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Orlando Pride vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC: Final Score 1-1 as Another Stoppage Time Goal Denies Pride a Win

The Pride had a second goal overturned after video review and conceded yet another game-changing, stoppage-time goal.

Published

2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride will be happy to see the end of the NWSL Challenge Cup. The Pride scored first, had a second goal controversially overturned after video review, and conceded yet another stoppage-time goal to draw NJ/NY Gotham FC 1-1 at Red Bull Arena.

Messiah Bright gave the Pride the lead on the road just past the half-hour mark and a shot by Kerry Abello bounced in off the shoulder of Haley McCutcheon, but the referee overturned the second goal. Mana Shim scored an easy equalizing goal early in stoppage time when she was left completely unmarked on the right side of the Pride defense and the teams split the points.

Orlando exits the competition without a single win in six tries, but the draw allowed the Pride to take Gotham out of the tournament with them. With just two points, Orlando finished dead last in the Challenge Cup.

“I’ve been pleased with the progress we’ve made (in the Challenge Cup),” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said after the match. “Obviously results haven’t gone our way but some of the performances have been brilliant and the attitude of the players has been great. It really showed today. We knew what was at stake for Gotham but it was more about ourselves and getting back to what we’re good at.”

Hines’ lineup was a strong one for the team’s Challenge Cup finale, with Anna Moorhouse in goal behind a back line of Kylie Strom, Emily Madril, Megan Montefusco, and Haley McCutcheon. Viviana Villacorta and Mikayla Cluff played in central midfield behind an attacking line of Kerry Abello, Julie Doyle, and Erika Tymrak, with Bright up top.

The first half was a bit back-and-forth, with the Pride getting an early corner but Gotham had some opportunities with Delanie Sheehan firing wildly off target. The hosts nearly got through on goal but Yazmeen Ryan couldn’t control the ball moments later.

Doyle and Abello each had a shot inside the box blocked off a corner in the ninth minute as the Pride searched for the opener. Katie Stengel took down Doyle in the box two minutes later, but the referee judged it to be a legal challenge and the video assistant referee did not overturn it or have Jeremy Scheer go to the monitor for a second look.

The teams exchanged long-range free kicks over the next 15 minutes but couldn’t make them pay off.

Gotham had an opportunity on the counter in the 26th minute but Midge Purce tried to beat Madril with Moorhouse off her line and appeared to be free to take a shot but opted to make a second move. Madril got the better of her on the second and took it away. A cross through the box came right to Moorhouse seconds later.

Two minutes later, Moorhouse was fortunate not to have to pay for a howler. Well off her line, the goalkeeper passed the ball to Purce outside the box, who couldn’t control it with the net wide open.

Bright broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute. Abello blazed past defender Ellie Jean down the left flank and sent a great ball into the middle for Bright to make an easy finish.

“I just saw Abello running down the field, so my main concern was just getting in the width of the goal and whatever popped out, just making that run centrally,” Bright said. “I knew she was going to cross it, so I just wanted to be there for the tap-in.”

Doyle had a chance to double the lead in the 39th minute when she was played a ball over the top behind the defense. She reached the ball before goalkeeper Mandy Haught but couldn’t finesse it past for a shot attempt.

That almost proved costly two minutes later. Ryan cut inside from the left and fired a shot at Moorhouse. The ball squirted through Moorhouse’s hands but it deflected just over the bar. Allie Long then fired a shot at the end of the half but it was right at the Orlando keeper on the last decent look of the half for either side.

At the half, the Pride had the advantage in possession (53.2%-46.8%) and corners (4-1), but the hosts led in shots (6-5), shots on target (2-1), and passing accuracy (74.7%-72.3%). Orlando led where it counted most, but only because Gotham couldn’t take advantage of the Moorhouse mistakes.

“I thought the first-half performance was really good,” Hines said. “We started the game fast, caused them a lot of problems, and we deserved that goal from Messiah. It was a great run from Abello and a great ball into a dangerous area and Messiah was there to put it in.”

