Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. San Diego Wave FC: Final Score 3-1 as Pride Claim First Win of 2023
Goals by Mikayla Cluff, Haley McCutcheon, and Adriana lift the Pride to their first win of the year.
The Orlando Pride (1-4-0, 3 points) pulled off a shocking result tonight, defeating San Diego Wave FC (3-2-0, 9 points) 3-1 at Snapdragon Stadium in Southern California. The hosts took an early lead through Jaedyn Shaw and it looked like it would be a long night for the Pride. But Mikayla Cluff equalized and Haley McCutcheon gave the Pride the lead just before halftime. Adriana scored her long-awaited first goal in the second half and the Pride got their first points of the 2023 NWSL regular season.
With the win, Orlando remains unbeaten in the series, improving to 2-0-1 in three meetings with San Diego.
Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made several changes to tonight’s lineup. Anna Moorhouse returned as starting goalkeeper for the first time since April 2 against Angel City. Caitlin Cosme, Jordyn Listro, and Ally Watt all started in the 2-0 loss to the Kansas City Current last weekend but were on the bench for this one. They were replaced by Cluff, Erika Tymrak, and Messiah Bright.
The back line in front of Moorhouse in this game consisted of McCutcheon, Emily Madril, Megan Montefusco, and Kylie Strom. Viviana Villacorta and Cluff were the defensive midfielders behind Marta, Tymrak, and Adriana, with Bright alone up top.
San Diego looked like one of the best teams in the league early in this game. The Pride tried continuously to get the ball out of their own end, but the Wave’s high press forced multiple turnovers in the Pride’s own third of the field.
Despite their early struggles, it was the Pride that got the first chance in the second minute. Strom played the ball back for Cluff on the left and the midfielder lifted the ball into the box for Bright. The rookie striker had a pair of San Diego defenders around her, but got her head to the ball. Unfortunately, her header was wide of the far post.
The Wave got their first chance in the fifth minute from a Pride turnover. After dribbling through two defenders, Madril played a simple pass back for Cluff. But the pass was well wide of Cluff’s reach, allowing Shaw to take over. The attacker dribbled towards the Pride box and Cluff did well to recover. The challenge forced Shaw into an off-balance shot that went right to Moorhouse.
The Pride had a second opportunity in the sixth minute when Bright carried the ball to the end line and attempted a cross, but Kaleigh Riehl stayed close and deflected it out for a corner kick. The ensuing corner by Adriana was into the box, but San Diego goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan was able to catch it.
Following that chance by the Pride, the hosts began to take over. In the 11th minute, It was another turnover, this time by Tymrak on San Diego’s half of the field, that started a chance for the Wave. The home side broke the other way in numbers, led by Danielle Colaprico, who played it wide for Sofia Jakobsson. McCutcheon was on the midfielder in the box and Montefusco joined for support. However, that left Shaw wide open near the penalty spot. Her first touch was too strong, but the ball went right to Jakobsson, who continued her run towards goal. The Swedish international shot, but Moorhouse got low to block it and Strom headed the ball away.
San Diego opened the scoring a minute later when Christen Westphal found Colaprico in the middle of the field. She sent Makenzy Doniak to the end line, whose first touch was towards the near post. Shaw beat Montefusco to the ball and Moorhouse to her near post with a great finish from the top of the six-yard box.
In the 16th minute, another good break down field by San Diego nearly doubled the Wave’s lead. Kristen McNabb found Shaw near midfield and the forward did well to shield Montefusco, spinning around the defender to continue the attack. After Belle Briede received the ball behind the Pride defense, she beat an oncoming Moorhouse and shot on goal. Fortunately, Madril was there to block it out for a corner and the Pride avoided a two-goal deficit.
The Pride were on their back foot for the better part of 20 minutes, but took advantage of a San Diego mistake. In the 25th minute, Naomi Girma played a bad pass back for Sheridan who tried to keep it in play, knocking it out for a corner. Adriana took the set piece, sending it to the back post, where Cluff got her head to it and put it past Sheridan for the equalizer. It was Cluff’s first goal of the season.
“We worked through corners, obviously, leading up to this game,” Cluff said about her goal. “Our target was the back post and it was actually, the play was designed for Kylie to get onto it. But it wasn’t really flowing the way we had expected. And so me and Kylie kind of made an adjustment right before and luckily it fell where we wanted it to.”
