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Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Final Score 2-2 as Pride Claim Point on Late Equalizer

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4 years ago

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The Orlando Pride (3-5-6, 15 points) had to come back twice, but managed to pull out a 2-2 draw against Angel City FC (5-5-3, 18 points) at Exploria Stadium. Former Orlando fullback Ali Riley gave the visitors the lead just before the half but Julie Doyle came off the bench to score her second goal in as many games in the second half. Angel City responded with a goal off a set piece by Cari Roccaro, but an own goal by Paige Nielsen in second-half injury time caused the game to end in a draw.

Pride Interim Head Coach Seb Hines made only two changes to the team that drew 2-2 with the Kansas City Current last weekend. Starting center back Megan Montefusco was suspended due to yellow card accumulation and replaced by Toni Pressley. Additionally, Darian Jenkins returned to the lineup, replacing Doyle. As a result, the back four behind Erin McLeod consisted of Celia, Pressley, Carrie Lawrence, and Kylie Strom. The midfield was made up of Meggie Dougherty Howard, Jordyn Listro, Erika Tymrak, Viviana Villacorta, and Kerry Abello, with Jenkins up top.

The first chance of the game was for the Pride in the fourth minute. A quick pass by Villacorta allowed Strom to find Abello in the box. The midfielder attempted a shot from the left of goal, but it skipped across the six-yard box and out for a goal kick.

In the 24th minute, Tymrak found Dougherty Howard near the box. The Pride midfielder attempted to curl the ball around Angel City goalkeeper Didi Haracic, but it was deflected out of play.

Three minutes later, Strom nearly found Tymrak in the box. It was a good run by Tymrak and a good ball through by Strom, but it was a bit too far and Haracic was able to beat the Pride midfielder to it.

Tymrak had a great chance in the 29th minute when Strom gave her the ball inside the Angel City box. The midfielder should’ve been able to put the shot on target, but it somehow managed to flick up onto her arm. The referee didn’t call a handball, but it provided Angel City with an opportunity to clear.

After messing up her first golden opportunity, Tymrak was given a chance to redeem herself in the 39th minute. She received the ball in nearly the exact position as her 29th-minute chance. This shot was hit towards the goal but was well over the crossbar.

Angel City didn’t have many great chances in the first half, but made the Pride pay for missing theirs. In the 40th minute, Riley received the ball on the left. It appeared as though she would attempt a cross, but instead went for goal and beat McLeod to the far post.

After failing to score in her 24 appearances with the Pride, the right back has now scored twice in her last three games with Angel City.

The Pride did have one last chance to equalize before the end of the half. Jenkins cut inside from the right and into the box, creating enough space to get a shot off. But it was blocked and the Pride went into the break down 1-0.

The visitors had slightly more possession in the first half (50.9%-49.1%) but the Pride had more shots (7-4), crosses (8-2), and corners (2-0) in the first 45 minutes.

“Seb just told us to play with courage,” Abello said about the halftime talk. “You know, we need to want the ball. Everyone needs to want to get on the ball and turn and go forward. And not that we weren’t playing with courage, but I think we needed even more of a drive and Seb, he believed in us.”

The visitors nearly doubled their lead right after the break. Coming on as a halftime substitute, Simone Charley was one-on-one with Lawrence heading into the Pride box after a long ball by Megan Reid. The center back fell, allowing Charley to be free in on goal. However, she lost control of the ball, allowing the Pride to escape the dangerous situation.

The Pride should’ve had the equalizer in the 49th minute when some nice moves by Abello created enough space to send the ball into the box. The cross sailed over the head of Haracic to Jenkins at the back post with a wide open goal in front of her. She headed the ball down, but it was straight down, resulting in it bouncing over the crossbar instead of into the open net from just a few feet in front of the goal line.

In the 63rd minute, Tymrak played a ball into the box, looking for Abello at the near post. The ball was a bit too far for the midfielder and Tyler Lussi knocked it out of play. The ensuing corner was to the near post where Celia and Lussi came together. However, the ball bounced out of play and Angel City was able to clear.

The Pride got their equalizer a minute later. It started with a Doyle cross that was headed on towards goal by Tymrak. The shot was blocked and ended up with Savannah McCaskill at the top of the box facing the goal. Pressured by Villacorta, McCaskill played it back to Nielsen. However, Doyle beat her to the ball and shot into the roof of the net.

It was Doyle’s second goal of the season and her second in two games. She also scored the second goal last week in the Pride’s 2-2 draw with the Current.

