Orlando Pride vs. North Carolina Courage: Final Score 5-0 as Pride Get Trounced in Challenge Cup

The Orlando Pride (0-3-1, 1 point) went on the road and got beaten 5-0 by the North Carolina Courage (3-0-2, 11 points) in the NWSL Challenge Cup. Brittany Ratcliffe scored the first goal for the Courage and won a penalty that resulted in their second. A third goal by Frankie Tagliaferri came right after halftime, and substitute Haley Hopkins bagged a brace to put the game away. The Pride had a hot start, cooled off, and were shut out for the first time this tournament.

Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made a few changes to the lineup that fell 3-1 to NJ/NY Gotham FC last weekend. Kylie Strom and Haley McCutcheon both returned to the starting lineup, joining Megan Montefusco and Emily Madril on the back line. Anna Moorhouse got the start in goal again for the Pride. Jordyn Listro replaced Mikayla Cluff to play alongside Viviana Villacorta in the heart of the midfield. Messiah Bright spearheaded an Orlando attack that also included Kerry Abello, Erika Tymrak, and Julie Doyle. McCutcheon served as the team’s captain with Marta away with Brazil for the Women’s World Cup.

The Pride came out of the gate with plenty of energy, pressing hard and finding some success along the wings. However, they lacked a finishing touch and weren’t able to capitalize on catching the Courage on the backfoot.

It didn’t take long for the Courage to find their rhythm on offense. Good passing in the final third by North Carolina set up a chance for Ratcliffe with a clear look at goal, but her shot went just over the crossbar. Ratcliffe got her goal minutes later though, beating Haley McCutcheon to a through ball from Kiki Pickett. McCutcheon wasn’t able to stop the forward from getting her shot off and beating Moorhouse for the first goal of the game.

A hydration break did little to break up the Courage’s momentum as they pushed for more. Ratcliffe gave the Pride headaches throughout the match and served in a low pass in the 22nd minute that landed at the feet of Tagliaferri, whose shot was saved at point-blank range by Moorhouse.

The Courage then doubled their lead off of a penalty kick in the 38th minute. The ball found Ratcliffe in a dangerous area yet again and Listro’s tackle missed all of the ball and found all of Ratcliffe’s leg. Malia Berkely sent Moorhouse the wrong way and slotted her shot into the back of the net for the Courage’s second goal of the evening.

“We started off the game really well,” Strom said. “Even when we went down two to nil, we were still okay, we felt like we were in it. We just needed that one goal. In the first 15 minutes we created chances and were playing like ourselves. We were keeping the ball and we have our pattern and knew we had to execute. We were doing those things and, for whatever reason, we lost our way a little bit. That has been a bit of a theme for us. When we go down one, we have conceded again in the past few games.”

The Pride searched for a way back into the match before halftime. A long ball found Doyle in the 40th minute, but she didn’t have many options available. After dribbling to create space, she fired a shot from distance that went into the stands. Listro tried a long-range effort of her own soon after. While on target, Courage goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland had no trouble catching it. Bright had a chance in front of goal in the 44th minute, but her first shot was blocked and her second try was sent high and wide. Rowland then caught another cross from the Pride right before halftime, a scene that played out often in the match.

At halftime, the Pride only had 32.7% of possession, as they struggled to get much going when on the ball. The Pride did have more shots than the Courage (6-5), but only put one on goal, while the Courage had three shots on target. The Pride also had more crosses (8-4), but weren’t able to do much with them and finished the first half with worse passing accuracy (77.2%-85.2%).

The Courage wasted no time extending their lead after halftime. Following a corner and a barrage of chances as the Pride struggled to clear them, Tagliaferri struck the ball through traffic and past Moorhouse for the Courage’s third goal in the 47th minute.

