Connect with us

Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Final Score 2-1 as Pride Lose On Final Play

Published

2 years ago

on

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride (0-2-0, 0 points) were dealt a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Angel City FC (1-1-0, 3 points) tonight in their home opener at Exploria Stadium. Former Pride forward Claire Emslie gave the visitors the lead with a first-half penalty before Messiah Bright equalized after the break. But Katie Johnson scored the winner with the last meaningful kick of the game, dooming the Pride to another tough loss.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made two changes from the team that fell 4-0 to the Portland Thorns in the season opener. Erika Tymrak and Ally Watt joined the starting lineup, replacing Marta (hamstring) and Bright. The Pride lineup consisted of Anna Moorhouse in goal behind a back line of Kylie Strom, Caitlin Cosme, Emily Madril, and Haley McCutcheon. Mikayla Cluff and Kerry Abello were the defensive midfielders behind Adriana, Tymrak, and Julie Doyle, with Watt up top.

The Pride got off to the better start, using a high press to put the Angel City back line under pressure. They nearly got the first chance of the game just two minutes in when McCutcheon sent a low ball across the box, but nobody was there to get on the end of it.

A minute later, Tymrak dribbled across the top of the box and found some space to shoot. But her low shot was right at Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic, who easily collected it.

The visitors had their first chance in the seventh minute through a pair of corner kicks. Jun Endo took the first, but Savannah McCaskill’s shot was blocked out of play. The second corner by McCaskill found the head of Madison Hammond in the box, but her header went over the crossbar.

The Pride nearly had a chance in the ninth minute when Strom attempted to play Doyle into the box. Doyle raced Haracic to the 50-50 ball, but the Angel City goalkeeper was the first to it.

Watt won the ensuing ball out of the back from Dani Weatherholt and quickly took a shot from distance. But Haracic was up to the task, tipping it wide of the goal.

In the 18th minute, Alyssa Thompson found herself surrounded by Pride defenders, but got out of the trouble and fired from the top of the box. She was a little off balance on the shot, resulting in it going well over the target.

The Pride were forced into an early change in the 19th minute, when Paige Nielsen went in hard on Doyle. Nielsen didn’t get any of the ball and was booked for the challenge, which caused Doyle to receive medical attention. The Pride attacker attempted to get up, but shook her head when putting pressure on her left ankle. As she headed straight for the locker room, she was replaced by Bright.

In the 23rd minute, Strom attempted to cross the ball into the Angel City box from the left side. She sent the ball too close to the goal, but over the arms of Haracic and it bounced off the crossbar.

The Pride nearly converted in the 32nd minute when McCutcheon found Cluff on an overlapping run. Cluff sent a high cross into the box before reaching the end line with Strom running towards the back post. It likely would’ve reached the defender, but Haracic got her fingertips to the ball, tipping it over the leaping Strom.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 37th minute when Thompson got sent behind the Pride back line. Madril chased from behind, finally reaching her in the box. Moorhouse appeared to have her near post covered, but Madril slid in and Thompson went down. Referee Danielle Chesky didn’t hesitate to point to the spot and, after a VAR check, the visitors had a kick from the spot.

Former Pride attacker Emslie stepped up to take the kick. She sent Moorhouse the wrong way in the 39th minute, sliding it into the bottom right corner to give Angel City the lead for the second consecutive week.

The Pride almost found an equalizer four minutes into injury time when Cluff sent Adriana forward on the right. The Brazilian sent her shot beyond the outstretched arms of Haracic, but it bounced off the far post.

The rebound landed at the feet of Watt who, after a touch, took her own shot. She should’ve hit the target from the short distance, but couldn’t get around it and hit it wide, and Angel City went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

The first half was pretty even, with Angel City recording more possession (53.6%-46.4%), shots (6-5), duels won (28-26), and passing accuracy (76.5%-71.5%). The Pride had more crosses (10-5), but both teams had two shots on target and one corner kick.