“She’s been terrific,” Hines said about Doyle’s current goal streak. “She was fortunate enough to start off having given a really good performance against Kansas, but these are the decisions you have to make as a head coach. So she made an immediate impact and that’s all we can ask. When players come onto the field as a substitute, can you make an impact in a game? And she certainly did that today. With getting a goal and making difficult runs, finding the spaces.

“We’re talking about a rookie. We’re improving her, developing her. You know, going through a slight bit of adversity, how are you going to react not starting? And she showed today, her reaction was brilliant.”

Angel City didn’t wait long to answer, doing so in the 72nd minute. First, Charley got her head to a Lussi cross, putting it on target. McLeod did well to get down and knock it out of play for a corner kick.

The ensuing corner kick was flicked on by the head of Nielsen. It landed at the feet of Villacorta and Roccaro. Villacorta was unable to get her foot to the ball and Roccaro quickly shot on target, putting it past McLeod and giving the visitors a 2-1 lead.

The Pride nearly found another equalizer in the 79th minute when Strom played Abello behind the Angel City defense. The midfielder shot with her second touch, but sent it just wide of the post.

The hosts had another good opportunity in the 87th minute when Mikayla Cluff was fouled by Jun Endo. Thais Reiss stepped up to take the free kick but sent it straight into the wall. The ball bounced right back to Reiss, who sent a second shot into the wall, allowing Angel City to clear.

The Pride continued to pressure, looking for a second equalizer. They were given a boost when the fourth official held up five minutes in injury time. They didn’t need much of those five minutes as they found a second equalizer inside the first minute of added time.

The team worked the ball out to Abello on the left, with the final ball coming from Reiss. Abello quickly sent a hard cross into the box, where Doyle was making a run and Cluff was heading towards the back post. Nielsen got to the ball before either Pride attacker, but knocked the ball into her own net, evening the game at 2-2.

“I was just so thankful,” Abello said about having a part in the equalizer. “I was definitely a little disappointed at some of my chances missed earlier in the game. So my one goal is just to make a difference, make something happen. You know, it’s not always going to be pretty and at the end of the day, it was a deflection but I was happy with the chance I took to just drive across the goal.”

After the equalizer, the Pride continued on the attack. Two minutes into injury time, Doyle made a good run toward the end line and won a corner. The ensuing set piece was knocked out of play for a second corner, but that one was cleared away.

The final chance of the game for the Pride came in the fourth minute of added time when Jasmyne Spencer fouled Reiss at the top of the box. Tymrak took the free kick but sent it wide.

Despite barely hanging on to a draw in the final minutes, it was Angel City that had the last chance of the game. Endo found former Pride player Dani Weatherholt in the box and the midfielder shot on goal. But it was right at McLeod who made the save and ended the game.

Other than the scoreline, it was a dominant performance by the Pride. They ended the game with more possession (52.6%-47.4%), shots (16-9), corners (7-4), and crosses (28-9). The difference in the game was the lack of shooting precision as the Pride only put one shot on target and Angel City put four on frame.

“Entertaining. Happening more often than not,” Hines said about the game. “I said in pregame that what you’ll find today is two teams that are both wanting to win, needing to win to get three points. We’re obviously chasing Angel City. Obviously chasing the playoffs as well. So I felt that we dominated the game in possession. Even out of possession I think we’re in controlled spaces, that they were patient in trying to pull us out of positions. But you know, we’re allowing the right people to have time and space on the ball. And there was a few little adjustments that we had to make at halftime. We had to increase the energy on our shifts across to keep them spaces tight and the players did that. But the game is all down to goals and we created a lot of good opportunities to score. We have to take them and when we do take them, we’re going to be even more of a threat than we showed today.”

This draw is another point for a team pushing for the sixth and last playoff spot. And while the team will be happy to extend its unbeaten run to five games, they’ll also look back at several missed opportunities that could have resulted in the Pride claiming all three points. 

“It’s the hardest part of the game, right? Putting the ball in the goal,” Hines said about the missed chances. “And I don’t know if it’s repetition in training. The players have showed that they can put the ball in the goal in training. We created them sort of opportunities in training as well.”

This is the third game this season that the Pride have come back to score an equalizer in second-half injury time. They previously did it on May 14 against the Current and on May 27 against the Washington Spirit — both at Exploria Stadium.