“Set pieces can be turning points, whether you’re going up in the game or coming back in the game,” Hines said about the goal’s impact. “You could see the confidence after that goal went in with the players. We performed much better, we worked for each other, and, you know me, I love a good set piece headed goal.”
The goal was only the Pride’s second of the NWSL regular season and their first away from Exploria Stadium in all competitions.
The Wave tried to regain the lead in the 31st minute when former Pride forward Rachel Hill dribbled into the box and shot, but Montefusco blocked it out of play. The ensuing corner by Shaw found the head of Riehl with Cluff challenging her. The ball bounced off both heads, ending up at the feet of Doniak, who shot from close distance and over the crossbar.
Getting to halftime at 1-1 would’ve been an accomplishment for the Pride, but they did one better by taking their first lead of the regular season in the 42nd minute. It began when Marta played Villacorta in the middle of the field. A great ball into the Wave box found McCutcheon, who snuck into the space created by Bright’s run and sent a looping header over Sheridan, who was defending her near post. The goalkeeper dove for the ball, but it was too far behind her and found the inside the far post to give the Pride a 2-1 lead. It was the first goal in a Pride uniform for McCutcheon, who joined Orlando midseason last year.
At halftime, the Pride had more possession (52%-48%), but San Diego had more shots (8-5), shots on target (3-2), and corners (5-4). The key to the scoreline was that the Pride scored on both of their accurate attempts.
The Pride continued their late first-half momentum, creating the first chance of the second half. In the 47th minute, Adriana dribbled into the Wave box and used a nice cut to beat Westphal, hitting Riehl with her shot. The Pride players appealed for a handball, but referee Brad Jensen said it was clean and VAR felt the initial call was correct.
Two minutes later, the Pride nearly had a second chance when Strom played a long pass for Marta, streaking behind the Wave defense. If she had bent it a little, the Brazilian might’ve caught up to it, but it was direct and went out of play for a goal kick.
Similar to the beginning of the game, it took five minutes for San Diego to get their first chance of the half. In the 50th minute, Jakobsson used a nice turn to beat McCutcheon and sent a cross to the near post for Shaw. The forward was again the first player to the pass and her first-touch shot was almost identical to her first-half goal. But this time she missed just wide of Moorhouse’s near post.
The Wave had another opportunity in the 53rd minute when Cluff fouled Briede just outside of the Pride box. Shaw stepped up to take the kick, bending it towards the back post. It looked like it would be an easy catch for Moorhouse, but she spilled it to her left where McNabb was charging in. The defender shot towards goal and hit the side netting, allowing the Pride to maintain their one-goal advantage.
Two minutes later, the Pride had a chance from nearly the same spot when Villacorta was fouled by Briede. Marta and Adriana stood over the ball, with the elder Brazilian taking the kick. This one wasn’t as close, with her shot deflecting off of the wall.
Looking for her first goal as a member of the Pride, Adriana shot from long distance in the 61st minute. The shot was deflected by Riehl, sending it towards the corner of the goal. The deflection forced Sheridan to dive as it looked to be heading just inside the post. Regardless of its accuracy, the Canadian international collected it.
In the 64th minute, good passing by Briede and Shaw created a chance for Amirah Ali, who came on two minutes earlier for Hill. She had space and time, but probably rushed her shot a little too much and it went wide.
San Diego’s missed chances came back to haunt the hosts in the 69th minute, when the Pride scored their third goal of the game. A long run by Tymrak to the top of the Wave box allowed her to find Adriana on the right. Girma was on the attacker, but Adriana’s shot went through her legs. Sheridan dove for the ball, but it went under her hand, bounced off the far post, and went in to give the Pride a surprising 3-1 lead.
“I think she really needed that. I think all forwards, they feel good when they come off the field with a goal,” Hines said about Adriana getting her first goal for the Pride. “We had spoke to her about being more selfish, taking on players, getting more shots off. She has a terrific shot. And it’s getting her to use it more often. It’s a brilliant goal, just a half yard and a snap shot, I don’t think any goalkeeper in the world would’ve saved that.”
In addition to being Adriana’s first goal for her new team, it was also the first time the Pride have scored three goals in a game. It was a welcome sight for a team that has struggled offensively prior to this game.