The Pride got off to another strong start in the second half and only took six minutes to find the equalizer. Tymrak sent a low ball through for Bright, sending the rookie into the Angel City box. The 5-foot-9 forward held off two defenders to get an opportunity on goal and put her shot into the corner to tie the game at 1-1 in the 51st minute.

“ I think, just through the run of play, Erika played the through ball and at first I didn’t really see it,” Bright said about her goal. “But I think I saw it and I got enough time to where I could make contact to the ball and really just, you know, keep my body steady and just driving through. Doing what I do best, being strong on the ball, holding it, and eventually creating a path for myself. And I saw the keeper not really sit and I just toe-poked it pretty early.”

It was the first professional goal for the rookie, who was taken by the Pride with the first pick of the second round in the 2023 NWSL Draft out of TCU.

“I’m really, really pleased for Messiah to get a goal,” Hines said about the rookie. “She was a beast as well. And, you know, there’s moments where, because she’s too strong, the ref gives away a foul and it’s not a foul and she was a pest. She was hard to play against, and that’s what we need from her. We need her to be difficult to play against and her goal has justified her performance.”

Two minutes later, the Pride had the chance to take their first lead of the season. After forcing a turnover near midfield, Bright picked up the ball and found Watt to her left. She took a shot on goal with her first touch, but hit it well over the crossbar.

The hosts had another opportunity in the 59th minute and it was Bright creating the chance again. Playing the ball around Nielsen, Bright sent a low cross into the box for Adriana. However, it was just a bit too far in front of her, allowing Angel City to clear.

Watt had another shot in the 67th minute, one of her team-leading four on the night. Like her other three chances in the game, she was unable to put the shot on target, sending another one over the goal.

Angel City finally had a second-half chance in the 68th minute when substitute Simone Charley found Weatherholt near the penalty spot. She was aiming for the bottom left corner, but it was just wide of the post.

McCaskill had a chance to get the lead back for the visitors in the 70th minute, but Moorhouse made her best save of the game. The ball appeared to be on target, but the Pride shot-stopper tipped it over the crossbar.

As the game wound down, it opened up as both teams pushed for the go-ahead goal. In the 81st minute, Cosme fouled Charley near the top of the Pride box, giving the opposition a great chance. Emslie stepped up and went for goal, but just missed the target.

In the 86th minute, Angel City won its second penalty of the game, but this one was unfortunate for the Pride. A low cross across the box found Scarlett Camberos, but her touch was too strong. However, it went right to Weatherholt, who quickly shot. McCutcheon went down to block it and the shot hit her right elbow as she braced to hit the ground. Chesky pointed to the spot for the second time, giving Angel City a great chance for a late winner.

“I don’t like saying it but two weeks in a row the referees have been against us,” Hines said about the two penalty calls. “There needs to be a change in that and, you know, it’s frustrating for everyone that’s here that it keeps happening. And I don’t know what the solution is, but it just keeps happening and I don’t know whether it’s like they give the authority to the players who’ve been within the league or, you know, we’ve got to earn respect, but it should be a fair game and it hasn’t been fair the last two games.”

Once again, Emslie stepped up to take the spot kick. While the first attempt was into the corner, the second was a poor penalty, allowing Moorhouse to catch it and keeping the score tied.

As the game entered second-half stoppage time, both teams continued to press for a winner. Three minutes into added time, it looked like Angel City might have their third penalty of the night. McCaskill went down after entering the Pride box and Chesky immediately pointed to the spot. Fortunately, the assistant’s flag was raised for offside. Video review showed an Angel City coming back from an offside position after the pass and touching it.

Going the other way, the Pride had an opportunity five minutes into stoppage time when an Adriana corner kick found Summer Yates, who had replaced Tymrak in the 68th minute. The rookie’s first touch was a volley towards goal but was just wide of the right post.

