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Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Final Score 1-0 as Pride Claim Huge Win On the Road

Adriana’s 22nd-minute goal was enough to lift the Pride over Angel City for a crucial three points.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride (9-10-1, 28 points) found an early goal and held on for 68 minutes to beat Angel City FC (6-7-7, 25 points) 1-0 in Los Angeles. Adriana’s 22nd-minute goal was the difference as the Pride defended for their lives in the second half. The win brings them even on points with OL Reign for the final playoff spot with two games remaining.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made one change from the team that beat the North Carolina Courage 2-1 on Sept. 17. Anna Moorhouse returned from her one-game suspension, replacing Carly Nelson in goal. The back line in front of the English shot stopper was Kylie Strom, Rafaelle, Emily Madril, and Haley McCutcheon. Jordyn Listro and Mikayla Cluff were in the defensive midfield behind Julie Doyle, Marta, and Adriana with Ally Watt up top.

The start was Marta’s 100th appearance in all competitions. She became the first player in Pride history to reach that mark.

This was a pretty sloppy game by both teams, with several bad turnovers that created opportunities for the opposition. The first half was close, but Angel City completely dominated the second 45 minutes. The Pride barely held on, desperately clearing the ball away inside their own box. The hosts claimed handballs twice on McCutcheon, but neither resulted in a penalty, enabling the visitors to escape with all three points.

Angel City created the first opportunities four minutes into the game. A good run from the left by M.A. Vignola saw the defender send a dangerous ball into the six-yard box, but the Pride were able to clear. Seconds later, a poor pass out of the back resulted in Clarisse Le Bihan finding the head of Claire Emslie in front of goal. However, the header was over the target and the assistant’s flag went up for offside.

In the 10th minute, Cluff received a pass from Strom near midfield, but gave it up under pressure. Savannah McCaskill took possession and charged towards the Pride box. Before she reached the 18, the midfielder attempted a long-distance effort that went straight into the arms of Moorhouse.

An Angel City cross into the box in the 18th minute was headed out, but only to Alyssa Thompson near the top of the box. The teenage attacker quickly put a shot towards goal, but Strom was there to block the attempt.

While the hosts dominated the chances in the first 20 minutes, it was the Pride that took the surprising lead. A give-and-go between Adriana and Marta enabled the latter to shoot from the top of the box. Sarah Gorden blocked the shot, but it went to the foot of Adriana, who volleyed the ball towards goal. The ball went off the arm of Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson, who started in place of regular starter DiDi Haracic, and in to give the Pride a 1-0 lead.

“We were really dangerous on the transition. We knew their fullbacks really like to get, to join in their attacks. So that was a big emphasis for us was finding Adri in that space,” Strom said about the goal. “We’ll give her the ball all day and what a goal that was. I think we actually did create a few other moments that we didn’t capitalize on. But that goal was massive. And I’ve never heard that stadium, it was so loud and it went so quiet.”

“The goal is remarkable,” Hines added about Adriana’s strike. “The ball’s hanging in the air so long and then to connect the way she did and get it on frame, it was brilliant.”

Angel City nearly found an equalizer in the 31st minute when Vignola was sent behind McCutcheon by Emslie. The left back shot from a tight angle and the ball was blocked by Moorhouse. It bounced around the six-yard box, hitting Thompson in front of the goal, but eventually ended up with McCutcheon, who sent it out of play.

In the 34th minute, Cluff sent Adriana down the right. Watt was making a run into the box, but Adriana took on her defender on her own and shot from outside of the 18. The shot was too hard for Anderson to catch, so she blocked it away instead. The decision by Anderson enabled the Pride to create a second chance when Doyle sent a cross into the box. Watt was there to redirect it on goal, but Anderson was able to catch it.

The Pride should’ve doubled their lead in the 39th minute when Adriana made a long run from midfield into the Angel City box. She cut back to lose her defender and found Marta with plenty of space near the penalty spot. The Pride captain’s first touch was towards the far post, but she opened up a little too early and sent the attempt wide.

A minute later, Angel City should’ve scored an equalizer when a McCutcheon foul on Emslie gave the hosts a free kick. Le Bihan took the set piece, sending it to the top of the Pride’s six-yard box. Paige Nielsen got behind the back line and should’ve connected with it, but the center back couldn’t get her foot on the ball, enabling the Pride to survive the threat with the lead.