“The scoreline doesn’t lie,” Hines said following the match. “Today was not good enough. North Carolina is very good both in attack and defense. They are a difficult team to break down with their athleticism and their attitude to win the ball back quickly in transition. We found it tough. I think we struggled with the basics. We talked about a gameplan to put pressure on them in the right moments. If you time it a little late then they will pick you off and be threatening in the attack and that is where we fell apart.”

The Courage certainly made the most of those moments in the match, often catching the Pride off balance after winning the ball. In the 52nd minute, a through ball beat all of the back line and sent Brianna Pinto in on goal. Moorhouse rose to the occasion though, coming up with a great tackle to poke the ball away from Pinto. The ball fell for Tess Boade, who just had to chip it on frame as Moorhouse stayed down after the tackle, but her shot went wide of goal.

Hines made some changes to the offense while Moorhouse received treatment. Bright and Doyle came off, with Ally Watt and Cluff replacing them. Moorhouse was able to continue and made another good save, diving to catch a shot from Narumi Miura in front of goal after a series of passes from the Courage.

The Pride made another change in the 61st minute, with Summer Yates coming on for Villacorta in the midfield.

Having a hard time building possession, Orlando started to find some opportunities through set pieces. In the 64th minute, Watt won a foul in a good area and Tymrak’s cross was good, but Rowland was there to catch it. Later in the 70th minute, McCutcheon was able to get a shot on target after a corner kick. However, she had to strike it on the volley from an awkward position and wasn’t able to generate enough power on it to beat Rowland.

Amanda Allen came on for Strom in the 77th minute, just moments before the Courage scored their fourth goal of the game. Substitute Olivia Wingate had room to run on the left wing and zipped a low ball in for Hopkins, who tapped it in.

The Pride pushed for a consolation goal, but instead conceded a fifth. No Pride defender picked up Hopkins’ run in the box as she got her head to fellow substitute Sarah Clark’s cross for a brace. Hopkins had all the time in the world to pick out her shot and scored without much difficulty at the far post.

After seven minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle blew without the Pride getting on the scoreboard. The Pride had more crosses (18-12) and corner kicks (6-3), but weren’t able to make much of their opportunities. They finished with fewer shots (9-15), only putting two of them on target compared to the Courage’s seven. The Courage dominated in possession (67.3%-32.7%) and were more accurate when passing as well (87%-75.1%).

“Obviously it was a disappointing result,” Strom said. “Losing hurts, losing five to nil hurts. It’s not good enough. I mean, credit to North Carolina, they are a great team, but we knew exactly what they were going to do. We had a game plan, we knew we had to get close to them. We had to end it when they went wide, and we had to be comfortable without the ball, and that just wasn’t good enough for us tonight.”

Despite the returns of fullbacks Strom and Montefusco for this match, the Pride’s defense struggled mightily when it came to tracking runs and clearing the ball from danger. The offense didn’t fare much better, as the Pride couldn’t maintain possession or make the most of their set pieces and crosses.

The Pride remain in the basement of their group in the NWSL Challenge Cup, while the Courage stay at the top. Orlando is unable to qualify for the knockout stage and has lost its past three matches in the tournament.

“We’ve got to raise our standards,” Hines said when asked what his message to the team was after the shut out. “We’ve let our standards drop the last two games. Previous to that, we’ve been very good, we’ve been threatening, and we’ve looked hard to beat. We need to get back to that. We’ve got to be analyzing every bit of detail from training to all the way into the game. It’s a tough league, it’s unforgiving at times. You’ve got to work hard and know what it means to represent this team. That’s kind of where we’ve fallen short, that desire and determination. There’s a lot of players who wear that heart on their sleeve and want to give absolutely everything, but it has to be collective. It has to be a standard, not random. I think that’s where we’re falling short right now.”

The Pride’s next match will be at Exploria Stadium on Friday against a Washington Spirit side they’ve beaten twice this NWSL season, although Orlando fell 4-2 to Washington earlier in the tournament. Orlando’s final game of this year’s NWSL Challenge Cup will be on Aug. 9 on the road against NJ/NY Gotham FC.