tried to chip Moorhouse from outside the Pride box, but the Pride goalkeeper made the easy catch.

Angelina took the ball away from Borges in the first minute of first-half stoppage time 30 yards from goal. The midfielder lifted an overly ambitious attempt toward Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson for her team’s second shot of the game. However, it didn’t cause any trouble.

It was a dominant 45 minutes for Angel City. While the Pride had more possession (54%-46%), most of it was in their own half. The hosts had more shots (10-2), shots on target (3-0), crosses (10-3), and corner kicks (2-0). Both teams completed 77% of their passes in the first half.

Hines made a pair of changes during the break as his team looked to get back into the game. Marta and Nicole Payne entered the contest for Luana and Mace. Despite the changes, it was Angel City that continued to be the more threatening team.

A poor Orlando clearance in the 47th minute allowed Shores to keep the ball in the Pride third. She found Carina Lageyre near the top of the box, but the shot was right at Moorhouse.

The Pride won a throw-in in the 55th minute that quickly turned into a disaster. McCutcheon played the ball back for Rafaelle, who was immediately put under pressure from Jonsdottir. The Icelandic international blocked the defender’s pass and sprinted to the end line before beating Moorhouse from a tight angle to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

“It starts with a throw-in. So the ability to keep possession from a throw-in is really important,” Hines said. “You know, we have a couple of objectives from that, and it’s just details, right? Weighted pass, make your choice to the correct forward. If you’re going to go long, you’ll sort of take away the deflection from the forward. So yeah, another moment where we felt we’re in control, and we give them an opportunity to counter and go straight to goal from that.”

Hines made two more changes in the 62nd minute, replacing Abello and Ovalle with Zara Chavoshi and Solai Washington.

As the game entered the final 20 minutes, the Pride started to gain more possession and create more chances in the final third. However, they still were unable to create any clear-cut opportunities or cause Anderson any trouble.

In the 77th minute, a pass to Lemos hit the referee, causing a stoppage in play. Hines took the opportunity to make his final change, replacing Rafaelle with Hannah Anderson.

Neither team had taken a shot since the 55th-minute goal, when Angel City created a chance in the 78th minute. A long goal kick by Anderson bounced over Chavoshi’s head, allowing Endo to get into the Pride third. She shot from outside the box, forcing Moorhouse to dive to her right and make the stop.

The Pride finally got their first shot on target in the 80th minute when Washington flicked a long ball forward and fought through a pair of defenders. She dribbled into the box from the left and fired for the near post, where Anderson was waiting to block the ball out of play.

Anderson came out to punch away the ensuing corner kick, running over Chavoshi. The ball went toward her own goal, forcing Sarah Gorden to head it off the line. McCutcheon tapped the ball back to Angelina at the top of the box and the midfielder sent it back in. It fell for Anderson behind the back line at the top of the six-yard box, but Shores was able to stick a foot in and clear it over the end line. Angel City cleared the second corner kick and ended the threat.

As the game entered two minutes of stoppage time, Chavoshi sent a low cross to the top of the six, where Washington was making a run. The second-half substitute tried to backheel the ball on goal, not getting much on it and allowing Anderson to make the easy stop. That was the final chance for either team as Angel City saw out the victory.

The Pride ended the game with more possession (57%-43%) and better passing accuracy (79%-75%), but Angel City led in every other statistical category. The hosts had more shots (15-4), shots on target (6-1), crosses (18-11), and corner kicks (5-3).

“Never good enough to lose a game 2-0,” Hines said. “Two things in this league that you have to deal with, one is direct play. You have to deal with teams who are going to be really aggressive and try to get back to front really quickly. And you have to be prepared for transition. We can’t allow gifts in this league, and we gave Angel City two gifts. And they capitalized on those moments. We had some good possession, but didn’t create anything up until probably the last 10 minutes of the game.”

“Definitely frustrated, disappointed,” Dyke added. “We know that was nowhere near our best night, but we’ve just got to learn from it and then turn the page, because we know we have (another) big game coming up as well.”

The loss keeps the Pride in eighth, one point ahead of Angel City. To make matters worse, they’ve played a game or two more than all the teams around them, so they could fall down the standings in the near future.

The Pride will have to put this game behind them quickly as they return home to face the Kansas City Current on July 10.

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Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Pride return to action tonight as they head back to the West Coast to face Angel City in Los Angeles.

Published

2 days ago

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July 3, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Welcome to your match preview as the Orlando Pride (5-5-2, 17 points) return to action, facing Angel City FC (4-6-1, 13 points) in Los Angeles. This is the second and final time these two teams will meet during the 2026 NWSL regular season.

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

History

Angel City was one of the NWSL’s two expansion teams entering the league in 2022. As a result, the Pride have only played tonight’s opponents nine times. The Pride are 5-2-2 in those games, all in NWSL regular-season play. While the Pride are only 2-1-2 at home, they’re 3-1-0 in Los Angeles.

