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Orlando Pride vs. Racing Louisville FC: Final Score 1-0 as Pride Get First Home Win

Messiah Bright’s first-half goal was enough to give the Pride their second consecutive win and their first of the year at Exploria Stadium.

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2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride (2-4-0, 6 points) won their first home game of the year and their second consecutive match, defeating Racing Louisville FC (0-2-4, 4 points) 1-0 at Exploria Stadium. Messiah Bright scored her second goal of the season in the 21st minute and the Pride held onto the lead for 69 minutes to claim all three points.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines started the same lineup as last weekend’s win over San Diego Wave FC — the first time the Pride have had the same back-to-back lineups this season. Anna Moorhouse started in goal in front of a back line of Kylie Strom, Emily Madril, Megan Montefusco, and Haley McCutcheon. Mikayla Cluff and Viviana Villacorta were in the defensive midfield behind Marta, Erika Tymrak, and Adriana. As has become the norm, Bright started up top.

Louisville had the better of the possession early, ultimately resulting in a shot by Uchenna Kanu that missed the target. Other than that, the early possession didn’t result in much as Moorhouse took care of everything near her six-yard box.

The first attack for the Pride came in the fourth minute when Marta won the ball near midfield from Carson Pickett. She had space moving forward, but Jaelin Howell caught up and knocked it out of play for the game’s first corner kick.

Marta took the ensuing corner and curled it towards goal. It looked to be heading in, but Louisville goalkeeper Katie Lund tipped it over the crossbar. The Pride didn’t get another shot during that attacking sequence.

In the 10th minute, the Pride thought they should’ve had a penalty when Adriana played the ball back for Bright in the box. The forward shot and the ball hit the hand of Howell. Despite her arm being away from her body, neither referee Jeremy Scheer, nor video assistant referee Kevin Broadley, felt it was enough to award a spot kick.

The Pride had a good chance on a counterattack in the 18th minute. Tymrak found Adriana to her left and played the Brazilian forward. Bright was making a run into the box, but Adriana decided to take the shot herself from just outside of the box, sending it right into the hands of Lund.

Three minutes later, the Pride took the lead through their rookie striker. It started when Adriana’s shot was blocked out of play by Abby Erceg for a corner kick. The ensuing set piece went all the way through the box, ending up with Strom on the far side. The left back sent a cross into the box, finding the head of Bright. Lund got her hand on the ball, but didn’t get enough of it and it got behind her to give the Pride the 1-0 lead.

“We’ve been focusing a lot on set plays. Paul, our goalkeeper coach, talks a lot about how the game is won between the two boxes. And so that’s been a huge focus for us,” Strom said about the goal off a corner kick. “And you can see from the last two games, we’ve gotten results off of set pieces. So yeah, you just gotta put it in the mixer and ‘Messi’ (Bright) had a great header to get on the end of it. And it was just a desire and willingness to get in the box and score a goal.”

“I’m really happy for her. I’m happy that she got another goal as well,” Hines said about Bright. “I think it always helps as a forward. You know, I want her to be more ruthless as well. I want her to start really believing in her ability and be a little bit selfish as well at times. Like, you take a shot. It’s okay. You’re a forward. It’s fine to shoot.”

Bright almost had her second goal in the 30th minute when she made a strong run, beating Lauren Milliet and shielding Julia Lester to get space for a shot to the near post. Lund did well to block the attempt, sending it off the post. It went back to the striker, who sent her second attempt towards the far post. However, Lund responded quickly and stopped that one as well, keeping her team’s deficit at one goal.

Moorhouse was called into action in the 35th minute when a poor clearance attempt by Montefusco provided a one-touch shot for Ary Borges. The midfielder’s shot was on target, but Moorhouse reacted quickly, knocking it out of play with her right hand.

Louisville had a late first-half chance when Kayla Fischer created enough space on the right to take a shot. But Strom got in front of the attempt and knocked it out for a corner kick. The ensuing corner was caught by Moorhouse at her back post, ending the threat.

