Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Kansas City Current: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Pride return home, looking to bounce back against the last-place Kansas City Current.
Welcome to your match thread as the Orlando Pride (4-7-1, 13 points) welcome the last-place Kansas City Current (3-9-0, 9 points) to Exploria Stadium. This is the second and final time the Pride and Current will meet during the 2023 NWSL regular season.
Here is everything you need to know about tonight’s game.
History
The Current joined the NWSL in 2021 after the team’s ownership group bought the Utah Royals and relocated the club to Kansas City. It’s the second NWSL team in the city — FC Kansas City played there from 2013 to 2017 before moving to Utah — and the team was known as NWSL Kansas City for its inaugural season.
The Pride and Current have played five games against each other, all in the regular season. Orlando has a 2-1-2 record in the series and has outscored tonight’s opponent, 8-7.
The two teams met last on April 23 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City. It was scoreless after an hour of play before the Current had a quick flurry, resulting in goals by Debinha and Cece Kizer, lifting Kansas City to a 2-0 win.
Their first meeting in 2022 came on July 31, in Kansas City, while the Pride were in the middle of their seven-game unbeaten run. The Pride opened the scoring when Erika Tymrak found the head of Celia and doubled the lead just after halftime through Julie Doyle. The Current came storming back with goals by Elyse Bennet and CeCe Kizer, pulling out a 2-2 draw.
Last year’s first game between the two was on May 14 at Exploria Stadium. The Pride took the lead early in the second half on a Gunny Jonsdottir goal. Bennett scored late in the second half, and the visitors appeared to win the game a minute into injury time through Kristen Hamilton. However, Kylie Strom was pulled down in the box five minutes later, resulting in a penalty. With Marta injured, the only player willing to step up to take the penalty was center back Toni Pressley, who drilled the ball into the roof of the net, pulling out a 2-2 draw.
The teams played twice during the 2021 NWSL season, with the first game occurring on May 30 at Exploria Stadium. Courtney Petersen found Alex Morgan just outside the six-yard box and the striker headed in the game’s lone goal. It appeared as though it was cleared off the line but the referee said it went over and the Pride won 1-0.
The Pride and Current met again on June 23 at Legends Field in Kansas City. The Pride had a weakened squad as then-coach Marc Skinner left some key players at home, preparing to lose them to the Olympics. It looked to be costly when Mariana Larroquette gave the hosts the lead late in first-half injury time. But the Pride responded well. Two minutes after Larroquette’s goal, Sydney Leroux’s shot took a deflection off a defender and went in to make it 1-1. Shortly after halftime, Leroux scored on a great individual effort from just outside the box. Marta then scored the goal of the game, beating Kansas City goalkeeper Abby Smith from the top of the center circle, lifting the Pride to a 3-1 win.
Overview
The Pride have been excellent at home this season, but have struggled on the road. Their four-game unbeaten run ended on May 27 with a loss to the Chicago Red Stars. After a loss in the following game against the Houston Dash, the Pride returned home to beat the Portland Thorns, a team that beat them 4-0 in Oregon to start the season.
That trend continued last weekend when the Pride fell 3-0 to the North Carolina Courage. The hosts dominated the game, sending Kerolin over the top and past the Pride center backs on several occasions.
Tonight, the Pride face a Current team they fell to 2-0 earlier this season. However, that game took place in Kansas City, so the result isn’t surprising. Facing the last-place team in Orlando should be a different performance.
Despite only having three regular-season wins, the Current are better than their record. They have three multi-goal scorers in Debinha (5), Kizer (3), and Izzy Rodriguez (2). They’ve been hit by the injury bug this season, losing some key players, with Sam Mewis and Mallory Weber being out for the season.
Their 13 goals scored are tied for third fewest in the league behind NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Pride, who have 10 each. Making matters worse, they’ve also struggled defensively. Their 23 goals against total is the second-most in the league, with only the Red Stars (31) conceding more.
Two of Kansas City’s three wins this season came in late April. They’ve lost six of their last seven games, with the only win coming on June 3 at home against the North Carolina Courage. They had a 2-0 lead on the Washington Spirit last weekend at home, but conceded twice in the final 10 minutes to lose 3-2.
“(We’re) just looking to bounce back from last week’s performance and result,” Hines said about tonight’s game. “We’ve shown good form at home in front of our own fans and we have to continue to do that. We have to put the effort in and the energy that the fans give us and ultimately get another three points at home.”
The Pride continue their run of good health heading into this game, only missing two players. Carrie Lawrence (knee) is still out for the season and is joined by Haley Bugeja (excused absence). The Current have a much more lengthy injury list, including Hanna Glas (knee), Lo’eau LaBonta (knee), Claire Lavogez (knee), Alex Loera (foot), Mewis (knee), Desiree Scott (knee), Jordan Silkowitz (hand), and Weber (knee).
Official Lineups
Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.
Defenders: Kylie Strom, Emily Madril, Megan Montefusco, Haley McCutcheon.
Defensive Midfielders: Jordyn Listro, Viviana Villacorta.
Attacking Midfielders: Mikayla Cluff, Marta, Adriana.
Forward: Adriana.
Bench: Carly Nelson, Tori Hansen, Messiah Bright, Ally Watt, Julie Doyle, Brianna Martinez, Celia, Summer Yates, Erika Tymrak.
Kansas City Current (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Cassie Miller.
Defenders: Hailie Mace, Gabrielle Robinson, Elizabeth Ball, Kate Del Fava.
Defensive Midfielders: Morgan Gautrat, Vanessa DiBernardo.
Attacking Midfielders: Cece Kizer, Debinha, Michelle Cooper.
Forward: Kristen Hamilton.
Bench: Rylan Childers, Mimmi Larsson, Chardonnay Curran, Rodriguez, Winebrenner, AD Franch, Croix Soto, Addisyn Merrick, Alexa Spaanstra.
Referees
REF: Eric Tattersall.
AR1: Jeffrey Skinker.
AR2: Melissa Gonzalez.
4TH: JJ Bilinski.
VAR: Laura Rodriguez.
AVAR: Joel McKell.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Exploria Stadium — Orlando.
TV: Fox 35 Plus.
Streaming: Paramount+ (U.S.), NWSLsoccer.com (International).
Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow @TheManeLand and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter feed (@ORLPride).
Enjoy the match. Go Pride!