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 (0-1-1, 1 point) welcome NJ/NY Gotham FC (1-0-1, 3 points) to Exploria Stadium for a Challenge Cup clash. This is the first of two games the two teams will play in the competition, with both of them having been previously rescheduled — the first due to air quality and the second due to weather and travel delays.

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

History

The Pride have faced Gotham 21 times since joining the NWSL in 2016. They’re 7-8-6 in all competitions and 3-6-2 in Orlando. In Challenge Cup games, the Pride are 0-2-1 in three games against Gotham and 0-2-0 at home.

This is the third time the two teams have met this year. The most recent meeting came on May 14 in regular-season play. The Pride were the better team and created more chances, but couldn’t find the back of the net and the game ended in a scoreless draw.

The Pride and Gotham met for the first time this season on April 15 at Exploria Stadium. The game looked to be headed for a draw, but Gotham struck twice in second-half stoppage time. Midge Purce converted a penalty 10 minutes into stoppage time and then assisted on Lynn Williams’s goal seven minutes later, setting a record for the latest goal in NWSL history as the Pride fell 2-0. The Professional Referee Organization stated publicly that the penalty given for a handball on Caitlin Cosme did not meet its standards for being clear and obvious enough for a review, but that won’t change the standings.

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 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 Onumonu, 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 matchups 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 year 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 Bull 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 lead 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 have played two Challenge Cup games so far this season. The first occurred on April 19 at Exploria Stadium against the North Carolina Courage. Ally Watt gave the hosts the lead in the 56th minute, but the Pride couldn’t hold on. Denise O’Sullivan’s strike nine minutes into stoppage time resulted in a 1-1 draw.

The second game was on May 10 against the Washington Spirit at Audi Field. Center back Tori Hansen gave the Pride a surprising start in the 10th minute, but the Spirit responded with three long-distance goals before halftime. Watt pulled one back early in the second half, but Ashley Sanchez put the game out of reach and the Spirit won, 4-2.

The Pride were supposed to play a third game at Red Bull Arena on June 7, but wildfires in Canada caused poor air quality in New Jersey, so the game was postponed. Tonight’s contest is the result of another postponement, occurring on June 28 due to Gotham being unable to fly to Orlando because of severe weather.

This is the first time these two teams will meet in the Challenge Cup, the first of two meetings during the regular-season break for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Pride currently sit last in their group with just one point, four points behind the group-leading Courage.

Previous Challenge Cup games this season have been midweek affairs, placed between weekend league games. For this reason, Pride Head Coach Seb Hines has used them to provide minutes for reserve players. But since this game occurs during the World Cup break, Hines will likely use more of his starters in an attempt to climb up the division standings.

Similar to the Pride, Gotham used arguably its best lineup in the first Challenge Cup game against the Spirit. Lynn Williams’ 56th-minute goal was the difference in a 1-0 result. Gotham heavily rotated its lineup for the second game on May 3, a 1-1 draw with the Courage. It conceded just three minutes into the game, but went for the win by bringing on Kristie Mewis, Ali Krieger, and Williams at halftime. Williams equalized late and Gotham took a point from the game.

Gotham will likely go the same route as the Pride, playing more of their starters since neither team has played in about two weeks. Both teams will be missing players to the World Cup, but the Pride are missing fewer starters from the early season than the other teams in the Eastern Division.

“The Challenge Cup is a bit different going into these next four games because they have been midweek and we’ve had league games in between,” Hines said. “It’s a competition that we want to win and that we want to compete in. We aren’t far away from winning our group and we want to start where we left off. We want to go after Gotham on Sunday, put them under pressure, and again, we want to make this environment a hostile environment, a difficult place to play, and that’s what has been our success this year and we want to continue that throughout the season.”

The Pride have four players out injured or sick for this game, including Carrie Lawrence (knee), Haley McCutcheon (knee), Kerry Abello (leg), and Kylie Strom (illness). They’ll also be without four internationals currently at the World Cup, including Marta (Brazil), Adriana (Brazil), Rafaella (Brazil), and Mariana Larroquette (Argentina).

Gotham has three players out for tonight’s game, including Imani Dorsey (excused absence), Taylor Smith (thigh), and Taryn Torres (knee). Additionally, the visitors are without five players who are at the World Cup, including Kristie Mewis (USA), Kelley O’Hara (USA), Williams (USA), Ifeoma Onumonu (Nigeria), and Sinead Farrelly (Ireland).

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Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Celia, Emily Madril, Megan Montefusco, Brianna Martinez.

Midfielders: Jordyn Listro, Mikayla Cluff, Viviana Villacorta.

Forwards: Erika Tymrak, Julie Doyle, Ally Watt.

Bench: Kaylie Collins, Carly Nelson, Amanda Allen, Messiah Bright, Caitlin Cosme, Summer Yates, Tori Hansen, Maliah Morris, Thais Reiss.

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

Goalkeeper: Amanda Haught.

Defenders: Jenna Nighswonger, Ali Krieger, Ellie Jean, Mandy Freeman.

Midfielders: Yazmeen Ryan, Nealy Martin, Delanie Sheehan.

Forwards: McCall Zerboni, Katie Stengel, Midge Purce.

Bench: Michelle Betos, Abby Smith, Kristen Edmonds, Svana Gudmundsdottir, Cyera Hintzen, Allie Long, Maitane Lopez, Taylor Otto, Meleana Shim.

Referees

REF: Shawn Tehini.
AR1: Matthew Schwartz.
AR2: Rhett Hammil.
4TH: Alejo Calume.
VAR: Younes Marrakchi.
AVAR: Benjamin Wooten.

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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 @TheManeLand and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter feed (@ORLPride).

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Enjoy the match. Go Pride!