Orlando Pride vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match thread as the Orlando Pride (0-2-0, 0 points) welcome NJ/NY Gotham FC (1-1-0, 3 points) to Exploria Stadium. This is the first of two league games and four games overall that the Pride and Gotham will play. The teams will meet in league play again on May 14 at Red Bull Arena and will play a pair of NWSL Challenge Cup games in June.

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

History

The Pride have faced Gotham FC 19 times since joining the NWSL in 2016. They’re 7-7-5 in all competitions and 3-5-2 at home. In league games, the Pride are 7-5-4 in 16 games against Gotham and 3-3-2 in Orlando.

The two teams met four times last season, twice in the NWSL regular season and twice in the Challenge Cup. The first game was a Challenge Cup meeting on March 30 at Exploria Stadium. It looked to be heading for a 0-0 draw before Midge Purce scored a late winner. The next meeting was April 23 at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. Gunny Jonsdottir gave the Pride the lead, but Toni Pressley got tangled up with Ifeoma Onumuna, resulting in a penalty. Anna Moorhouse guessed the right way, but Kristie Mewis put it into the bottom corner, evening the game just before the half. Neither team could find a winner and it ended 1-1.

The teams opened the 2022 NWSL regular season against each other on May 1 in Orlando. After two close match-ups in the preseason, this one was all Gotham as goals by McCall Zerboni, Purce, and Mewis lifted the visitors to a 3-0 win. On Aug. 20, they played for the final time in 2022 at Subaru Park in Chester, PA. Celia and Ally Watt built the Pride a 2-0 lead. Mewis got one back for the hosts, but the Pride held on for a 2-1 win.

The Pride and Gotham also met four times in 2021, with the first coming in the Pride’s inaugural Challenge Cup campaign. On April 14, Paige Monaghan’s goal lifted Gotham to a 1-0 win. The first regular-season game that season came on June 20 in Orlando. The visitors took the lead through Caprice Dydasco, but Courtney Petersen equalized, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

On Aug. 29, the teams played at Red Bulls Arena. Erika Tymrak’s long-range goal lifted the Pride to a 2-1 win. The teams played one final, high-scoring game on Oct. 9. It was a bad start for the Pride as Gaetane Thiney scored a brace and Purce made it 3-0 late. But the Pride came storming back with goals by Tymrak and Marta, falling just short in a 3-2 final.

The Pride and Gotham were in different groups for the 2020 Fall Series, so the last time they met prior to 2021 was in 2019, when the New Jersey-based club was still called Sky Blue FC. They first met that year on June 22 at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ. Chioma Ubogagu gave the Pride the lead from the penalty spot and Sarah Killion equalized. The difference was a Gina Lewandowski own goal as the Pride won 2-1. On July 20 they met at Exploria Stadium. Marisa Viggiano’s goal won it for the Pride, 1-0. The final game occurred on Sept. 29 in New Jersey. Shelina Zadorsky gave the Pride the lead, but Carli Lloyd equalized in a 1-1 draw.

The teams met three times in 2018, starting on June 16 in Orlando, when a Sydney Leroux brace led the Pride to a 3-2 win. They met again in Orlando on Aug. 5 with the Pride giving up a 1-0 after Marta’s opening goal. But Dani Weatherholt equalized in a 2-2 draw. The final meeting in 2018 came on Sept. 8 in New Jersey — the final game of the season. There was only one goal in this one as Lloyd won it for Sky Blue FC.

The 2017 season saw the Pride and Sky Blue meet three times. The first was May 27 in New Jersey, where the Pride lost 2-1. They met again in New Jersey on June 28 and the Pride won, 3-2. The final meeting was on Aug. 12 in Orlando and the Pride won by its largest margin in team history, beating Sky Blue 5-0.

The 2016 season was the first time the two teams met, with the inaugural game coming on Sept. 7 in New Jersey. Alex Morgan and Sam Kerr swapped goals in a 1-1 draw. They met again three days later in Orlando, with Sky Blue winning, 2-1.