In the final minute of first-half injury time, the Pride almost got a second when they sprinted towards the Louisville goal. Receiving the ball from Tymrak, Adriana cut it to her left foot and shot. Lund dove to her left to make an excellent one-handed save. The ball reached Pickett behind the goalkeeper and rolled towards the goal line, but Pickett was able to recover and clear it before it went over.

The Pride had the better chances in the first half and probably should’ve had a three-goal lead. However, Lund had some key saves for the visitors, enabling them to remain within one goal.

At the end of the first half, Louisville had more possession (52.9%-47.1%) and passing accuracy (82.1%-80.6%), but the Pride had more shots (9-8), shots on target (4-3), corners (8-2), and crosses (13-9).

Louisville got off to the better start in the second half, putting pressure on the Pride and creating chances. Borges took a low shot in the 47th minute that was right to Moorhouse and Wang Shuang fired from the top corner of the box in the 52nd minute that was well wide of the goal.

Despite conceding a large amount of possession in the opening minutes of the second half, it was the Pride that nearly scored. Adriana made a long run in the 56th minute, shielding off defenders to enter the box. Instead of shooting herself, she found Marta arriving at the top of the 18. The Brazilian’s first touch was a hard shot on goal, but Lund tipped it over the crossbar.

A poor pass by Marta to Villacorta in the 61st minute gave Louisville a good chance to get back even. The ball was behind the midfielder, allowing halftime substitute Kristen Davis to take over. Madril and Montefusco closed her down at the top of the box, but she took a shot before they could arrive. Fortunately, Moorhouse was able to get down to gather the ball, ending the threat.

In the 65th minute, Pickett created a chance for herself near the top of the Pride box. Dribbling in from the left, she found space for a shot, but Moorhouse did well to get down and block it away. However, the flag went up because Davis was in an offside position and obstructing the view of Moorhouse, so it wouldn’t have counted anyway.

Louisville forced Moorhouse into another save in the 74th minute when second-half substitute Alex Chidiac played the ball forward for Davis. The forward turned Montefusco nicely, getting past the center back for a shot on goal. Her attempt was from the left and inside the six-yard box, but Moorhouse did well to get down and block it out of play with her right hand.

It looked like the Pride had a good chance to double their lead in the 76th minute when Marta took over possession near midfield and charged the other way. After entering the box, she cut inside to lose Erceg, but tripped and was unable to take a shot.

In the 80th minute, quick passing between Marta and Cluff created a chance for Kerry Abello, who came on for Tymrak in the 68th minute. But Lund blocked it away.

Seconds later, Adriana forced Lund into another good save from the left. This time the ball went right to McCutcheon right in front of goal, but she sent the second attempt over the crossbar from close distance.

As the Pride looked to see off their second consecutive win, Hines made two more changes. Ally Watt came on for Cluff in the 81st minute and Amanda Allen made her Pride debut, replacing Bright in the 86th minute.

Despite Louisville needing a goal, the Pride held a fair amount of possession as time wound down. The visitors did have a chance in the 82nd minute when a corner kick fell to the foot of Howell, but her shot fell right into the arms of Moorhouse.

The Pride had one last chance for a second goal a minute into second-half injury time when Marta skillfully flicked the ball over the defense for Allen. The rookie took the ball down well and shot, but Lester got in the way.

As the score would suggest, the game was quite even. Louisville had more possession (52.2%-47.8%), shots (17-16), crosses (12-14), and passing accuracy (80.2%-76.4%). The Pride had more corners (9-7) and duels won (49-47). Both teams put seven of their shots on target.

“It’s a nice feeling,” Hines said about the win. “I thought in this game, it was a moment, an opportunity to really show how far we’ve come from the start of the season. You know, it’s nice to get a clean sheet, but I think that it could have been a three or four-nil game and that’s why we need to be better. I think we need to be more ruthless in front of goal. And that’s something that we’ll talk about after the game with the players. But I’m really happy for them. I’m really pleased for them. It was a nail biter at the end and you start thinking about the previous games and how they’ve ended. But, you know, we saw it out and we’ll take a lot of confidence on how we finished the game.”

“It felt amazing to finally get a clean sheet,” Montefusco added. “We’ve been working towards that for a long time. So it felt right to finally get that tonight.”