This game also saw some league history in the 71st minute when Melanie Barcenas replaced Briede, becoming the youngest player to appear in the NWSL. The 15-year-old signed a three-year deal with the Wave on March 21 and broke the record previously held by Olivia Moultrie of the Portland Thorns.
The Pride made their first change in the 73rd minute when Ally Watt came on for Cluff. The substitution was a bit of a surprise as it was an attacking change. Additionally, Marta had yet to play more than an hour this season as she returns from a torn ACL, so some expected the Brazilian to come off.
Seven minutes after coming on, Barcenas made her first impact on the game. After receiving the ball from Ali, some nifty footwork provided enough time for Ali to run behind her. Barcenas played it back to Ali who shot towards goal, but the attempt was high.
The Pride made their second change in the 79th minute. This time it was a defensive change, which made sense with a two-goal lead, as defensive midfielder Jordyn Listro replaced the more attacking Tymrak.
The Wave continued to apply pressure as time wound down. In the 84th minute, a corner was cleared by Montefusco, but Girma sent the ball back into the Pride box. Ali won the ball, heading it back for Shaw, but her shot was over the goal.
It looked like the hosts got one back in the 89th minute when Colaprico sent Ali behind the Pride defense. The forward did well to reach the ball before it crossed the end line and cut back to beat Strom. Her shot was off Madril’s foot and past Moorhouse, but the assistant’s flag went up for offside on Colaprico’s long pass.
As the game entered second-half injury time, the Wave pushed for a goal and the Pride tried to kill the clock. Adriana did well on multiple occasions to take the ball to the corner, even when Marta wanted to be sent into the San Diego box. Additionally, the Pride did well to stay compact defensively, providing few paths through the defense.
The only real chance in the final minutes came two minutes into stoppage time when Shaw sent Ali through. However, this pass was a bit too far, allowing Moorhouse to collect it near the top of the box.
San Diego led most statistical categories at the end, including possession (52.2%-47.5%), shots (17-14), corners (7-4), and crosses (21-12). But the Pride had more shots on target (6-4) and passed more accurately (85.3%-81.4%), leading to their 3-1 win.
“Obviously delighted with the win. It was a great team performance. From all the players, the intensity of in possession and out of possession was terrific and to come to a place like this and come away with three points is really impressive,” Hines said after the game. “Trusting the players because we’ve had glimpses of what we can do in previous games, but today was probably the most, overall, complete performance that we’ve put together. So I’m really happy for the players and all the staff to come away with three points.”
“We’ve been battling every game for it so it’s nice to finally get that result,” Cluff added. “We’ve been super close every game so it’s nice that we finally had a positive finish.”
The Pride had a tough start to the season, losing their first four league games and three at home. They’ve been close to claiming points in each of their home games and Hines said this result could be a turning point.
“I was really pleased that we controlled the game with possession and found the little pockets and played through the lines and still looked threatening in the attack,” he said after the game. “Because we got end product. We managed to get shots. We managed to get through balls, even set pieces. So it’s starting to come together.
“We have to look forward to the next game back at home and do the same at home as well in front of our own fans. That’s important to me and the rest of the staff, that we start putting these performances together in front of our fans as well.”
The Pride will look to do that next Saturday night when they welcome Racing Louisville to Exploria Stadium.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride at North Carolina Courage: Final Score 1-1 as Pride Score a Late Equalizer
The Pride continue to struggle scoring goals, but earned a point on the road thanks to Prisca Chilufya’s stoppage-time goal.
The Orlando Pride (5-2-1, 16 points) scored a second-half, stoppage-time goal to steal a point on the road against the North Carolina Courage (2-3-3, 9 points) in Cary, NC. The home team took the lead in the first half on a goal from Felicitas Rauch. Fortunately for the Pride, Prisca Chilufya scored her first NWSL goal late to keep the Pride from losing two in a row.
“I thought we actually deserved more, considering the dominance in the game, the passes, the chances created,” Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said after the match. “Obviously, they scored in the first half, but we had really good momentum. I thought we played extremely well today both in possession and out of possession.”
Hines made three changes to the team that lost to the Portland Thorns a week ago. Emily Sams got a rest, with Kylie Nadaner getting the start. Morgan Gautrat and Angelina returned to the starting lineup in the midfield. The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was made up of Kerry Abello, Nadner, Zara Chavoshi, and Oihane. Carson Pickett joined Gautraut, Haley McCutcheon, and Angelina in the midfield, with Marta and Barbra Banda up top.