Overview

The Pride are off to a tough start to the 2023 NWSL season. They opened in Portland, falling to the defending champion Thorns, 4-0, but played much better in the most recent game on April 2, with Messiah Bright scoring her first professional goal. Unfortunately, Katie Johnson scored for Angel City in the 10th minute of second-half injury time, dooming the Pride to a 2-1 loss on almost the last touch of the game.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines has committed to playing his young players as the Pride continue their rebuild. This commitment has seen a very young center back pairing of Emily Madril and Caitlin Cosme in the first two games. The partnership struggled in Portland, but played much better against Angel City, although Madril conceded a penalty and was spared a second after video review revealed an offside in the buildup. After spilling four balls in the 4-0 drubbing out west, Moorhouse also played better in the home opener.

The biggest positive out of the first two games was Bright’s showing against Angel City. She came on in the 23rd minute when Julie Doyle went down injured, providing an offensive spark for the hosts. She’ll be looking to continue that good form tonight.

Gotham FC began the season by traveling across the country to face Angel City in LA. Alyssa Thompson gave the California-based team a 1-0 lead, but Gotham came back to win 2-1 with goals by Purce and Lynn Williams. In their home opener, Gotham faced OL Reign at Red Bull Arena. The hosts out-shot the Reign 10-9 in that game but couldn’t get any of those attempts on target, losing 2-0.

The Gotham defense includes two former Pride players in Ali Krieger and Kristen Edmonds, but the star of the back line is U.S. international Kelley O’Hara. The team lost Ashlyn Harris prior to the season when the longtime Pride star announced her retirement and was replaced by former Thorns goalkeeper Abby Smith. Gotham is stronger going forward, starting with Allie Long in the midfield. It’s tough to tell so early in the season, but the Gotham attack should be its strength this year, featuring Mewis, Purce, and Williams.

“(Gotham is) going to have to bounce back from their game against OL Reign. They’re very experienced, they’ve got some big names, and we have to be mindful of that,” Hines said about tonight’s opponent. “We have to be aware of the threats and their qualities. But again, the focus is on ourselves. We have to bounce back. We need to get points on the table. We need to give the fans moments to be excited about as well and really show how far this team has come in the past weeks and months over preseason. So, again, it’s another game that we feel we can go out and win and be competitive and build from that.” 

In addition to Carrie Lawrence (knee), who’s out for the season, Doyle (ankle) and Brianna Martinez (head) are listed as out tonight. Haley Bugeja (head) and Watt (hamstring) are listed as questionable. The biggest difference in the injury report this weekend is the lack of Marta’s name. The Brazilian came off in the 53rd minute against Portland and, despite only being listed as questionable, wasn’t on the team sheet against Angel City.

Gotham is only missing Nealy Martin (ankle) and Taryn Torres (knee) for this game.

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Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Kaylie Collins.

Defenders: Kylie Strom, Emily Madril, Caitlin Cosme, Haley McCutcheon.

Defensive Midfielders: Kerry Abello, Mikayla Cluff.

Midfielders: Adriana, Marta, Erika Tymrak.

Forwards: Messiah Bright.

Bench: Carly Nelson, Summer Yates, Megan Montefusco, Celia, Tori Hansen, Jordyn Listro, Viviana Villacorta.

NJ/NY Gotham FC (3-4-3)

Goalkeeper: Abby Smith.

Defenders: Kristen Edmonds, Mandy Freeman, Kelley O’Hara.

Midfielders: Jenna Nighswonger, Allie Long, Kristie Mewis, Victoria Pickett.

Forwards: Lynn Williams, Yazmeen Ryan, Ifeoma Onumonu.

Bench: Michelle Betos, Ali Krieger, Imani Dorsey, Ellie Jean, Taylor Smith, McCall Zerboni, Sinead Farrelly, Midge Purce, Delanie Sheehan.

Referees

REF: Elvis Osmanovic.
AR1: Jennifer Garner.
AR2: Jeremy Smith.
4TH: Alejo Calume.
VAR: Kelsey Harms.
AVAR: Joel McKell.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 7 p.m.

Venue: Exploria Stadium — Orlando.

TV: None.

Streaming: Paramount+ (U.S.), NWSLsoccer.com (International).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow @ManeLandSean and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter account (@ORLPride).

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Enjoy the match. Go Pride!