“I think it’s our leaders,” Abello said about the team’s ability to come back. “You know, I think it’s players that really step up and our leaders, not just our older players, but our younger players coming on. Thais came on today and brought so much energy and a voice and arrangement and I think that’s what really drives us late in the game. I wish it wasn’t always coming down to an equalizer at the end of the day. But I think it says so much about our team and our identity and the work we put in at training.”

The draw keeps the Pride in playoff contention, six points behind OL Reign for the final playoff spot. However, the Pride have a game in hand.

They’ll look to extend their unbeaten run to six games next Saturday night when they travel out west to face expansion side San Diego Wave FC for the first time.

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Orlando Pride vs. Kansas City Current: Final Score 3-0 as Pride Bounce Back with Win

The Pride take all three points at home against the red-hot Current.

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3 days ago

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July 10, 2026

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Image of Barbra Banda celebrating a goal against Kansas City.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

A strong defensive effort and some moments of attacking quality earned the Orlando Pride all three points in a 3-0 win over the Kansas City Current at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. It was especially fitting that the Pride earned a clean sheet on goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse’s 100th appearance with the club.

The Orlando Pride (6-6-2, 20 points) bounced back from a difficult result in LA in convincing fashion against a tough Kansas City Current (8-6-0, 24 points) team. The match started off fairly even, but Orlando was organized and disciplined in this match and ultimately prevailed with goals from Marta, Barbra Banda and Hannah Anderson.

Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines deployed his typical 4-2-3-1 formation in the team’s return home. The back line in front of Moorhouse was made up of Kerry Abello, Anderson, Zara Chavoshi, and Cori Dyke. Haley McCutcheon and Ally Lemos served as the defensive midfielders, with Angelina, Marta, and Jacquie Ovalle taking up the attacking midfield roles. Solai Washington serving as striker.

“Zara’s been out for majority of the season, and we know her qualities,” Hines said said of his defensive players after the match. “With young players, you have to find out what they’re made of as well, and so she really stepped up into the challenge —Hannah and Zara — because they’ve been patient and been waiting for this opportunity since the start of the year. Hannah is such a threat off set pieces. Talk about Cori. She’s she’s been brilliant as well. Wherever we’ve put her in that back line, she’s been so consistent. We have to consistently have those desired behaviors to not concede, and that gives you the platform to go on and win the game.”

Kansas City came out quickly, testing Moorhouse in the first minute with a cross from Amelia White that Moorhouse got to just ahead of Haley Hopkins.

At the other end, Dyke took Orlando’s first shot from the top of the box in the sixth that looked more like a cross than a shot, and Marisa Jordan saved it with ease.

In the seventh minute, Angelina got the ball wide to the right side to Ovalle, who sent it back to Angelina, who then fired high.

Orlando put together a decent buildup down the left in the ninth minute by Abello and Washington, who centered it for Marta. Marta passed back to Angelina, who fired well wide to the left. Orlando went forward again in the 11th minute, with Marta out wide sending a ball over the 18-yard box that Dyke collected and then worked back out to Angelina. The Brazilian crossed it in to Abello, who headed it off target at the back post.

Izzy Rodriguez stripped Mart of the ball in the 13th just outside the Orlando 18-yard box, allowing Debinha to find Hopkins with a centering pass, but the Current attacker fired wide right. Croix Bethune tried her luck from long distance in the 16th minute, but the effort went straight at Moorhouse.

Orlando had a well-worked buildup through the middle in the 17th minute, with Dyke advancing up the right and sending a ball to Lemos, who found Dyke again for a cross in to Washington — but her shot sailed over the crossbar. Washington and Marta traded passes in the 19th before Washington attempted a right-footed cross into the box that Jordan intercepted easily.

As the teams continued battling back and forth, White worked her way around Abello in the 22nd minute and picked out Debinha with a cross, but her effort went straight at a well-positioned Moorhouse. Bethune found Hopkins in the 23rd, but Lemos cut off her ball through the box, sending it behind for a corner. McCutcheon headed away the ensuing corner, earning Kansas City another corner. Hopkins headed the the entry cross over the bar, handing Orlando a goal kick.

Kansas City nearly broke through three minutes later, on a mistake by the Pride defense on a ball over the top to Debinha. Chavoshi attempted to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick, but she was too far from the end line. Debinha got past her to the ball and sent it in front to Hopkins for the tap-in. But the goal was chalked off for offside on the initial ball. It was a close play.

Rocky Rodriguez’s cross found Bethune in the 30th minute, and the midfielder outjumped Abello, got her head on it, and placed the effort well, but the shot had little pace to it and Moorhouse collected it.

