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2023 SheBelieves Cup Round 1 Photo Gallery

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Alex Morgan is honored for her 200th national team cap.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land


After Japan and Brazil provided the appetizer, the United States Women’s National Team took to the Exploria Stadium pitch Thursday night for a showdown with rival Canada in the first round of the 2023 SheBelieves Cup. The event has stopped regularly at Exploria Stadium over the years since its inception and Thursday’s play opened the 2023 rendition of the competition.

Japan and Brazil played to a stalemate until Orlando Pride forward Marta entered the match just past the halfway mark in the second half. It was her first match appearance since undergoing knee surgery in spring of 2022 and it took her only a few minutes to make an impact. She threaded a perfect pass through the Japanese defense from the left that allowed teammate Debinha to make an easy finish. It turned out to be the only score of the game as the Brazilians took the opener, 1-0. Pride forward Adriana played the first half on the wing and the second half as a deep-lying midfielder in her first game at Exploria Stadium since being signed by the home team.

Prior to the second game, former Pride forward Alex Morgan was honored for earning 200 career international caps. The USWNT then joined Canada in a show of solidarity at midfield. The Canadian women had a difficult week as they face a battle for fair treatment from their federation. A potential strike loomed over the event earlier in the week, but Ontario labor laws prohibited that from happening due to a lack of adequate notice before the match.

After the nightcap kicked off, the United States jumped on Canada early with intense pressure and a couple of strikes from Mallory Swanson. The Yanks nearly gave one back late in the half but saw out the opening period with a two-goal lead. There were opportunities to extend the lead in the second half but the U.S. attackers were wasteful — particularly substitute Ashley Hatch, who had two excellent opportunities to make it three. Hatch has rarely missed an opportunity to score at Exploria Stadium before, so it was a little strange to see her waste two high-percentage chances.

In the end, the USWNT held on for a 2-0 win to maintain its perfect record at Exploria Stadium. By virtue of a better goal differential, the U.S. headed to Round 2 in Nashville atop the competition’s standings.

We hope you enjoy these images from an exciting night of international soccer in the City Beautiful.

Images: Dan MacDonald
Words: Michael Citro

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Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit: Photo Gallery

A gallery of photos from the Orlando Pride’s home loss against the Washington Spriit.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land


The Orlando Pride generally controlled the game against a significantly weakened Washington Spirit team, but fate came down on the side of the Spirit, who managed to steal the whole result 1-0. The Pride dominated most statistical categories and Washington generated little danger, but Orlando could not finish its chances and an Anna Moorhouse gaffe provided Gift Monday with a tap-in goal. The defeat was the Pride’s first defeat of the season and their first home defeat since August of 2023.

Orlando dominated the first half, not allowing a shot at all from Washington until the 30th minute. The Pride generally got the ball into good attacking areas, but for some reason Orlando was unable to produce very many dangerous shots. Those they did produce missed the target or were blocked, so credit Washington for have a stout final defense.

As always, the second half brought adjustments and was more balanced until Ashley Hatch took a ball to the head. This broke any game rhythm as it took several minutes for the initial evaluation, but then a few minutes later Hatch needed re-evaluation and was removed from the match.

A few minutes later, Moorhouse was not attentive in receipt of a back pass from Emily Sams in the six-yard box. Monday made just a moderate press but managed to close the space. Moorhouse inexplicably turned into Monday’s press rather than allowing the play to flow to the other side of the pitch (with an open teammate ready to receive the pass), and Monday nicked the ball and touched it across the goal line.

The Pride showed their characteristic confidence after that, keeping well organized and pushing for a goal. They even managed to put the ball in the net in the 83rd minute, but the goal was overturned after video review for a foul. However, Orlando failed to produce a goal in the end, and Washington left with the win.

We hope you enjoy the photos despite the disappointing result. The Pride play next on Friday night at Inter&Co Stadium, hosting Angel City FC at 8 p.m.

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Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls: Photo Gallery

An album of images from Orlando’s scoreless home draw with the New York Red Bulls.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land


Orlando City hosted New York Red Bulls on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to already close out the season series. While Orlando generally dominated the game, the Lions did not take their chances in the first half and found themselves down a man for most of the second half. While Orlando continued to push for the win — even down a man — being shorthanded proved too much and the team had to settle for the second scoreless draw in a row.

Luis Muriel and Marco Pašalić had good looks in the first half that just missed. Ivan Angulo also missed wide from the middle of the top of the area in the opening half. Of the chances on target, Red Bulls netminder Carlos Coronel had a good save on Martin Ojeda and snuffed out a one-on-one opportunity with Muriel. When contrasted with the Red Bulls’ single low-quality chance, based on the first half, it looked that Orlando had the game well under control, despite the lack of score.

If Orlando had managed to convert one of these chances, it would have made for a much different game, however, the match was turned on its head early in the second half when Rodrigo Schlegel was sent off with a second yellow card in the 56th minute. Orlando still found opportunities for a good chunk of the rest of the game, but eventually the game devolved to the typical 10-man game.

Despite putting on the remaining attacking power from the bench, Orlando wound up staying in an organized defense for the final 15 minutes plus stoppage time, fighting to earn a single point.

We hope you enjoy the gallery of images from a rare (these days, anyway) Orlando City day game.

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Orlando Pride vs. San Diego Wave: Photo Gallery

A gallery of images from Orlando’s 2-1 home victory over the San Diego Wave.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land


The Pride welcomed San Diego to town on a beautiful March day. Hopefully, the visitors enjoyed the weather, as Orlando continued its winning ways, dispatching the Wave 2-1 in a hard-fought match on a hot afternoon.

Maybe due to the early start, both teams seemed to take awhile to find their rhythm. The Pride pulled out their scoring boots at the intermission, going ahead on yet another Haley McCutcheon goal shortly after the intermission. Unfortunately, Seb Hines’ side switched off for a moment shortly after that and the Wave drew level on their only real chance of the game two minutes later.

The Pride kept showing their grit, with Barbra Banda drawing a penalty, which was eventually dispatched by Marta in the 75th minute. It did take Marta two attempts — she had a rare miss off the right post on her first attempt, but a retake was awarded for encroachment as San Diego goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan came off her line early. After the penalty, the game really opened up, with San Diego forced to push for an equalizer. The Wave managed to get several good runs in behind, but the Pride defense covered well, running down and cleanly tackling several breaks.

Goal excepted, it was another excellent showing by the Orlando defense. While San Diego did get forward multiple times, the only shot on goal resulted in the goal, and the other four attempts were all blocked.

We hope you enjoy these photos of another Pride victory on a beautiful day at Inter&Co Stadium.

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