The Pride came out aggressively early in the match. They made things difficult for the Courage, taking the ball back whenever North Carolina managed to gain possession. Orlando generated a few chances, but the shots were either blocked, wide of target, or straight to North Carolina goalkeeper Casey Murphy.
Disaster struck in the 27th minute, when the Courage scored the first goal of the match against the run of play. Rauch brought the ball up the left in transition and centered it for Manaka Matsukubo to shoot. Moorhouse made a huge 1-v-1 save, but the rebound went right back to Rauch, who put it past Chavoshi for the goal.
North Carolina almost made it two in the 28th minute, but the ball went wide left. The Pride continued to press the Courage, sometimes resulting in a giveaway. Abello lost the ball in the 33rd minute, and earned a yellow card when she committed a professional foul to stop the counterattack. Banda also suffered some fouls as the team pushed forward.
In the 42nd minute, Manaka chested a cross at goal, but Moorhouse was right there to make the easy save. The Courage tried going over the top, but Moorhouse came out to collect the ball after a brief hesitation. On the other end, Angelina put the first shot on target for Orlando in the 45th minute, but it went right to Murphy.
After the first half, the Pride had the advantage in shots (8-5) but the Courage had more shots on target (2-1). The Pride had the advantage in possession (68%-32%) and corners (3-1), but the Courage had the lead. Orlando’s game plan was working in every part of the match except in front of goal — on both sides of the pitch.
The second half started much like the first. The Pride hounded the Courage whenever they managed to have the ball. Despite that, North Carolina was able to generate some chances. In the 53rd minute, Moorhouse came off her line to punch out the ball but she ran into Oihane, hitting her in the head. Oihane needed to be attended to by the trainers since she took a blow to the head, but she was able to continue.
In the 58th minute, Banda finally managed a shot on goal. Marta stole the ball and sent a pass to Banda, but the Zambian international’s shot was pushed over the bar for a corner kick. The Pride had another chance in the 61st minute on a free kick. Pickett put the ball across the face of the goal, but neither Banda nor Oihane were able to get on the ball. In the 67th minute, Hines subbed Emily Sams on for Oihane and Ally Watt for Abello.
In the 77th minute, Ally Lemos came on for Pickett, and Chilufya came on for Gautrat. The Pride kept pushing for the equalizer. Watt attempted a long-distance shot in the 78th minute, but it was blocked. In the 84th minute, Cori Dyke came on for Chavoshi. Referee Brad Jensen indicated there would be at least five minutes of stoppage time.
The equalizer finally came in the third minute of added time. Angelina delivered a corner into the box, and Chilufya sent a looping head over Murphy’s fingertips and into the back of the net.
“It is a long-awaited goal,” Chilufya said. “I feel very happy. I am very excited. I am just looking forward to moments like this when the team needs me most and to just turn up and do what you can and pick everybody’s spirit up. Going in, [Pride Goalkeeper Coach] Paul [Crichton] told me to just go in and get in the box and do what I can. When I was going to the front post, it may sound crazy, but I envisioned it. Like, what if I just go up front and maybe just jump and flick my head. Who knows, I might get a touch on the ball. I did what I was thinking, and with God’s plan, it worked. I can’t believe it, but I did it.”
“A well-deserved goal towards the end. We have this mentality that we never give up, we never say die and we pile the pressure on,” Hines said. “It’s come off a set piece and Prisca [Chilufya] takes it well and gladly it falls into the back of the net.”
The match ended very strangely. A North Carolina player went down outside the area, but no foul was called. Play continued for a bit, before the referee blew the whistle to stop play. He then indicated the video assistant referee was checking something, but he then called full time. The Pride avoided a second loss thanks to Chilufya’s late equalizer.
At full time, the Pride had the advantage on shots (15-7), shots on target (3-2), possession (63%-37%), corner kicks (8-2), and passing accuracy (88%-76%). Good defending by North Carolina, offset a dominating — but wasteful — performance by the Pride.
“We stuck to the gameplan, and we caused North Carolina a lot of problems at their home field,” Hines said. “I think there is a part of us that is disappointed that we are walking away with a point, but on the road, you will take it.”