Lemos made a nice driving run in the 33rd minute and fed Washington, whose cross was cut out by Laney Rouse. The loose ball found Angelina before it was eventually cleared following some back-and-forth changes of possession just outside the Current’s box.

Some gritty midfield work from Abello — who picked up a knock to her wrist on the play — saw her strip the ball from the Current in the 38th minute and advance it to Washington, who worked her way to the end line and passed back to Ovalle. The Mexican international’s shot was right at Jordan. Abello received treatment, left the field briefly, and returned to the match in the 41st minute after the mandatory one-minute wait for receiving attention.

Orlando won a throw-in in the 42nd minute, and Washington worked her way down the left before delivering a cross that Jordan stopped, colliding with Kayla Sharples in the process. Neither was injured in the tangle.

Orlando was able to maintain sustained possession for several minutes and spent that time trying to fashion a shot but never created anything threatening. Kanasas City pounced on a McCutcheon attempted pass, and broke down the pitch through a Bethune ball over the top to Debinha, who had to wait for reinforcements. Lo’Eau Labonta arrived and Debinha fed a ball she popped up which was defended away by McCutcheon but back out to the Current. Kansas City worked it back to Labonta, who then sent the ball over the crossbar. It was the last action of the first half.

Orlando held the lead in possession (51%-49%) and both teams managed six shots. Kansas City led in shots on target (3-1), corner kicks (2-0), and passing accuracy (88%-86%).

Kansas City subbed on the dangerous Temwa Chawinga for Debinha after the break, and the Current started off the second half aggressively. Marta had other plans though and, in the 49th minute, she scored her 50th goal for the Pride from about 30 yards out. Ovalle took the ball down Orlando’s left side, worked her way central, and passed back to Marta. Kansas City applied absolutely no pressure on her, so she blasted a long-range shot past a diving Jordan.

Hines made his first substitution of the game in the 53rd minute, bringing on Hailie Mace for Abello. Orlando earned a corner moments later through Marta, and the Pride doubled their lead on the ensuing set piece. Lemos sent a good cross to the back post and Anderson met it with a header, placing it perfectly past Jordan to make it 2-0.

The Current won a corner of their own in the 59th minute, but Orlando defended it away. It only as far as Chawinga, whose follow-up shot was blocked by Anderson.

Hines turned to his bench again in the 65th minute, sending on Luana for Angelina and Julie Doyle for Ovalle. Bethune worked her way into Orlando’s box in the 67th and fired from close range, but at a tight angle, and sent her effort straight at Moorhouse, who parried it behind for a corner. Moorhouse punched the corner clear, and the danger was eventually cleared over the crossbar for an Orlando goal kick.

Orlando was content to sit back and defend from that point. Bayley Feist made a slow-rolling effort in the 72nd that was easily gathered by Moorhouse, and Mace had a shot of her own in the 73rd that didn’t overly test Jordan. The Current responded in the 74th through Gianna Paul, but Moorhouse collected her effort without much trouble.

Hines made his final change in the 76th minute, bringing on Banda for Marta and Oihane for Washington. Banda’s first involvement came in the 77th, when she fired over the bar, and she got in behind again in the 78th and tried to chip Jordan — but the ball drifted past the far post with no one on hand to finish it off.

The Current had back-to-back chances in the 80th minute. Chawinga’s tepid effort was saved comfortably by Moorhouse, and moments later, Bethune pounced on an ill-advised pass from Anderson, only for Moorhouse to deny her as well. Paul’s cross into the box in the 83rd was collected just as easily.

Banda put the result beyond doubt in the 85th. Mace sent a ball over the top and into acres of space behind the Current’s back line. Jordan came rushing out to beat Banda to it, but she made only glancing contact with the ball on her volley attempt to clear it. The ball squirted behind Jordan. Banda easily beat Jordan to the loose ball and slotted it into an empty net for her 12th goal of the season, making it 3-0.

“We felt our structure and our engagement line was probably better to be a little bit lower to kind of take away the space that she could exploit and not let just one ball beat us.” Hines said of his strategy to deal with Chawinga’s threat. “A little adjustment that we made going into this game was just dropping Haley McCutcheon into the back line and covering those distances and the shifting across, but also trying to be aggressive to still press in the right position.”

The Current continued to press in the 90th minute, with Chawinga carving out her best look of the night, cutting left to right and smashing a hard shot just wide of the right post, handing possession back to Orlando. Moments later, Chawinga headed over the bar on the match’s final scoring chance.