The hosts were much more assertive after the break and the Pride were much more passive. There were long spells of play in the Pride end and, as we’ve sometimes seen in the past, a lot of nervy half-clearances and failures to relieve pressure by the Orlando defense.

Gotham won a couple of early corners in the second half and a cross by Ryan nearly was able to sneak in but it went just over the bar and landed on the roof of the net in the 48th minute. A minute later, Stengel got to a Purce cross but headed it straight at Moorhouse.

Orlando appeared to double its lead against the run of play in the 61st minute. A great individual effort by Doyle enabled her to work the ball from the right flank into the penalty area. She crossed it in for Abello, who couldn’t get her footing right and sent the ball off of McCutcheon and into the net. This time, the referee did go to the monitor to check it, in keeping with the Professional Referee Organization’s consistent policy of inconsistency.

Scheer looked at the replay and ruled that the ball was low enough on McCutcheon’s arm to constitute an offensive handball, which has different standards than a defensive handball. McCutcheon, to her credit, could not have possibly had her arm tucked in against her body any further than it was, shy of anything other than amputation. Nevertheless, the goal was disallowed, eventually costing the Pride a road win.

The play can be seen around the 3:19 mark of this video:

“I mean, it hit me in like the shoulder/chest area, I thought,” McCutcheon said. “But I know they’re pretty strict about those attacking handball rules, so I was bummed to see it called back, but I thought it gave us good momentum to push for another goal.”

“I’d rather not comment on the referee’s performance tonight,” Hines said, when asked if the ref or fourth official gave him an explanation after the overturned call. “We can only control what we can control, and, yeah, I’d rather not talk about the referee.”

The game was still there for the Pride, however, and second-half sub Jordyn Listro opted to try a shot from the top of the area on the half-volley rather than try to get in deeper and her shot sailed well over the bar in the 66th minute.

Gotham then got a flurry of chances with Stengel sending a shot out of play off a defender and Maitane Lopez sending a shot straight to Moorhouse.

Substitute Ally Watt got into the box in the 83rd minute but took a heavy touch. By the time she caught up to it, all she could do was knock it off the goalkeeper for a corner kick. Watt went to ground on the ensuing corner but no foul was given, nor did the play appear to be reviewed, and she did seem to go down easily.

Much of the rest of the match consisted of Orlando conceding set pieces and then failing to convincingly clear a ball away from the penalty area. A shot by Ryan was fumbled out of play by Moorhouse to give up another corner and Jenna Nighswonger sent a shot over the bar in the 87th minute.

The equalizer came just after normal time expired and the eight minutes of injury time had begun. Purce crossed the ball from the right side to the left, where no one tracked Shim’s run. It was an easy finish to tie the match in the 91st minute.

“It is a hard lesson to learn especially, you know, numerous times,” McCutcheon said of the team conceding again in stoppage time. “We’ve definitely shown that we can get the shutout, even with waves of pressure, but I think just looking at it from a standpoint of we can be in control of those late-game moments, even when we don’t have the ball. And then when we do have the ball, just valuing that and having a plan to waste time or to find another goal.”

“They had a majority of the possession second half, so, I think they were putting us on our back foot a lot,” Bright said. “They were being very aggressive, and they got the goal from it. I think it was just important for us to just stay locked in in those moments and to just keep it as best as we can, which we did not do, but we’ll continue to grow from it and learn for the next game.”

With time winding down and Gotham needing a win to advance out of the group stage, the hosts kept coming. Long headed over the bar in the 93rd and Shim sent a one-hopper to Moorhouse moments later.

But the Pride came within inches of finding a late winner out of nowhere against the run of play. Substitute Summer Yates sent Watt into the right side of the box and the forward’s shot beat Haught but hit the left post and stayed out in the 97th minute.

Orlando survived the final minute and a half and finished with a draw.

Gotham dominated the stat sheet by putting the Pride on their heels through much of the second half. The hosts finished with more shots (17-8), shots on target (7-2), possession (56.9%-43.1%), and passing accuracy (76%-67.7%). The teams each won six corners.