The Pride have had good performances at Exploria Stadium this season, but have conceded late goals that saw them drop several points. This is the second straight game that the Pride have been able to see out the win and the first time this year at home.

“We sat in a locker room after a game really late one night. The coaches didn’t even come and talk to us after. It was just our team. We had to look each other in the eye and really get down to it. We were like, what is holding us back here? What is going on? We gotta figure this out,” Montefusco said about seeing out games. “And we just said it is how it is and now it’s ingrained in us that that is not something that we want. That’s not a part of our team identity. We have to close out games, we have to manage them better, and the focus is for 90-plus minutes. I mean, it takes 100 and whatever minutes. We have to play all the way through and I think because we’ve talked about it so much, because it happened, you live and you learn and that experience is now showing and we’re not going to do that again.”

“We’ve been in situations where you’re hanging on to a 1-0 lead, trying to manage the game,” Hines added. “And we spoke heavily about previous games, about managing games, how to take the ball into the corner, run the clock, being a little bit more direct, and you see the rewards by getting three points at the end.”

After starting at the bottom of the league, the back-to-back wins have moved the Pride up to ninth, jumping Racing Louisville, the Chicago Red Stars, and Angel City FC.

The Pride will look to carry this momentum into the Challenge Cup Wednesday night when they face the Washington Spirit at Audi Field.

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Summer Yates

Summer Yates made big improvements during her second professional season.

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23 hours ago

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December 9, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride drafted Summer Yates in the fourth round (39th overall) of the 2023 NWSL Draft. The former Washington Husky surprisingly dropped far enough for the Pride to select her, and she didn’t disappoint. The midfielder signed a two-year deal prior to her rookie season and took a big leap forward in 2024.

Let’s take a look at how Yates performed during her sophomore year.

Statistical Breakdown

Yates played in 25 of the Pride’s 26 games in the regular season, starting 17 and recording 1,334 minutes. She scored five goals — including her lone penalty on April 26 in Washington — and added a pair of assists. She put 10 of her 17 regular-season shots on target and completed 64% of her 409 passes. While she primarily played in an attacking role, the midfielder also helped defensively, recording 15 tackles and 10 interceptions. She committed 17 fouls, drew a whopping 38 on the opposition, and was not booked.

Yates earned a starting spot in Orlando’s NWSL playoff opener against the Chicago Red Stars, but suffered an injury in the 38th minute, requiring her removal. She didn’t start the final two games, coming off the bench in both. She made three total playoff appearances, recording 53 minutes. She didn’t have a goal contribution or take any shots, and completed 48% of her 23 passes. Defensively, she recorded two tackles while helping the Pride win the championship. She did not commit a foul in the postseason but suffered three, and she was not booked.

Yates played in all three of the Pride’s NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup games, starting in the first and third games while recording 141 minutes. She didn’t have any shots, goals, or assists, but completed 30 of her 42 passes (77%), including four long balls and 26 short passes. Defensively, the midfielder had three successful tackles and made one interception. She did not commit a foul, drew three on her opponents, and wasn’t booked.

Best Game

Yates had several solid performances this season, resulting in her seeing more minutes and starting a playoff game. However, her best performance was on June 21 in a 6-0 drubbing of the Utah Royals at Inter&Co Stadium. The win saw the Pride extend their unbeaten run to 15 games on the season and, despite the lopsided final score, Yates played a key role in the win.

Arguably the biggest moment of the game was when Yates scored in what Hines calls one of the “big five moments.” In the third minute of the first-half stoppage time, with the Pride only up 1-0, Yates and Barbra Banda pressured a short pass to Kate Del Fava, causing the defender to concede possession. Yates took control and calmly put the shot past goalkeeper Amanda Haught to give the Pride a 2-0 lead at halftime.

The attacking midfielder started, playing 80 minutes, and was effective offensively and defensively beyond scoring her goal. She was active throughout the game, touching the ball 44 times and completing 78% of her 18 passes. All three of her shots were on target and she contributed defensively, adding a season-high three tackles and two interceptions.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Yates a composite grade of 6.5 out of 10 for the 2024 season, an improvement from her 5.5 grade last year. She only played in 10 league games last year while recording 108 minutes with no starts, but became a regular contributor this season. Her improvement was obvious and it’s now clear she was the steal of the 2023 draft. While she played well all season, the most important thing is her improvement. In only her second year, her development was obvious, showing she can be a key player for the Pride in the coming years.