Orlando’s defensive posture for much of the second half flipped the stats firmly in the visitors’ favor. Kansas City led in possession (55%-45%), shots (20-11), shots on target (9-5), corner kicks (4-1), and passing accuracy (88%-83%).

“Really good result. You know, especially after we come from a loss in LA,” Marta said. “It’s been like a tough season this year, ups and down[s], and we need to take a chance, especially when we play home. So, I’m really happy with the result tonight. Some days you wake up and then you just say to yourself, ‘It’s today, you know. Today you’re gonna play your best game.'”

The Pride next face the Boston Legacy at home on Wednesday.

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

The Pride return home tonight as they welcome the Kansas City Current to Orlando.

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4 days ago

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July 10, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Welcome to your preview and match thread as the Orlando Pride (5-6-2, 17 points) return home to face the Kansas City Current (8-5-0, 24 points). This is the first of two meetings between the two teams with the return game in Missouri scheduled for Sept. 11.

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

History

The Current joined the NWSL in 2021 after the team’s ownership group bought the Utah Royals and relocated the club to Kansas City. It’s the second NWSL team in the city — FC Kansas City played there from 2013 to 2017 before moving to Utah — and the team was known as NWSL Kansas City for its inaugural season.

The Pride and Current have played 10 games against each other in the regular season and once in the playoffs. Orlando has a 3-3-4 record in the regular-season series (1-2-2 at home) and 4-3-4 in all competitions (2-2-2 in Orlando).

The two teams last met on Aug. 16, 2025, in Kansas City. While the Current outshot the Pride 16-5, each team only put one on target in a scoreless draw. On May 16 at Inter&Co Stadium, Temwa Chawinga was the difference, scoring the game’s lone goal in a 1-0 win by the Current.

The first game in 2024 was on July 6 in Kansas City, Barbra Banda gave the Pride the lead, but the hosts responded two minutes later through Chawinga. Despite a second yellow card for Carrie Lawrence dropping the Pride to 10 players just before halftime, Marta converted a second-half penalty, lifting her team to a 2-1 win.

On Sept. 13 in Orlando, the teams combined for 27 shots, but neither converted as the game ended in a scoreless draw. The final meeting of the season came on Nov. 17, 2024, in the NWSL semifinals in Orlando. Debinha gave the Current the lead and Haley McCutcheon equalized just before halftime. Banda made it 2-1 in the second half and Marta doubled the advantage late in normal time. Vanessa DiBernardo got one back deep in stoppage time from the penalty spot, but it wasn’t enough as the Pride won 3-2 to advance to the NWSL Championship in the Current’s home stadium.

The first time the teams met in 2023 was on April 23 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City. It was scoreless after an hour before the Current got a quick flurry of goals by Debinha and CeCe Kizer, lifting Kansas City to a 2-0 win. On June 23, 2023 in Orlando, the visitors took the lead through Debinha, and Kizer doubled the advantage just before halftime. Marta converted a penalty to pull one back, but the Pride fell 2-1.

The first meeting in 2022 took place May 14 at Exploria Stadium. The Pride took the lead early in the second half on a Gunny Jonsdottir goal. Elyse Bennett scored late in the second half, and the visitors appeared to win the game a minute into injury time through Kristen Hamilton. However, Kylie Strom was pulled down in the box five minutes later, resulting in a penalty. With Marta injured, the only player willing to step up to take the penalty was center back Toni Pressley, who drilled the ball into the roof of the net, pulling out a 2-2 draw.

Their second meeting in 2022 came on July 31 in Kansas City while the Pride were in the middle of their seven-game unbeaten run. The Pride opened the scoring when Erika Tymrak found Celia, whose header made it 1-0, and doubled the lead just after halftime through Julie Doyle. The Current stormed back with goals by Bennett and Kizer, pulling out a 2-2 draw.

The teams played twice during the 2021 NWSL season, with the first game occurring May 30 at Exploria Stadium. Courtney Petersen found Alex Morgan just outside the six-yard box and the striker headed in the game’s lone goal as the Pride won 1-0.

The Pride and Current met again on June 23 at Legends Field in Kansas City. The Pride had a weakened squad as then-coach Marc Skinner left some key players at home, preparing to lose them to the Olympics. It looked to be costly when Mariana Larroquette gave the hosts the lead late in first-half injury time. But the Pride responded well. Two minutes after Larroquette’s goal, Sydney Leroux’s shot took a deflection off a defender and went in to make it 1-1. Shortly after halftime, Leroux scored on a great individual effort from just outside the box. Marta then scored the goal of the game, beating Kansas City goalkeeper Abby Smith from the top of the center circle, lifting the Pride to a 3-1 win.