With time winding down, Angel City pushed forward. Eight minutes into stoppage time, M.A. Vignola took a low shot, but Moorhouse was there for the stop. A minute later, it was Camberos’ chance, but her shot was deflected out for a corner kick.

After Adriana sent the first corner out of play, the visitors had one more opportunity. Emslie sent her attempt towards the top of the six and Moorhouse came out to punch it away. But Johnson, who was only on because Charley was injured in the 84th minute, got her head to it first, putting in for the game-winning goal.

The goal officially came in the 10th minute of stoppage time — the latest game-winning goal scored in an NWSL match.

Chesky blew her final whistle as soon as the Pride restarted. It was a different loss for the Pride in this one, but just as painful as their 4-0 defeat last weekend in Portland.

In the end, Angel City had more possession (56.7%-43.3%), shots (15-12), shots on target (6-3), corners (6-4), and accurate passes (74.6%-69.3%).

“Disappointed,” Hines used to describe his feelings about the game. “You want to win your games at home, and at minimum you want to take a point away. And to concede in the manner that we did right at the end is really frustrating and disappointing.”

“Obviously, we’re really disappointed with that result,” Tymrak said after the game. “I thought we controlled the game and we thought we had a lot of chances and that’s on us to finish on. But the positives are that we did possess the game and we did control the game and we had the chances but we have to be ruthless in front of goal and in both boxes. And to get scored on the last play of the game, it hurts but we’ve got to learn from it.”

After a strong preseason that saw the Pride go 5-0, they’ve dropped their first two games in difficult fashion. The first was a blowout in Portland and they lost the second on the final kick of the game. However, the Pride played much better tonight. They created enough opportunities to win but were unable to put those chances away.

Despite the tough start to the season, Hines says his young team will learn from the losses.

“It builds character,” Hines said “You have to build character in these moments and you know that our players will build character every moment that they go for. Every minute that you spend on the field is going to build them and be the players that we all believe in at the end of it.”

The Pride will take the field again on April 15 when they welcome NJ/NY Gotham FC to Exploria Stadium.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando Pride

2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Kylie Strom

In her fourth season in Orlando, the veteran changed positions to help the NWSL’s best defense.

Published

11 hours ago

on

December 21, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride originally signed Kylie Strom from Atletico Madrid in July 2021. Prior to her time overseas, Strom spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons in the NWSL with the Boston Breakers. Her initial contract in Orlando was through 2022 with an option for 2023 that was exercised prior to that year. Despite being briefly out of contract this past off-season, Strom, now 32 years old, re-signed for the Pride, extending her stay in Orlando through the 2026 season. This ended up as one of the most important moves of the off-season, as Strom went on to partner Emily Sams in the league’s best defense, earning an NWSL Defender of the Year nomination and playing in all but one game of the 2024 season.

Let’s take a look back at Kylie Strom’s 2024 season, her best in Orlando so far.

Statistical Breakdown

Strom made 25 appearances for the Pride in the NWSL regular season, starting 24 times and playing 2,158 minutes, less than 200 minutes from playing the entire regular season. Most of the game time she missed was due to the red card and one-match ban she picked up on opening day at Louisville. Strom only took six shots in the regular season with two on target and no goals scored. She contributed her lone assist against Gotham at home in September. In possession, Strom completed 1,298 of her 1,503 passes (86%), the highest number of completed passes in the squad and the third-highest completion percentage among the regular starters, closely following Sams and Morgan Gautrat. She recorded 10 key passes, no completed crosses, and 46 successful long balls. Defensively, she succeeded in 20 of her 40 tackles (50%), contributed 39 interceptions, and won 73 headed duels. She was fouled 23 times, committed 17 of her own, and earned two yellow cards in addition to the previously-mentioned red card.  