At least for the tonight, the Pride are back on top of the standings. Orlando returns home on Friday to face the Kansas City Current.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. North Carolina Courage: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Pride look to bounce back from a tough loss in Portland when they visit the North Carolina Courage Saturday.
Welcome to your match thread as the Orlando Pride (5-2-0, 15 points) face the North Carolina Courage (2-3-2, 8 points) in Cary, NC. This is the first of two games the teams will play this season. The return game in Orlando is scheduled for Sept. 19.
Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.
History
The Pride and Courage have played 26 times since the Western New York Flash moved to North Carolina and became the Courage in 2017. The Pride are 6-13-7 in those games (6-10-2 in the NWSL regular season, 0-0-2 in the Fall Series, 0-3-2 in the NWSL Challenge Cup, and 0-0-1 in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup.)
The most recent meeting between the two teams was on July 20, 2024, in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup in North Carolina. Manaka Matsukubo gave the hosts the lead just before halftime before Celia equalized late for the Pride. The game went into penalties where the Courage won 5-4.
The Pride were the better team on June 15, 2024, with more possession, shots, and shots on target, but the game ended in a scoreless draw. While they were disappointed with the result, the Pride were the first team to take points in North Carolina in 2024. Earlier in the season, on May 1 in Orlando, Barbra Banda and Ally Watt started up top together for the first time, a move that paid off in the game. Banda set up Watt for the opener in the first half, and Watt repaid the favor just over 10 minutes later, as the Pride went up 2-0. Julie Doyle added a goal just before halftime, giving the Pride a commanding lead. Emily Sams’ own goal was the only scoring for the Courage and Banda’s second of the night gave the Pride a 4-1 win.
The first game between the Pride and Courage in 2023 was on April 19 in Orlando. The Pride took the lead after halftime when Summer Yates set up Watt for the opening goal, but Denise O’Sullivan equalized in the ninth minute of second-half injury time, resulting in a 1-1 draw. On June 17 in North Carolina, it was all Courage. Kerolin and Meredith Speck gave the hosts a 2-0 lead before a Haley McCutcheon own goal made it 3-0 to North Carolina.
The Pride didn’t show up for the July 29 Challenge Cup contest in North Carolina, getting demolished by the Courage. Brittany Ratcliffe and Malia Berkely gave the hosts a 2-0 halftime lead before Frankie Tagliaferri made it three, and a late brace by Haley Hopkins completed the 5-0 result. The Pride finally got a win that year on Sept. 17, 2023 at home. Watt got the Pride off to a great start, scoring inside the first minute. After assisting on the first goal, Adriana doubled the lead before halftime. Manaka Matsukubo got one back for the visitors, but it wasn’t enough and the Pride won 2-1.
The first meeting in 2022 came on May 18 in North Carolina. The Pride got off to a great start in that game, with Sydney Leroux scoring early. Mikayla Cluff doubled the lead with her first professional goal. A late goal by Brianna Pinto got the Courage back within one, but it wasn’t enough as the Pride took the 2-1 win. On Sept. 21, 2022, at Exploria Stadium, it was the Courage that got off to the better start when Debinha scored in the second minute. The Brazilian then assisted Tess Boade in first-half injury time to double the lead, and later added another, dooming the Pride to a 3-0 defeat.
The Pride and Courage were placed in the same division for the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup, so the teams played twice before the regular season started. The first game was on March 26 in North Carolina. Merritt Mathias converted a penalty after Gunny Jonsdottir was called for a handball in the box, lifting the hosts to a 1-0 win. The return match in the tournament took place on April 16 in Orlando. The Courage got off to a fast start, scoring three goals in the first nine minutes. Darian Jenkins netted a brace to make it 3-2, but a late Debinha goal put the game away and North Carolina won 4-2.
The teams played three times during the 2021 NWSL season. On May 22 in North Carolina, goals by Leroux and Alex Morgan gave the Pride a 2-0 lead late into the game. Jessica McDonald scored late to pull one back but the Pride held on for a 2-1 win. On July 4 in Orlando, Debinha and Havana Solaun goals helped the Courage take home a 2-0 win. The final game was played July 31 in North Carolina. Leroux opened the scoring but Brittany Ratcliffe equalized moments later and the teams drew 1-1.