“We had a lot of good moments. Luck hasn’t gone our way,” Hines said. “You look back in the second half and there was obviously the goal that gets chalked off for a handball and you’re thinking, ‘Aw, here we go again.’ And they score really late on but we had enough to hold on for a draw, and I think that’s an important moment for us — to not lose the game tonight.”

“It’s disappointing. We definitely were hungry to win today, which is why we’re going to continue to grow from our mistakes,” Bright said.

Thus concludes Orlando’s participation in the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup. The Pride will return to regular-season action at home on Aug. 20 when they host the Chicago Red Stars.

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Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Final Score 1-0 as the Pride Hold On After Banda’s Goal

The Pride earn their second straight clean sheet with a hard-fought away win against Bay FC.

Published

5 days ago

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June 14, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride (8-3-1, 25 points) scored in the second half and then held on for dear life in the final moments tonight to claim their third straight victory with a 1-0 win over Bay FC (4-5-3, 15 points) at PayPal Park in San Jose, CA. Barbra Banda’s 58th-minute goal was the difference as the Pride claimed their fifth clean sheet of the season.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made five changes from the team that beat the Houston Dash with a last-second goal on June 7. Cori Dyke, Angelina, Summer Yates, Marta, and Banda all entered the lineup for Oihane, Ally Lemos, Morgan Gautrat, Kerry Abello, and Julie Doyle.

The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Dyke, Kylie Nadaner, Emily Sams, and Carson Pickett. Haley McCutcheon and Angelina were in the defensive midfield behind Yates, Marta, and Ally Watt with Banda up top.

Similar to the 1-0 win over Houston, the first half was one to forget. Both teams looked sloppy, turning the ball over time and time again. However, the Pride came out attacking in the second half, putting the hosts on their heels. Once Banda gave her team the lead, the Pride couldn’t keep possession and had to withstand attack after attack with Bay FC nearly scoring on multiple occasions. But they kept the ball out of the net to take home all three points.

Both teams won early corner kicks, but it wasn’t until the 10th minute when the game’s first clear chance occurred. Caprice Dydasco played Karlie Lema down the right and the midfielder sent a cross in for Asisat Oshoala. Nadaner got a piece of the pass, but it went directly to Taylor Huff. The forward had a chear shot on goal with Moorhouse coming up with a big save.

The Pride’s first shot came in the 15th minute when Dyke sent a cross into the box. There was a group of players in the area, but Banda rose above them all to get her head to it. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get enough contact on the attempt, sending it wide.

Yates beat Lema in the 30th minute and the Bay FC midfielder pulled her back, earning the first booking of the game. The set piece was a give-and-go between Pickett and Angelina that sent Pickett down the left. It looked like the defender would cross the ball, but she played it back to Yates instead. The shot was bobbled by Bay FC goalkeeper Emmie Allen before her defenders cleared it.

Bay FC nearly had a chance in the 34th minute when Watt’s clearance was blocked. It went straight to Oshoala, who played it to Huff, who was making a run into the box. However, Dyke did well to shield the striker, and Moorhouse came out to cover the ball.

Marta played a ball forward a minute later that was won by Banda. The striker shielded Hubly enough to get a shot off, but Emmie Allen pushed it over the crossbar.

McCutcheon played the ball forward for Banda in the 42nd minute, but Abby Dahlkemper won it back for Bay FC. As Banda fell to the ground, the hosts broke the other way. Receiving the ball on the left from Huff, Racheal Kundananji dribbled into the Pride box. She was looking for space to shoot, but Nadaner stuck her foot in to win it back.

Once the ball was cleared, the referee stopped play as both Banda and Kundananji were down. However, they eventually got up and were able to continue.

A collision on a free ball allowed Angelina to take possession in the second minute of first-half stoppage time. The Brazilian made a long run up the field before playing the ball to Marta in the center. The Pride captain dribbled to the left before sending a ball into the six-yard box that Allen stepped up to collect.