Strom started and played every minute of Orlando’s three NWSL playoff wins (270 minutes). She attempted no shots but did provide an assist for Barbra Banda’s goal against the Kansas City Current. In the playoffs, Strom completed 144 of her 169 pass attempts (85%), with one key pass, no completed crosses, and four successful long balls. In defense, she added four tackles and six interceptions without committing a foul, suffering a foul, or receiving a card. 

Strom also started all three matches in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, playing 239 minutes in total. She did not take a shot and thus could not score a goal in the tournament, nor did she record an assist. The defender completed 136 of her 158 passes (86%) without a key pass or successful cross, but she managed 11 accurate long balls. She added three tackles in four duels (75%) and four interceptions with one headed duel won on the defensive end. She also committed two fouls and was on the receiving end of two herself, but she was not shown a card.

Best Game

Looking at her availability, passing, and defending, Strom was remarkably consistent in 2024, across all competitions. This makes it difficult to pick one game from the bunch, so it would be tempting to pick any shutout against high-profile opponents, such as the NWSL Championship game or the NWSL Shield-clinching game, both wins against the Washington Spirit. Instead, the best game and best representation of Strom’s work was the 1-0 victory over the struggling Utah Royals on the road in April, the first win of the year.

In the victory over Utah, Strom completed 61 of her 68 passes (90%). She also added two tackles and four interceptions en route to holding Utah to just 0.1 expected goals per FBRef.com. With Marta coming off the bench in this match, this was also the first time Strom wore the captain’s armband for Orlando, though she went on to wear it for six additional starts in the NWSL. 

Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Strom a composite grade of 7.5 out of 10 for the 2024 season, a significant improvement over her score of 6 out of 10 in 2023. Previously,  Strom received a grade of 4.5 in 2022 and an incomplete during what was a rough stretch run in 2021 after joining the club midseason.

Going into the 2024 season, it was assumed that Rafaelle would be the primary center back partner for Sams, and Strom would play at fullback, her natural position to that point in her career. Instead, Rafaelle struggled with injuries, including at the start of the year, so Strom paired with Sams for four of the first five games, with the Pride having to employ a four-fullback back line in the second game due to player unavailability. Rafaelle then played with Sams in the middle for one match, before Seb Hines pushed Sames out to right back with Rafaelle and Strom paired together for the next five matches. From that point on, it was Sams and Strom in the middle the rest of the year.

The new position suited Strom and accentuated her strengths as a soccer player. She defended well as a unit with Sams and the fullbacks, using her physicality to win many tackles and headed duels while cutting out the mistakes she’d previously made when playing out wide. In possession, she was steady in building play through short- and medium-distance passes without taking too many risks. She was a vocal leader on the pitch and adept at snuffing opposition attacks before they could materialize. That she was able to adapt so quickly to a new role in the latter stages of her career is all the more impressive.

2025 Outlook

Strom has two more years on her contract going into 2025. Orlando will hope to get healthier in defense in the off-season and may sign some reinforcements, as both Megan Montefusco and Carrie Lawrence retired. But Strom has earned the starting center-back spot next to Sams. Given Cori Dyke’s late emergence at right back, there is less of a need to move Sams out wide. At the same time, Kerry Abello’s Best XI Second Team performance throughout 2024 would make it difficult to move Strom back to fullback on the left. It will be interesting to see how a position group that has become a strength of the team.

Regardless of how it unfolds, the goal for Strom moving forward should be to continue to play at the level she did during Orlando’s championship season, and given her consistency all year, this is a reasonable expectation for the player.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)


Continue Reading

Orlando Pride

2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Adriana

The Brazilian attacker was a key player in the Pride’s magical 2024 season.

Published

1 day ago

on

December 20, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

The Orlando Pride signed Brazilian international Adriana on Jan. 19, 2023 to a three-year contract through the 2025 NWSL season. One of the brighter spots of the Pride during the 2023 season, it seemed Adriana was on the verge of becoming a dominating NWSL player. Seb Hines again deployed her mainly as an attacking player, particularly on the wing, but sometimes as a second forward. While she was still a key player for the Pride in 2024, there were some bumps in the road when she would disappear from games and consistency was sometimes an issue.