The two teams were also matched up in the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup but they only played once in that tournament. Neither team was able to find the back of the net in that game in a scoreless draw.
Similar to the Challenge Cup, the teams were in the same group of the 2020 Fall Series, meeting twice. The first was on Sept. 19 in North Carolina and ended in a scoreless draw. The second was on Oct. 17 at Exploria Stadium. Led by a Debinha brace, the Courage went up 3-0. But the Pride came back with goals by Marisa Viggiano, Kristen Edmonds, and Ally Haran for an exciting 3-3 draw.
The Pride and Courage played three times during the 2019 season. The first game was on April 17 in North Carolina. The Courage took a 1-0 lead into halftime but scored four times in the second half to win 5-0. They played a second time on June 1 in Orlando. Again, it was a dominant performance by the Courage as the Pride fell 3-0. The final meeting that year was another thrashing by North Carolina. The Pride got a goal in that one but still fell 6-1.
The teams also met three times in 2018 but the results were much closer. On May 23 in Orlando, goals by Alanna Kennedy and Rachel Hill saw the Pride come back from a 3-1 deficit. But McDonald scored a winner in the 90th minute and the Courage won 4-3. The Pride went down by three goals in the final two games that season, but were unable to come back and fell 3-0 in both contests.
The 2017 season saw the teams meet for the first time. The Courage took the first game 3-1 on April 29 in North Carolina. They played a second time two weeks later in Orlando when the Pride took the 3-1 win. The final meeting in 2017 came in the final game of the season on Sept. 30. The Pride took a 2-0 lead but the Courage came back to even it at 2-2. It looked headed for a draw until Kennedy netted a late winner, leading the Pride to a 3-2 win.
Overview
This season certainly isn’t the record-breaking start the Pride had last year, but they’re still one of the teams to beat in the NWSL. The defending champions won their first four games before falling 1-0 to the Washington Spirit in a disappointing performance. It looked like they would see their first losing streak when they fell behind 2-0 to Angel City FC, but scored three goals in the final 20 minutes to take all three points.
Unfortunately, the winning didn’t last long. The Pride followed the come-from-behind win with a trip across the country to face the Portland Thorns. With a long flight and on artificial turf, Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made several changes to the team, including giving rookie Zara Chavoshi her first start. Reyna Reyes’ goal was the difference as the Pride fell 1-0 for their second loss of the season.
Despite the loss, the Pride remain in first place, tied with the Kansas City Current on points, goals scored, and goals conceded. This is the finale of a two-game road trip before they return home to face the same Current team in a highly anticipated Friday night clash at Inter&Co Stadium.
The Pride are led offensively by Banda with four goals. Marta follows with three goals, McCutcheon has two, and Watt has one goal. The assists have been spread evenly with Marta, Oihane, Morgan Gautrat, and Banda all recording one.
The defense has been the strong point for most of the season, recording shutouts in three of the first four games. The 3-2 win over Angel City is the only time the Pride have conceded multiple goals in a game, with the two losses being 1-0 results.
There was a question who would start in goal tonight, as starting goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse left the game in Portland with a head injury. McKinley Crone did well in her place, playing nearly the entire second half. But Moorhouse is not on the availability report and is expected to return to action tonight.
The Courage currently sit in ninth, three points below the final playoff spot. They got off to a slow start but have been hot in recent weeks. It started with a 3-2 win on April 26 over the then-undefeated Current for their first win of the season. They followed that with a 2-0 win over the Utah Royals on May 3.
Despite having firepower with the likes of Ashley Sanchez and Jaedyn Shaw, the Courage have struggled a bit offensively, scoring eight goals in seven games. They’ve been much better defensively. They’ve conceded nine goals this year, but five of those were against the Current and NJ/NY Gotham FC, two of the best attacking teams in the league.
Sanchez leads the team with two goals this season. Ryan Williams, Kaleigh Kurtz, and Riley Jackson have one each. Williams, Speck, O’Sullivan, and Matsukubo lead the team assists so far this season, but each has just one.
The big concern for the Pride entering tonight’s game is on the offensive end. While they lead the league with 14 goals scored, six of those came in the season opener against the Chicago Stars. Meanwhile, they’ve been kept off the scoresheet in two of the last three games. To claim three points away from home, they’ll have to beat one of the league’s top goalkeepers in Casey Murphy.