That was the last decent first-half chance for either team as the game reached the break scoreless. The Pride finished the first half with the advantage in possession (63%-37%), shots (4-2), shots on target (3-1), crosses (12-4), corner kicks (4-1), and passing accuracy (85%-74%). But it was a disappointing first 45 minutes for both teams as the game went into halftime scoreless.

The Pride got the second half off to an attacking start, creating the first chance in the 47th minute. Nadaner sent a long ball forward that Banda tapped around Dahlkemper and got to first. The Zambian attacker cut inside to lose her defender as Dydasco came flying in. Seeing the approaching support, Banda took a quick shot that sailed wide.

Yates beat Kiki Pickett in the 50th minute and was pulled back, earning a free kick in the opposing third. The short set piece was sent into the box by Carson Pickett, but it was headed away. However, it only went to Dyke just outside the box, whose shot was blocked.

The hosts nearly took the lead in the 57th minute when Hannah Bebar won a corner kick. The rookie’s set piece was off Pickett to the top of the box, where Dydasco was running on. It was a terrific strike by Dydasco that hit the crossbar.

Bay FC kept possession of the ball, which eventually ended up with Kundananji. However, the striker sent her shot wide, ending the attack.

The Pride didn’t take long to respond. Yates was fouled near midfield seconds after the Kundananji miss and Pickett immediately sent the ball forward for Banda before Bay FC was ready. The striker cut inside to create some space and fired. The shot took a deflection off the heel of a sliding Hubly, tucking inside the far post to give the Pride the 1-0 lead on Banda’s eighth goal of the season.

In the 60th minute, Banda was sent long by Dyke. She did well to shield Hubly before sending a dangerous ball into the box. Marta was making a run but couldn’t quite get on the end of it and the ball went all the way through.

Kundananji made a great run down the field in the 63rd minute, shielding Sams to get a shot off in the Pride box. It was on target, but Moorhouse did well to tip it over the top.

The ensuing corner kick was headed to the far side where Dydasco collected the ball. The defender used a nice touch to beat Banda and send a dangerous cross to the far post. Hubly got her head to it but sent the attempt over the crossbar.

After a flurry of action, Hines made his first changes in the 66h minute, sending Oihane and Doyle on for Pickett and Marta. The Pride boss used his third sub and second window to replace Watt with Lemos in the 73rd minute.

In the 74th minute, Penelope Hocking played the ball off Oihane, winning her team a corner kick. The service into the box found the head of Kundananji, but the striker’s header was right at Moorhouse. A minute later, Kundananji tried to create a shot, but Sams knocked it off her foot. Unfortunately, it went straight to Hocking, whose shot was straight to Moorhouse.

In the 77th minute, Rachel Hill made a good run down the right and sent a dangerous ball into the middle, where Kundananji was waiting. It likely would’ve been an equalizer, but Sams came flying in to knock it away.

Dorian Bailey sent a cross to the back post in the 77th minute that Dyke sent out for a corner kick. Moorhouse stepped up to collect the set piece but dropped it after making contact with Dyke. It fell right to Hocking, who fired on goal, but Nadaner cleared it off the goal line. The clearance went to Kundananji, who sent her shot off target.

Alyssa Malonson sent a dangerous ball into the box in the 79th minute with Kundananji making a run. Fortunately, the cross was off line. Dydasco found Conti at the top of the box in the 81st minute. The second-half substitute’s shot was on target, but Moorhouse tipped it over the top.

The ensuing corner kick went out to Conti near the top of the Pride box and she was immediately fouled by Banda. Conti took the set piece herself but sent it over the crossbar.

Hines made his final two changes in the 88th minute as Prisca Chilufya and Abello came on for Banda and Yates. Like the earlier substitutions, they were defensive minded as the Pride clung to their 1-0 lead.

“We made our substitutions. We were strategic with our substitutions,” Hines said about his changes. “And, you know, towards the end, we weren’t as threatening. But, the game gives you what it gives you.”