Let’s take a look at Adriana’s second NWSL season.

Statistical Breakdown

Adriana appeared in 23 regular-season games, starting 19 and playing a total of 1,688 minutes. She scored six goals, which was third most on the team, and added one assist. It is notable that two of her six goals came from the penalty spot, where she went two-for-two in the regular season. She completed 71% of her 557 passes, which was a slight dip from a year ago, with 31 key passes, seven completed crosses, and 14 successful long balls. Defensively, Adriana chipped in nine tackles, 13 interceptions, and 18 headed duels won. She committed just 10 fouls while drawing 30 on the opposition, and she did not receive a card.

In the playoffs, Adriana appeared in all three of the Pride’s games, starting two and logging 197 minutes. She did not make a goal contribution, attempting six shots with only one of those hitting the target. Her passing wasn’t up to its usual level in the postseason, as she connected on just 63.9% of her 36 passes, including only two of nine in the NWSL Championship. She tallied five key passes and one successful long ball, but no accurate crosses. On defense, she finished the postseason with three tackles and an interception. The Brazilian international committed five fouls, suffered two, and was not booked.

Adriana was away at the Olympics during the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, so she did not play in the competition.

Best Game

Adriana had several big games in 2024, but perhaps her best was Orlando’s 2-0 home win over Gotham FC. She scored both Orlando goals in the match, lifting the Pride to their 19th straight game without a loss, tying the club’s single-season record for home wins (7), and pushing Hines past Tom Sermanni and into sole possession of the most coaching wins in club history (26). It didn’t take long for her to get involved, scoring just five and a half minutes after the opening kickoff. Angelina’s ball into the box was knocked into the air, and Adriana ran onto it and volleyed a blast into the net to make it 1-0 with one of the most impressive Pride goals of the season.

Not content with just one goal, Adriana struck again in the 19th minute. Summer Yates switched the play to send Adriana down the right side, where she took on USWNT defender Jenna Nighswonger, then used Barbra Banda’s presence in the box to create space for her shot, which she placed perfectly inside the left post to make it 2-0.

Adriana played the full 90 minutes in the match and fired six shots in all against Gotham that night, putting all six of them on target and giving her a season high in the latter statistic. She led all players in the match in both categories. She completed 87% of her 23 passes on 48 total touches, with one key pass, one accurate cross, and two successful long balls. Defensively, she made three recoveries, and she committed one foul while drawing two and did not pick up a booking. It was a great performance by the attacking midfielder against one of the NWSL’s elite defensive clubs.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gives Adriana a composite score of 7 out of 10 for her 2024 campaign. This is a slight dip from the 7.5 we gave her last season, but there were times when she struggled to find her game in 2024. When she was on her game, she was outstanding, but there were games and even stretches of matches when she didn’t provide her usual quality. Her form isn’t the only reason she was dropped at times from the starting XI, because some of her teammates elevated their own, but it was a factor. While she increased her goal total by one, it came in more appearances and minutes, and her assist total fell, despite having a better cast around her. The Brazilian is capable of more, but the staff still felt it was a solid season.

2025 Outlook

Like her Brazilian teammate Rafaelle, Adriana’s contract runs through the 2025 season, so she’ll be working hard to earn a new deal beyond the upcoming season. If she starts the season well, the Pride will no doubt offer a new contract midseason if there’s not already a new deal in place before opening day. At 28 years old, Adriana is in the prime of her career and can still be an effective player. With the Pride improving, she’ll need to play more consistently or at a higher level to keep starting with this club, but she’s capable, and I expect her to fight to hold onto her starting spot in Hines’ XI.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

Continue Reading

Orlando Pride

2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Marta

Marta showed why she’s the GOAT in her eighth season with the Pride.