The most recent matchup between these two teams took place on April 3 in Orlando. Haley McCutcheon gave the Pride the lead in the 84th minute, but the game appeared headed for a devastating draw when Gisele Thompson equalized two minutes into stoppage time. However, McCutcheon came to the rescue again, scoring in the eighth minute of stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win for the hosts.

The first game last year between the two teams occurred on April 25 in Orlando. The visitors got off to a great start with first-half goals by Riley Tiernan and Katie Zelem. But the Pride took over in the second half. Marta got one back midway through the second period, and Barbra Banda equalized four minutes later. An own goal by M.A. Vignola in the third minute of stoppage time gave the Pride a 3-2 win. On Aug. 21, 2025 in Los Angeles, the hosts dominated possession and the number of chances as the game appeared to be heading to a scoreless draw. But Alyssa Thompson converted in the 86th minute as Angel City took all three points.

The first of two meetings in 2024 took place on March 22 in Orlando. Former Pride attacker Claire Emslie gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot, and it looked as though the Pride would drop their first game of the season. But Marta volleyed home an equalizer from an Angelina corner kick late, pulling out a 1-1 draw. On June 30, 2024 in Los Angeles, Adriana gave the Pride the lead early and scored a second goal six minutes later. Banda netted a goal of her own six minutes into stoppage time, leading the Pride to a dominating 3-0 win.

The first meeting of the 2023 season took place April 2 in Orlando. Emily Sams took down Alyssa Thompson in the first half, giving the visitors a penalty. Emslie stepped up and converted to give her team a 1-0 lead. Messiah Bright responded just after halftime to make it 1-1, and the game appeared to be heading for a draw. But Katie Johnson scored the winner in the 10th minute of second-half injury time. On Oct. 2, 2023 in Los Angeles, an Adriana volley beat Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson to her near post for the only goal as the Pride won a crucial late-season game.

The first-ever game between the teams took place on May 8, 2022 in Los Angeles. In the third minute, Gunny Jonsdottir’s cross was tipped by Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic, but it went right to Sydney Leroux. The Pride striker fired right at Morgan Reid standing in front of goal. The ball bounced off the defender and went in to give the Pride an early lead. The hosts controlled the final hour, but the Pride held on for 87 minutes to claim their first win of the season.

The teams met again on Aug. 7 in Orlando. Former Pride defender Ali Riley opened the scoring with a wonderful strike from the left side. The Pride responded in the second half through Julie Doyle just three minutes after she entered the game to even it at 1-1. The visitors took another lead when Cari Roccaro beat Viviana Villacorta to a corner kick, putting it past Erin McLeod. The Pride equalized for a second time in the 90th minute when Doyle and Paige Nielsen raced for a Thais Reiss cross, with the defender reaching it first. But Nielsen’s attempted clearance went into her own net, allowing the Pride to claim a 2-2 draw and extend their unbeaten run to five games.

Overview

The Pride are in the middle of their most challenging season in three years. They’ve struggled defensively following the trade of Sams and an injury to Kerry Abello that’s kept her out for most of the season so far. They’ve also struggled to score outside of Banda, though that’s been the case the last couple of seasons.

The team hit its lowest point in mid-May, losing back-to-back games to expansion sides Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC. But the Pride bounced back strongly, defeating San Diego Wave FC 1-0 away and Bay FC 3-1 at home, creating some momentum heading into the World Cup break.

There were a lot of questions about how Banda would return this season after suffering a season-ending injury last year. But she’s been dominant, leading the league in scoring with 11 goals and in shots on target with 27. She has a commanding four-goal lead in the race for the scoring title.

Defensively, the team has struggled at times, notably giving up seven goals in two games as the calendar turned from April to May. But Head Coach Seb Hines made a good decision to switch Hailie Mace and Cori Dyke, moving Mace back to her natural right back position and Dyke to center back. In the five games since, the Pride have conceded three times once, twice once, and recorded two clean sheets.

Tonight, the Pride return to action as they head back out to the West Coast to face Angel City FC. The Southern California-based team sits 12th in the NWSL standings on 13 points, four behind the Pride for the final playoff spot. That makes tonight’s game crucial as we near the midway point in the season.

While the Pride come into this game on a two-game winning streak, Angel City has lost its last two. Tonight’s hosts fell 2-1 to the Houston Dash away and 2-1 to the North Carolina Courage at home. However, these teams haven’t played since the end of May, so it’s difficult to say how much that form will affect them tonight.

Unlike the Pride, Angel City has spread out its goals this year. While the club doesn’t have anyone challenging for the golden boot, Gisele Thompson, Maiara Niehues, and Sveindis Jonsdottir all lead the team with three goals. Kennedy Fuller is right behind with two.

The assists are also spread out, with Evelyn Shores, Jonsdottir, and Fuller all tied on two. Five other players are just behind with one each.

Defensively, Angel City has remained consistent with its back line, which consists of Shores, Sarah Gorden, Sams, and Gisele Thompson. Meanwhile, Anderson continues to be the team’s number one choice at goalkeeper.