2025 Outlook

Yates’ rookie contract was a two-year deal, running through 2024 with an option for 2025. Her play during the first half of the season resulted in a contract extension on July 11, keeping her in Orlando through 2025 with a mutual option for 2026.

The Pasco, WA native became a key player for the Pride during the 2024 season, playing almost every game and starting most of them. Her role on the team in 2025 will likely depend on what happens with Marta. If the Pride captain retires or the club decides not to bring her back, Yates might become a regular starter in the attacking midfield. Otherwise, she’ll likely have a similar role to this year, splitting time with Julie Doyle and starting when Marta or Adriana need a rest.

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Ally Watt

The speedy attacker earned a starting role for the playoffs to cap her best professional season to date.

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2 days ago

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December 8, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride originally acquired forward Ally Watt from OL Reign on Aug. 15, 2022 in exchange for $125,000 in Allocation Money. That November, she signed a new deal to keep her in Orlando through 2024. Back in July, in the midst of her second full season with Orlando, the 27-year-old signed another new contract through the 2025 season with a mutual option for an additional year.

After the Colorado Springs, CO native played just six matches with Orlando in 2022, she took on a bigger role in 2023, appearing in 19 games during the regular season, but started just six. Her role was similar in 2024, as she played in a lot of games but still only started sparingly. However, she started down the stretch when it mattered most, earning the confidence of Head Coach Seb Hines to keep her in the starting XI throughout the postseason.

Let’s take a look at what made 2024 Ally Watt’s best year in the league so far.

Statistical Breakdown

Watt made 21 appearances for the Pride in the NWSL regular season, starting nine times and playing 879 minutes. Her minutes were concentrated at the beginning and end of the year, as she started six of the first seven and two of the final three regular-season matches. She scored three goals on 22 shots with 14 on target. She also provided an assist. She completed 128 of her 215 passes (60%), four of which were key passes. She also chipped in on the defensive end with 15 tackles, four interceptions, and 30 headed duels. Watt was fouled 15 times on the season and committed the same number herself and was shown one yellow card.

Watt started two of the three NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup matches and came off the bench in the third match, playing 207 minutes in total. She did not record a goal as none of her three shots were on target, and she did not record an assist. The attacker completed 18 of her 39 passes (53%), and she also added three tackles. The speedy forward committed three fouls in the competition, suffered three, and was not booked.

Watt started all three of Orlando’s NWSL playoff matches, playing at her best to close the season. In 196 minutes, Watt attempted four shots (none target), but turned provider with three assists. In the playoffs, Watt completed 26 of her 37 pass attempts (70%). She also succeeded in two tackles in the NWSL Championship, her only tackles of the postseason. She committed three fouls but was not booked.

Best Game

Ally Watt had two goal contributions in a match twice this season. First, she scored one and assisted one in Orlando’s 4-1 victory over the Courage on May 1. Then, in the first round of the playoffs, she had two assists in the 4-1 win over the Chicago Red Stars on Nov. 8. Despite her role in these lopsided victories, her true best game of the season was the 3-2 victory over her former club, Seattle, in the final match of the regular season on Nov. 2. 

Against Seattle, Watt kick-started Orlando’s electric form in front of goal to close the season. While she thought she had assisted Barbra Banda for the first goal of the match in the second minute, the goal was ruled out due to Banda being offside. Instead, Watt was able to break the deadlock just seven minutes later by beating the goalkeeper one on one after she raced behind to receive a lovely ball from Summer Yates. 

This goal was not the only reason to pick this match as Watt’s best of the season. Against Seattle, she was heavily involved for the entire match, setting or tying her highest marks for the season in touches (40), completed passes (20), carries (22), and tackles (three). In hindsight, this match was key to turning Orlando’s fortunes at just the right time after the Pride had slumped to back-to-back losses after securing the NWSL Shield, and Watt was a huge part of making it happen. 