Published

3 days ago

on

December 19, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

In case you forgot, Marta first signed with the Orlando Pride way back in 2017. She has been the constant for the club through ups and mostly downs. That all changed this season as she captained her club to two trophies. Back in 2022, she signed a new two-year contract, taking her through 2024.

Marta may not be as young as she once was, but she definitely made you forget it often enough this season. It was undoubtedly the best she’s performed in a few years, and it made a difference in the standings. Let’s take a look at the GOAT’s latest season in Orlando.

Statistical Breakdown

Marta was the leader and the heart of this year’s Orlando Pride team. Her teammates wanted to win, but they also wanted to win for Marta. She played most of the regular-season games, but missed the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup because she was with Brazil at the Olympics. 

Marta made 23 appearances in the NWSL regular season, starting 19 games and recording 1,739 minutes. Marta was second on the team with nine goals on 40 shots, 18 of which were on target. Additionally, she completed 648 of her 878 passes (74%), including one assist, 52 key passes, nine successful crosses, and 75 completed long balls. Defensively, Marta posted 16 tackles, 27 headed duels won, and 12 interceptions on the year. She committed 12 fouls, suffered 45, and was booked four times (all yellow cards).

In the playoffs, Marta started all three games, recording 267 minutes. She scored two goals on 12 shots with five on target, and she completed 86 of her 108 passes (80%) without an assist, although she recorded six key passes, three accurate crosses, and 14 completed long balls. She was also active defensively in the postseason, with six tackles and two interceptions. She committed three fouls in the playoffs, suffered four, and was not booked.

Best Game

You might think that the one match in which Marta scored a brace would be her best match, but that isn’t the case. That match was the 6-0 beatdown of the Utah Royals, who were bottom of the table. I’m going with her performance in the 3-2 playoff semifinal victory over the Kansas City Current.

That goal summed up Marta’s season for me. She was not going to let this team lose when the Pride were so close to the championship. When needed, she could find the speed — even late in a match — and put two defenders on the ground in unison. It was a goal she willed to happen against one of the best teams in the NWSL.

In this match, Marta took four shots, with two on target, scoring the aforementioned goal. She completed 29 of her 38 passes (77%) on a total of 74 touches, and took all three Pride corner kicks. Defensively, she contributed four tackles and two interceptions. She committed one foul, did not suffer any fouls, and was not booked. She simply displayed the full range of her skill and leadership qualities, helping her team reach the final.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Marta a composite grade of 8 out of 10 for her eighth season with the club. Her passion, drive, and leadership were a major reason why the club won the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship. This was the best Marta we’ve seen for several seasons, and she wanted to win more than almost anyone else in any given match. To illustrate how much better she was, we gave Marta a grade of 6 out of 10 last season. That came on the heels of an incomplete grade in her injury-shortened 2022 season. She also received a 6 in 2021 and a 6.5 in 2019. This year is the closest Marta has come to the 9 out of 10 we gave her back in 2017, when she had 19 total goal contributions and finished second in the league in both goals and assists. She turned back the clock and gave us much more of the vintage Marta in 2024 than we’d seen in a long time, which is why we considered her one of the best players on the team.

(Note: If you’re wondering why 2020 wasn’t mentioned, its’ because we did not give out grades because the Pride only participated in the Fall Series during that lost season because of the pandemic.)

2025 Outlook

Marta’s contract expired after the 2024 season, but she has stated that she wants to keep playing one or two more years. She will be 39 years old at the start of the 2025 season but had a very good 2024 season. I think that she wants to retire with the Pride, and I feel that the club will offer her a one-year contract. The Pride indicated in their postseason roster status update that the club was in negotiations with her about returning. If a new deal happens, and if she can keep up her current form, she will find a way to contribute as the Pride look to defend their titles. She will have to hang up the boots at some point, but I don’t think it will be this coming season.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

Continue Reading

Trending