Hocking received a long ball at the far post in the 90th minute. She found Kundananji near the penalty spot and, with her back to goal, Kundananji laid it off for Conti. The second-year player shot, but Nadaner stepped up to block the attempt.

Lemos turned the ball over in her own third in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Conti played it to the top left corner of the box for Bebar, who volleyed it centrally for Bailey. A second consecutive volley was meant to go towards goal but went well wide instead.

Kundananji lifted the ball into the box in the eighth minute of stoppage time and Lemos guided it out for another Bay FC corner kick. The short corner went to Bebar, who sent Dydasco into the box. The defender laid it back for Conti, but Abello stepped in front to intercept.

The final chance for Bay FC came in the ninth minute of stoppage time, when Bailey played the ball back for an oncoming Hill. The forward’s first touch was a shot that went over the crossbar.

That was the final chance, and the Pride withstood a barrage of attacks from the hosts to hang on for the 1-0 win.

“It’s a great feeling after the game. And after that whistle blows, all that hard work and the determination to keep that ball out has paid off,” Moorhouse said about hanging on at the end. “Doesn’t particularly feel good in the moment when you’re throwing bodies on the line and having to concentrate like that, but this team, that’s what we do. And that’s how we get the job done.”

At full time, the Pride had more possession (53%-47%) and had most of the chances until their 58th-minute goal. But they put everyone behind the ball as the clock kept ticking and struggled to maintain possession whenever they won the ball back. As a result, Bay FC had the final advantage in shots (20-7), shots on target (6-4), crosses (21-16), corner kicks (7-5), and passing accuracy (79%-75%).

“Again, I sound like a broken record. I thought first half, we played some really good football without really threatening,” Hines said. “They got their goal. You know, they made it difficult for us to find any sort of success in their attacking third. And so, yeah, second half, it was a quick free kick, Barbra does extremely well to get a shot off, and we’re 1-0 up. And then we showed our character towards the end, throwing our bodies on the line, making sure that we don’t concede. And when we take the lead in games, we become very difficult to play against. And so, I was really proud of the players, their effort, their commitment, everything that they’ve put into it to get the three points. And after that, we move on to next week with good momentum.”

“It was a tough game towards the end,” Moorhouse added. “I thought we got back to kind of how we defended last season. You know, with everything, with grit, whole team effort. And, yeah, Barbra scored the goal and it’s a great feeling.”

The clean sheet is the Pride’s fifth of the season, tied for the league lead with the Kansas City Current and NJ/NY Gotham FC. It’s also their second straight 1-0 victory after beating the Dash by the same score.

“We kind of came away from being ourselves, being hard to beat, hard to score against. And so I think looking at the most recent results, 1-0 victories, clean sheets, it’s more us when we look at those results and we keep clean sheets,” Hines said. “And again, it takes everyone to achieve that goal. So really proud of them. Really proud with the back line and the midfielders and forwards to really solidify that clean sheet today. And hopefully we can get another one next week.”

“We’ve had a lot of rotation. We’ve got a long season to cope with this year, but everyone coming in, like we’ve been saying, has been doing a great job,” Moorhouse added. “And, yeah, it’s finally starting to click defensively. We’re all on the same page, and we’re getting the rewards for it.”

After an impressive start to the season, the Pride failed to win in three straight and four out of five games. But they’ve rebounded well with three straight wins.

The recent run of form has the Pride currently in second place in the standings, just two points behind the Current. However, the Current have a game in hand and take on Racing Louisville Saturday night.

As for the Pride, they’ll finish up the first half of the season on June 20 when they face Racing Louisville in Kentucky before the more than a month-long summer break for the Euros.

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Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Pride look to make it three wins in a row as they travel to the west coast to face Bay FC.

Published

5 days ago

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June 13, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Welcome to your match thread as the Orlando Pride (7-3-1, 22) head back out on the road to face Bay FC (4-4-3, 15 points). This is the first of two times the teams will face off with the return game in Orlando scheduled for Sept. 13.