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Watt a composite grade of 6.5 out of 10 for the 2024 season, a solid improvement on her grade of 5.5 from the prior season. Early in the season, prior to the arrival of Banda, Watt played in an advanced attacking role but struggled with her shooting and final touches. After Banda arrived, her minutes dropped for the middle third of the season. Later in the year though, something clicked for Watt, whether from playing in a wider role or alongside a more conventional striker, and her form took off. Watt’s three postseason assists were vital to the Pride winning the NWSL Championship, and her grade reflects how she played at her best in the biggest matches.

2025 Outlook

As mentioned above, the 27-year-old played the best soccer of her career in 2024 and was rewarded with a contract extension through 2025 with a mutual option for 2026. She showed this year that she can compete for the starting role in the winger / wide attacking positions or back up Banda as a striker. Her speed and defensive work rate are valuable aspects to her game that should keep her in the regular rotation in 2025, even if new faces are added to the squad.

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Brianna Martinez

The right back played a more significant role during her second season in Orlando.

Published

3 days ago

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December 7, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Brianna Martinez was drafted by Racing Louisville FC with the 17th overall pick of the 2023 NWSL Draft. After failing to impress in Kentucky, the defender became a non-roster invitee to camp with the Orlando Pride, earning a contract on March 29, 2023. The Pride picked up her option for the 2024 season, keeping her in purple for the club’s historic campaign.

Let’s take a look at how Martinez performed during her second season with the Pride.

Statistical Breakdown

Martinez claimed the starting right back position early in the season and held it until Emily Sams took over the role. She regained her starting spot when Sams had to move to her natural center back position to replace an injured Rafaelle, but lost it again when she suffered a non-contact injury in the Summer Cup.

The right back made 13 NWSL appearances this season with eight starts and recorded 696 minutes. She put her only shot on target, but didn’t score a goal or record any assists. The defender completed 196 of her 284 passes (71%), including a cross and 20 long balls, while turning the ball over 119 times. Defensively, Martinez won nine tackles at a 75% success rate while recording 14 interceptions and winning 18 headed duels. She committed 13 fouls, suffered eight, received a yellow card and was sent off once.

With Sams away at the Olympics, Martinez was expected to start all three NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup games. She started the first one on July 20 in North Carolina, but suffered a non-contact injury in the 73rd minute, walking off in tears. She completed 18 of her 26 passes (70%) in those 73 minutes and turned the ball over 14 times. She won one of her two tackles and her only headed duel before exiting the game. She did not commit or suffer a foul and wasn’t booked.

Martinez did not appear in the Pride’s postseason matches.

Best Game

Martinez was a regular starter early in the season, starting five straight games and playing 90 minutes four times between March 22 and April 26. However, the right back’s best game has to be in the 1-1 draw on June 7 away to San Diego Wave FC when she was a significant part of claiming a crucial away point and keeping the Pride undefeated.

Starting and playing 90 minutes, the right back touched the ball 53 times and completed 64% of her 30 pass attempts. She only won one tackle on the night, but recorded a season-high four interceptions, helping to keep the game even when the Wave were pushing forward. She also only recorded one foul in the game, something that has been a problem for the defender at times.

2024 Final Grade

After not playing enough minutes to get a grade in 2023, The Mane Land staff gave Martinez a composite grade of 5.5 for the 2024 season. She was a little inconsistent as a starter, but earned that spot when Sams was forced into the center back role. Unfortunately, she was out due to injury and Cori Dyke’s performance after being inserted into the lineup kept her on the sidelines. Despite the inconsistency, Martinez played well enough to earn a new contract and likely would’ve continued to start if Dyke hadn’t played so well.

2025 Outlook

After taking the starting right back position, Dyke didn’t give it up, starting throughout the championship run. However, the club likes the depth Martinez provides and rewarded the 24-year-old with a new two-year deal on June 24 that will keep her in Orlando through the 2025 season. Martinez will push Dyke for the right back starting spot, although Seb Hines will need to figure out if the club is best served by having Sams, Kylie Strom, and Rafaelle all on the pitch or just two of them. Regardless, Martinez provides another piece the club believes can be a starter.

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