“Always a difficult place to go play historically. It’s always been a challenge there, the way that North Carolina likes to play,” Hines said about tonight’s game. “They’ve found some form in the last two games as well. We’re looking to bounce back from our recent result as well, so it’s an exciting game.”
The Pride go into this game with an unchanged availability report. They remain without Simone Charley (ankle), Luana (illness), Amanda Allen (shoulder), Aryssa Mahrt (knee), Julie Doyle (knee), Rafaelle (thigh), and Summer Yates (ankle).
The Courage will be without Berkely (leg), Sydney Collins (ankle), Hensley Hancuff (excused absence), and Olivia Wingate (leg). Speck (lower body) is listed as questionable.
Projected Lineups
Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.
Defenders: Kerry Abello, Kylie Nadaner, Emily Sams, Cori Dyke.
Defensive Midfielders: Haley McCutcheon, Morgan Gautrat.
Midfielders: Angelina, Marta, Prisca Chilufya.
Forward: Barbra Banda.
North Carolina Courage (3-4-3)
Goalkeeper: Casey Murphy.
Defenders: Natalia Staude, Kaleigh Kurtz, Maycee Bell.
Midfielders: Feli Rauch, Riley Jackson, Denise O’Sullivan, Ryan Williams.
Forwards: Shinomi Koyama, Manaka Matsukubo, Ashley Sanchez.
Referees
REF: Brad Jensen.
AR1: Katarzyna Wasiak.
AR2: Melissa Beck.
4TH: John Rush.
VAR: Danielle Chesky.
AVAR: Kevin Huet.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park — Cary, NC.
TV: Ion.
Streaming: Prime Video.
Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow our David Rohe on Bluesky or the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter feed (@ORLPride).
Enjoy the game. Go Pride!
Orlando Pride
Pride Opponents Reducing Barbra Banda’s Available Space in 2025
How changes in the opposition’s defensive strategies have led to a decline in Barbra Banda’s statistics.
A few years ago, I heard a basketball analyst talking on a podcast about Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors and how his shooting prowess completely changed the geometry of how his opponents were trying to defend him. Geometry, as you all remember from high school, is the area of mathematics that is focused on understanding space and the positions of items in space.
As a mathematician, my ears perked up, since geometry is rarely referred to on NBA podcasts, and I immediately understood his point was that because Curry was such an offensive shooting threat, the opposition had to think differently about their positioning than they would with just about any other player, and they could not afford to give Curry any space on the court or else he would punish them with his proficiency at shooting the basketball.
Basketball is a much different game than soccer, in particular because hoops shots from behind the arc are worth three points while shots from inside the arc are worth two. Defenses have to consider the talents of their opponents at shooting three-pointers and adjust accordingly. Curry is the only player in NBA history with more than 4,000 made three-pointers made during the regular season (4,058), and is nearly 1,000 ahead of the next player on that list, James Harden, who has made 3,175. It can be argued that the only person to make better use of an arc than Curry was Noah, but that is for another article.
What does any of this have to do with Barbra Banda? Well, nothing and everything. I have no idea what kind of basketball player Banda is, but I know that just as defenses in basketball have had to dramatically change their normal styles to defend Curry, so too have they changed in how they defend Banda. If we take a look at some of Banda’s style-of-play statistics from the 2024 regular season and compare them to 2025, we can see the evidence of how defenses are clearly making changes to their positioning and to the space they are allowing Banda to operate in on the field (all data is from fbref.com, all metrics are on a per-90-minute basis except shot distance and expected goals, which are per shot taken):
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passes Received | 22.7 | 15.7 | -31% |
| Progressive Passes Received | 7.41 | 6.57 | -11% |
| Shots | 5.23 | 4.14 | -21% |
| Shot Distance in Yards | 14.6 | 15.6 | +7% |
| Expected Goals | 0.14 | 0.12 | -14% |
| Progressive Carries | 5.80 | 3.71 | -36% |
| Attempted Take-Ons | 5.23 | 3.14 | -40% |
| Touches in the Attacking Third | 21.9 | 18.0 | -18% |
| Touches in 18 | 10.6 | 8.0 | -25% |
| Shot-Creating Actions | 4.60 | 3.58 | -22% |
I called these her style-of-play statistics because I think these describe what she is doing on the field and where she is doing it, or in this case, not doing it as much as she was doing it in 2024.
