Orlando Pride vs. North Carolina Courage: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match thread as the Orlando Pride (4-6-1, 13 points) face the North Carolina Courage (5-4-2, 17 points) in Cary, NC (7 p.m., Paramount+). This is the first of two regular-season meetings between the teams with the return game at Exploria Stadium occurring on Sept. 17. They’re also in the same group of the Challenge Cup. They drew the first game in Orlando and play on July 29 in North Carolina.

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

History

The Pride and Courage have played 20 times since the Western New York Flash moved to North Carolina and became the Courage. The Pride are 4-11-5 in those games (4-9-1 in the NWSL regular season, 0-0-2 in the Fall Series, and 0-2-2 in the NWSL Challenge Cup).

The most recent meeting between the two teams came on April 19 in the NWSL Challenge Cup at Exploria Stadium. The Pride took the lead after halftime when Summer Yates set up Ally 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.

Prior to that game, they last played on Sept. 21, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. The Courage got off to a great 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 previous 2022 meeting 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.

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 in this one, 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 came on 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 Apr. 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

The Pride had a rough start to the 2023 NWSL season but have turned things around recently. They went on a four-game unbeaten run before dropping back-to-back games to the Chicago Red Stars and Houston Dash. It didn’t get any easier when they returned home to face the Portland Thorns, a team that battered them 4-0 to open the season.

But the Pride came away with a surprising win against the defending champions. They were led by their Brazilian star Adriana, who netted her first brace in the NWSL. Messiah Bright added a goal off the bench as the Pride won 3-1.

The Courage enter this game on a hot streak, having only lost once in their last seven games. They’d be much higher in the standings if not for a three-game losing streak early in the season. Last weekend, the Courage scored five goals in a 5-0 thumping on the Red Stars in Illinois.

The Pride’s opponent tonight has been strong on both ends of the field. The Courage are tied for fourth in the league in goals scored, with 15, and tied for third in fewest goals conceded, with 11. They’re 2-1-2 this season at WakeMed Soccer Park, with their only loss coming to the Washington Spirit on April 15.

Offensively, the Courage are led by Kerolin, who has a league-leading seven goals this season. They’ve also had a consistently solid back line of Emily Fox, Malia Berkely, Kaleigh Kurtz, and Ryan Williams in front of Casey Murphy. Together, that defensive unit has kept five clean sheets in 11 league games.

This is a big game for the Pride as they look to move closer to a playoff position. The Courage currently hold the sixth and final playoff spot, just four points ahead of the Pride. Claiming any points in this game will bring the team closer to their ultimate goal of the second playoff appearance in team history. But it will be a tough task against a team that’s been solid home and away in recent weeks.

“They’re a good team. They’re a good footballing team,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said of tonight’s opponent. “They like to play from back to front, use all of their players in the attack. They are coming off the back of a comprehensive win against Chicago away from home and then, obviously, the Challenge Cup, so they’re full of confidence. They’re going to be a tough team to beat, but we have to be prepared. We have to have a game plan and find areas that we can capitalize on.

“We may have to give up a little bit of possession like we did against Portland, but we’ll be ready for what they bring. Again, we want to go out there and win as many games as we can and this is a team that’s just above us in the table. That’s our motivation. We want to keep looking upward and seeing where we can get points and be in a position come the end of the season where we’re fighting for playoffs. That’s our motivation, that’s where we want to be towards the end of the year and we’re now at the halfway mark, so we have to pick up points where we can.”

The Pride only have one player listed as out for tonight, with Carrie Lawrence (knee) out for the season. However, Marta (thigh) is back on the injury report, listed as questionable. North Carolina will be without Emily Gray (knee), Estelle Johnson (lower leg), and Clara Robbins (lower leg).

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Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Kylie Strom, Emily Madril, Megan Montefusco, Haley McCutcheon.

Defensive Midfielders: Mikayla Cluff, Viviana Villacorta.

Midfielders: Julie Doyle, Adriana, Ally Watt.

Forwards: Messiah Bright.

Bench: Carly Nelson, Caitlin Cosme, Amanda Allen, Jordyn Listro, Kerry Abello, Brianna Martinez, Celia, Summer Yates, Erika Tymrak.

North Carolina Courage (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Casey Murphy.

Defenders: Emily Fox, Malia Berkeley, Kaleigh Kurtz, Ryan Williams.

Defensive Midfielders: Narumi, Denise O’Sullivan.

Midfielders: Kerolin, Frankie Tagliaferri, Mille Gejl.

Forwards: Tess Boade.

Bench: Katelyn Rowland, Sydney Collins, Meredith Speck, Brianna Pinto, Rikki Madsen, Tyler Lussi, Brittany Ratcliffe, Haley Hopkins, Olivia Wingate/

Referees

REF: Calin Radosav.
AR1: Ben Rigel.
AR2: Matthew Seem.
4TH: Joe Surgan.
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Joshua Patlak.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 7 p.m.

Venue: WakeMed Soccer Park — Cary, NC.

TV: None.

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

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

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Enjoy the match. Go Pride!