Overview

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Pride this year. The lowest point occurred in mid-May when they lost back-to-back games to expansion sides Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC away from home. It appeared as though they had righted the ship just before the World Cup break, winning back-to-back games against San Diego Wave FC and Bay FC.

Unfortunately, the return to action went about as poorly as you’d fear. Despite being on the road, they were facing an Angel City team that fired its coach prior to the break. However, the Pride spent nearly the whole game on their heels, falling 2-0.

The back line of Kerry Abello, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, and Hailie Mace played well in the two victories, but they struggled to get the ball out of their own end in LA. It was a significant reason why they conceded twice.

The attack has been led yet again by Banda, who leads the league with 11 goals in 12 games. But the Zambian international missed the last game with a thigh injury.

On the postiive side, Jacquie Ovalle returned to the team in LA after missing the previous seven games. While she didn’t have the attacking impact she had early in the season, the midfielder’s presence will likely be felt when Banda returns as the two have made a dangerous pair.

The Current were the class of the league last season, winning the NWSL Shield by an astounding 21 points. They struggled out of the gate this year but have been on fire since the beginning of May. They’ve won six of their last seven games, with the only loss coming on May 20 to Angel City in LA. Most recently, they dominated the Summit in Denver 3-0.

The slow start can be attributed to a change of coach. Vlatko Andonovski stepped down from his coaching duties to become the club’s full-time sporting director. Chris Armas took over after being fired by the Colorado Rapids and it seemed early on like it might’ve been a mistake. But it now appears as though they could be the team to beat in the second half of the season.

The recent surge in victories has lifted the Current to fifth in the NWSL standings. That’s mostly due to their offensive prowess. The team has scored 21 goals in its first 13 games, tied with the Wave for second and three goals behind the Portland Thorns. Meanwhile, they’re 10th in goals conceded, having given up 17 goals.

Unsurprisingly, the Current are led by Chawinga, who has eight goals in nine games this year. Michelle Cooper has four goals, followed by Haley Hopkins and Croix Bethune with two goals each. Bethune leads Kansas City with five assists, followed by Cooper with three and Izzy Rodriguez and Chawinga with two each.

While the Current will have most of their attack, Cooper is out tonight with a thigh injury. Given her goals and assists, it’s something that could have an impact on tonight’s game. Especially with veteran center back Rafaelle missing.

“It’s always a good match against KC, whether it’s home or away. Two teams that have consistently been at the top of the table. The last two shield winners as well,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said about tonight’s game. “So we expect a competitive game, both teams going after it. Obviously they’ve got new management, a couple of new players as well. But within their style of play and principles, it’s very similar to what they’ve shown in the last couple of years.”

The Pride will play tonight without Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Rafaelle (hip), and Viviana Villacorta (knee). The Current will be without Ellie Bravo-Young (thigh), Alana Cook (knee), Cooper (thigh), Clare Gagne (head), Mary Long, and Lorena (hip). Additionally, Katie Scott is away with the U.S. U-20 National Team.

Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Kerry Abello, Hannah Anderson, Zara Chavoshi, Cori Dyke.

Defensive Midfielders: Haley McCutcheon, Ally Lemos.

Attacking Midfielders: Angelina, Marta, Jacquie Ovalle.

Forward: Solai Washington.

Bench: Cosette Morche, Hailie Mace, Oihane, Nicole Payne, Luana, Julie Doyle, Seven Castain, Summer Yates, Barbra Banda.

Kansas City Current (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Marisa Jordan.

Defenders: Izzy Rodriguez, Kayla Sharples, Gabrielle Robinson, Laney Rouse.

Defensive Midfielders: Rocky Rodriguez, Lo’eau LaBonta.

Attacking Midfielders: Debinha, Croix Bethune, Amelia White.

Forward: Haley Hopkins.

Bench: Kaylin Williams-Mosier, Meila Brewer, Elizabeth Ball, Kolo Suliafu, Vanessa DiBernardo, Bayley Feist, Gianna Paul, Penelope Hocking, Temwa Chawinga.

Referees

REF: Nabil Bensalah.
AR1: Jake Brochu.
AR2: Ben Rigel.
4TH: Elvis Osmanovic.
VAR: Anya Voigt.
AVAR: Katarzyna Wasiak.

How to Watch

Match Time: 8 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

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: 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.

Published

1 week 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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