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

History

Bay FC is one of two expansion teams that entered the NWSL for the 2024 season. The teams met twice last year, with the first coming on Sept. 20. It looked like the game might be headed for a scoreless draw until Barbra Banda got her head on the end of a Carson Pickett cross, redirecting it past Katelyn Rowland to give the Pride the 1-0 win.

The first-ever game between these two teams occurred on May 11, 2024. Just prior to the half-hour mark, Banda dribbled inside and Deyna Castellanos attempted an ill-advised challenge, resulting in a foul in the box and a Pride penalty. Adriana put the ball into the bottom left corner for the only goal, lifting the Pride to a 1-0 win. It was the sixth win in an NWSL-record, eight-game win streak.

Overview

After a strong start to the 2025 campaign, the Pride lost three of five games, including a three-game winless streak. But they’ve bounced back strong with back-to-back wins.

The current streak started on May 23 in Utah when Banda netted the first hat trick in Pride history in a 3-1 win. They returned home to face the Houston Dash Saturday night and weren’t threatening in the first 45 minutes. But the Pride came out flying in the second half. It looked like it wouldn’t be enough to gain all three points until Cori Dyke scored the game-winning goal with the last touch of the ball.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made several changes to the starting lineup since many players had gone away to represent their countries during the international break. The two most notable absences were Banda and Marta, but both came on in the second half, helping the Pride claim all three points.

It was another stellar defensive performance as the Pride earned their fourth clean sheet in the first 11 games. The 3-2 win over Angel City on April 25 remains the only time the Pride have conceded multiple goals this season.

Tonight, the Pride face a Bay FC team that’s barely clinging onto the eighth and final playoff spot. The San Jose, CA-based club has been stronger defensively than offensively this season, scoring 13 goals (ninth in the league) and conceding 14 (fifth in the league).

Bay FC has conceded two goals on four occasions this season, only giving up three or more goals once. That came on May 11 when they lost 4-1 to the league-leading Kansas City Current. Meanwhile, Bay has matched the Pride this year with four clean sheets.

Bay FC is coming off a good win over the always dangerous Portland Thorns. While the game was in San Jose, it wasn’t a long trip for the Thorns like the Pride made this week.

Asisat Oshoala led Bay FC with eight goals last year and Racheal Kundananji was second with five. But this season the duo only have a goal between them. It’s Penelope Hocking leading the team with three goals after netting just four last season. She’s followed by Kiki Pickett, Karlie Lema, and Caroline Conti as the only players with multiple goals on the year.

While the attack might not concern the Pride too much tonight, the Bay FC back line will be hard to break down. They’ve shown themselves to be stingy this season and will do everything they can to maintain Banda, Marta, and the rest of the Pride attack.

“I think with every game that we’ve been playing, it’s been a challenge,” Hines said about tonight’s game. “The teams have come with a game plan, and I think that’s to negate our attacking positions as much as they can. Reduce the space that we can exploit and being defensively disciplined. And I expect nothing different against Bay. I think that’s probably one thing they’ve learned from last year is being more defensively solid, being hard to beat, and then look to transition with the likes of Racheal Kundananji.”

There’s no change to the Pride availability list this week. The team is still without Simone Charley (ankle), Luana (illness), Amanda Allen (shoulder), and Rafaelle (thigh). Bay FC is without Jordan Brewster (lower leg), Emily Menges (excused absence), Princess (excused absence), and Jordan Silkowitz (illness).

Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Cori Dyke, Kylie Nadaner, Emily Sams, Carson Pickett.

Defensive Midfielders: Haley McCutcheon, Angelina.

Midfielders: Summer Yates, Marta, Ally Watt.

Forward: Barbra Banda.

Bench: McKinley Crone, Prisca Chilufya, Viviana Villacorta, Julie Doyle, Oihane, Kerry Abello, Ally Lemos, Zara Chavoshi.

Bay FC (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Emmie Allen.

Defenders: Alyssa Malonson, Kelli Hubly, Abby Dahlkemper, Caprice Dydasco.

Midfielders: Kiki Pickett, Hannah Beber, Karlie Lema, Asisat Oshoala.