Let’s start with the top two: passes received and progressive passes received per 90 minutes. The Pride are completing nearly the same number of passes per 90 minutes in 2025 (357.3) as they did in 2024 (364.4), but Banda is receiving 31% fewer passes this season than she did last season. She is also receiving 11% fewer progressive passes, which are passes of 10 yards or more that move the ball closer to the goal in the attacking area of the field. Banda is healthy and still in her athletic prime, so it is not that she has lost a step and is unable to run as she did in 2024, but it is clear that opponents are making concerted efforts to track her more closely and deny her the ball all over the field.
Receiving the ball less often certainly contributes to taking fewer shots, and, unsurprisingly, Banda is taking approximately 1.1 fewer shots per 90 minutes thus far this season. In addition, she is, on average, taking her shots from 7% farther (not further, thank you, Finding Forrester) away from the goal and from areas of the field which historically have produced fewer goals, as evidenced by the decrease in expected goals per shot. I did not include her conversion rates on her shots in this table, because that is not about style of play and rather about her proficiency. It is interesting, however, to note that her proficiency is nearly exactly the same: shots on target percentage of 44.6% in 2024 and 44.8% in 2025 and a slight increase in goals per shot from 13% in 2024 to 14% in 2025. It is not that Banda’s skill has diminished, it is how her opponents are changing the geometry of their defense.
The biggest drops from year to year tie right into this, which are Banda’s 36% decrease in progressive carries per 90 minutes (progressive carries are the dribbling equivalent of progressive passes received, when a player dribbles the ball for 10 or more yards towards the goal in the attacking area of the field) and 40% decrease in attempted take-ons. Teams are simply not allowing her to get a head of steam and get into space like they did last season, to the tune of two fewer progressive carries per 90 minutes and two fewer attempted take-ons PER MATCH. Banda has actually been slightly more successful in her take-ons in 2025 (50% success vs 47.5% success in 2024), but as teams are working to have her receive the ball in less dangerous places she is choosing not to try to take on a defender as often and is less often able to receive the ball and turn on the burners towards the goal.
With fewer passes received and fewer progressive carries she is also not touching the ball as often in the opponents’ attacking third and 18-yard box, which ties back to the reduction in shots taken, and also the final metric, shot-creating actions. Banda was fourth in the NWSL last season with nearly five shot-creating actions per game, and she has dropped to 16th this season with only 3.58 thus far. Being in the top 20 is still excellent, but goals generally come from shots, and Banda’s shot creation is down through seven games. The eye test does not reveal a player who is tentative or shying away from trying to create. I think she is just being defended differently, and as yet she has not unlocked a good counter.
Even with all of this said, it is not like Banda is having a bad year or is in any danger of losing her starting role. She has dropped in shot-creating actions, but she is making use of the ones she does create, ranking fourth in goal-creating actions by averaging 0.72 per 90 minutes. She is also fifth in goals scored per 90 minutes and third in goals scored. Her goal output is also lower in 2025 than it was in 2024, but as I noted, it is still better than most of the league’s offensive players.
Increasing her output is partly on her and partly on her teammates, as they need to work together to counteract how Banda is being defended by making some changes of their own. The losses of Adriana to a new team and Julie Doyle and Summer Yates to injury have hurt the offense, as the attack cannot build on all the cohesion that those players built with Banda last season, and Ally Watt and Angelina have not contributed as much as was expected, at least not yet. As The Mane Land’s Dave Rohe said on this week’s SkoPurp Soccer podcast though, all of this is true and the team is still tied for first place and tied for the league lead in goals scored.
The Pride have two tough games coming up — on the road at North Carolina, always a tough opponent, and then at home against Kansas City, the team currently tied with Orlando at the top of the table. Winning both games will be an acute challenge, but if the Pride can do that they will create a degree of space at the top of the table, though it would be more of an algebraic than a geometric sequence, since they would be adding three points and then another three points.
Whether algebraic or geometric, the Pride will continue to work to calculus, sorry…calculate, how best to sequence their offense to unlock Banda and improve an offense that, excluding own goals, has scored only six times in their last six games. They will surely be considering all the angles in practice this week, but let’s hope that in the end the angle they choose to go with for their offensive strategy is right.
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