However, Angel City has been busy since it last played. On June 17, the club traded Fuller to Bay FC for transfer funds and allocation funds. The same day, it fired Head Coach Alex Straus, handing the reins to Assistant Coach Leif Gunnar Smerud on an interim basis.

The following day, the LA-based side agreed to a trade with the Kansas City Current for U.S. international Ally Sentnor, sending $850,000 in intraleague transfer funds the other way.

“There’s a lot of unknowns with a new coach coming in, new feelings, new vibes. They’re not content about where they are in the league, so they’ll be wanting to move up,” Hines said about tonight’s game. “I think looking at personnel can tell you a lot about how they play. They have some great athletes in their team. They’ve got a very quick back line. When the availability comes out, that can also tell you a lot about how they’re going to play. They’ve got some key personnel missing out on the last couple of games. So that’s also important to take into account. They’ve got some players coming back from injury. So, we’ll analyze it when we get the availability report. But it’s also about ourselves. We’ve been working hard these last three weeks on being back to who we are, and it’s going to be great to be tested in LA in front of their own crowd. And I know everyone’s really itching to get back onto the field. So we want to set the tone early on in the game and hopefully we can set that out to the final whistle and come home with three points.”

The Pride will take the field tonight without Banda (thigh), Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Oihane (lower leg), and Villacorta (knee). Angel City will be without Prisca Chilufya (knee), Savy King (foot), Leroux (excused absence), and Hina Sugita (knee).

Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Kerry Abello, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, Hailie Mace.

Defensive Midfielders: Angelina, Ally Lemos.

Attacking Midfielders: Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, Luana.

Forward: Julie Doyle.

Bench: Cosette Morche, Hannah Anderson, Solai Washington, Zara Chavoshi, Seven Castain, Summer Yates, Simone Jackson, Nicole Payne, Marta.

Angel City FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Angelina Anderson.

Defenders: Evelyn Shores, Sarah Gorden, Emily Sams, Gisele Thompson.

Midfielders: Ally Sentnor, Carina Lageyre, Ary Borges.

Forward: Jun Endo, Sveindis Jonsdottir, Maiara Niehues.

Bench: Karsyn Cherry, Claire Emslie, Nealy Martin, Sophia Mattice, Faith Nguyen, Casey Phair, Hannah Seabert, Taylor Suarez, Riley Tiernan.

Referees

REF: Mark Verso.
AR1: Bruno Rizo.
AR2: Alexandra Arita.
4TH: Trevor Wiseman.
VAR: Joshua Encarnacion.
AVAR: Melissa Beck.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10 p.m.

Venue: BMO Stadium — Los Angeles, CA.

TV: None.

Streaming: Prime Video.

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. Angel City FC: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Pride need to do to earn all three points against Angel City?

Published

3 days ago

on

July 2, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride/Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride are back in action Friday night against Angel City FC at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. It’s been over a month since we’ve seen any NWSL regular-season matches, and I am excited for the season to resume. The Pride were on a two-match winning streak before the break and will want to regain that momentum. What must the Pride do to earn all three points against Angel City?

Shake off the Rust

The Pride last played a competitive match on May 29. That essentially makes this break another off-season. That is a good thing and a bad thing. It’s a good thing because the Pride definitely needed to work on some issues, especially on the defensive end. It’s a bad thing because the team had won two in a row. Getting back to full match speed after a month can be a challenge.

Fortunately, it’s a challenge that Angel City shares. Angel City was probably grateful for the break given the team was 1-3-1 in its last five matches and had dropped two straight before the break. Both teams will need to shake off some rust, and whichever team is able to do so more quickly and more effectively will have an advantage.

Banda-less Scoring

As we heard on SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast, Seb Hines is being cautious when speaking about Barbra Banda’s availability for this match. That may indeed be the case, or Hines may be playing coy about the Pride striker’s availability. If it’s the former, then the Pride need to find goals without the league-leading scorer on the pitch.

There’s a good chance we’ll see Marta and Jacquie Ovalle on the pitch at the same time. While it would be better to have Banda out there for those two to feed, I’ll take defenses having to deal with them coming from either side of the box any day. It may be that they are able to play off each other to create and finish the chances the Pride need to win the match. Of course, I won’t argue with other Orlando attackers getting in on the fun.

Clean (Moor)house

The Pride have four clean sheets so far this season despite the defense not looking as solid as it has in the past. I’m hopeful that the team used the break to figure out the best back line with the available players. The Pride are still missing a true center back to pair with Rafaelle, though Cori Dyke has been adequate in recent matches. Angel City added Ally Sentnor to the roster and her first match for the club is against the Pride. It’s important for the defense to stop her, as she will want to put on a show in her debut.

Anna Moorhouse needs to switch back on. Statistically, she was one of the NWSL’s best goalkeepers during the 2024 season. That is not the case this season, as Andrew DeSalvo outlined in our subscriber newsletter. Moorhouse has a chance to get things back on the right track following the break, and it starts with a clean sheet against Angel City Friday.

That is what I will be looking for on Friday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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