Forwards: Taylor Huff, Racheal Kundananji.

Bench: Melissa Lowder, Tess Boade, Jamie Shepherd, Caroline Conti, Joelle Anderson, Dorian Bailey, Rachel Hill, Maddie Moreau, Penelope Hocking.

Referees

REF: Muhammad Hassan.
AR1: Melissa Beck.
AR2: Zeno Cho.
4TH: Kevin Lewis.
VAR: Elton Garcia.
AVAR: Tom Felice.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV: None.

Streaming: Prime Video.

Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @themaneland.bsky.social on Bluesky and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter (@ORLPride) or Bluesky (@orlpride.com) feed.

Enjoy the game. Go Pride!

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Orlando Pride at Bay FC: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Pride need to do to secure a victory against Bay FC on the road?

Published

6 days ago

on

June 12, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride head to California to take on Bay FC Friday night. The Pride are coming off a win, thanks to a last-second winner from Cori Dyke at home. Unfortunately, I won’t be in San Jose to lend whatever small bit of mojo I have to the outcome, so it’s going to be all on the players (as if it isn’t always that way, of course). With that being the case, what do the Pride need to do to take all three points from Bay FC at PayPal Park?

A Quicker Start

In the last match against the Houston Dash, Seb Hines rested the players returning from international duty to start the match. As such, the stout Dash defense was able to keep the Pride off the scoreboard in the first half. Even after the normal starters returned in the second half, it took until the very last kick of the match to secure the win. Let’s not repeat that this time.

Whenever a club plays in a different time zone, it can mess with the sense of normalcy you want on a match day. That is especially true when going all the way across the country. The beginning of the match will feel like the same time the match would normally be ending at Inter&Co. As such, I want to see the normal starters jump on Bay FC very early. Get the early lead — perhaps multiple goals — and see out the match with whichever players Hines may want.

Open it Up

Except for Barbra Banda’s hat trick against the Utah Royals, the Pride attack has been lacking some bite for over a month. The club has generated plenty of chances, but the finishing has been less than stellar. Orlando needs to turn the scoring faucet back on and pour on some goals.

The final bit of quality needs to be better from everyone in the attack. In the last five matches, the Pride have scored four goals on 70 shots, with 30 on target (43%). That means the Pride have scored on 6% of shots taken and only 13% of their shots on target. For a team with Marta and Banda, that isn’t good enough.

This may be my recency bias, but one area the team can change to improve its chances is to not take short corners. As I said on SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast, I lost count of the missed opportunities due to short corners against the Dash. Just put the ball into the box and sometimes weird things happen. It is much more likely that the ball goes in the net than is sent on a counter by the opposition. There are chances for a handball resulting in a penalty, a foul resulting in a penalty, or an own goal being scored. Just get the ball in the darn box!

Lock It Down

I know that the Pride secured yet another clean sheet against the Dash, but it was partially down to luck. Anna Moorhouse was fortunate that the ball that went through her hands went out of bounds and that the Dash were offside when she got caught in no-woman’s land on a ball over the top. That can’t happen. The difference between a team that wins championships and one that doesn’t comes down to limiting mistakes and a bit of luck. Only one of those two can be controlled.

I want to see the lock-down defense we saw in 2024. I think Emily Sams is maintaining her level of play and Oihane has been an improvement — albeit a small one — at right back. Kylie Nadaner has struggled a bit this year after a phenomenal 2024 season. I think she can step it back up, but she needs to do so sooner rather than later. Left back has had a rotating cast, with Kerry Abello, Carson Pickett, and even Dyke seeing time at the position.

Bay FC has spread the goals out over several players, with Penelope Hocking leading the way with three. That being said, the California side has plenty of players who can score, including Zambian National Team forward Racheal Kundananji. We know all too well how dangerous Zambian strikers can be. Moorhouse and the back line must tighten things up. No mistakes on the road.

That’s what I’ll be looking for late Friday night. Where do you think the game will be won or lost? Let us know in the comments section.

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