At halftime, Angel City had more possession (57.8%-42.2%), shots (8-5), corners (2-0), and crosses (11-5), and passed more accurately (78.5%-71.3%). Meanwhile, both teams put three shots on target. The Pride probably should’ve had a two-goal lead at halftime, but Adriana’s 22nd-minute goal was the difference at the break.

“We needed to take care of the ball a lot better. We’re causing ourselves our own problems,” Strom said about the halftime message. “Seb said at half, you know, don’t make this a tennis match. Don’t make this back and forth and turn it into transition. So we needed to find, you know, in defending we were gritty and had a high tempo and then we need to find a way to calm down and possess.”

Angel City had a positive start to the second half and nearly found a quick equalizer. Madril blocked the ball out of play in the 48th minute, giving the hosts a corner kick. The set piece found the head of Vignola near the penalty spot, but her attempt hit the body of McCaskill, enabling the Pride to clear.

Two minutes later, Nielsen sent a cross into the box that found the head of Emslie. The midfielder got her head to the ball, but it was blocked wide. The Pride quickly sprinted the other way with Marta playing Adriana in the middle of the field. The Brazilian’s second touch was a pass forward for Watt, who shot from the top of the box. Unfortunately, her attempt sailed over the target.

In the 55th minute, Amandine Henry sent a long ball for McCaskill in the box. The midfielder headed the ball down and it went off McCutcheon. The Angel City players immediately raised their arms claiming a handball, but the flag was up for offside.

Two minutes later, it looked like McCutcheon would control a long ball into the Pride box. But the right back was nonchalant, allowing Emslie to beat her to it. The midfielder tapped the ball past Moorhouse, but into the side netting, enabling the Pride to escape the lapse of concentration.

Hines made his first change in the 60th minute, bringing Kerry Abello on for Doyle. It was a difficult night for Doyle, who turned the ball over multiple times in the first half and wasn’t able to get involved in the attack.

In the 64th minute, Strom and McCaskill collided over a Vignola cross. The ball bounced to Le Bihan near the penalty spot, giving the forward an attempt with space. However, she couldn’t get much on it and the shot went to Moorhouse.

The onslaught by Angel City continued in the 67th minute when McCaskill found Morgan Reid in the box. The center back’s shot was on target, but Madril did well to get in front and block it away.

Hines made his second substitution of the game in the 70th minute. It was a change up top with Messiah Bright coming on for Watt.

Second-half substitute Jasmyne Spencer created a chance in the 74th minute, sending a shot towards goal. Fellow substitute Sydney Leroux was in front of Moorhouse, but Rafaelle did well to get in front of the shot and blocked it away.

In the 77th minute, the Pride had one of their few second half chances. Adriana dribbled down the right and had Bright with some space, but continued forward. By the time she sent a cross into the box, the striker was covered. The ball was too far in front of Bright anyway, going all the way through the box.

Angel City players felt they should’ve had a penalty in the 82nd minute when a ball into the box appeared to hit the arm of McCutcheon. Several players’ arms went up claiming a handball and Video Assistant Referee Shawn Tehini took a lengthy look at the play. But they decided it wasn’t enough for a clear and obvious error.

Jun Endo sent a low cross into the box in the 85th minute that found the foot of McCaskill, who was continuing her run. The midfielder was the only one to reach the ball, redirecting it towards goal, but sent it over the crossbar.

An Angel City corner kick in the 86th minute was headed back across the box where it found Leroux. The forward headed the ball on target, but Moorhouse tipped it over. The ensuing corner kick was caught by the goalkeeper, enabling the Pride to clear.

The fourth official showed eight minutes of second-half injury time, a number much higher than the Pride wanted to see. Hines made his final three changes all defensive ones as the game entered the final stage. Megan Montefusco, Brianna Martinez, and Celia came on for Marta, Adriana, and Cluff.

The Pride put all 11 players behind the ball and Angel City struggled to find a chance in the dying minutes. The closest they came was eight minutes into injury time when Gorden lifted a ball that was too close to Moorhouse. It was a nervy second half as Angel City continued to push, but the Pride held on for the 1-0 win.

Angel City ended the game with more possession (63.7%-36.3%), shots (21-8), shots on target (7-4), corners (11-0), and crosses (35-10), and passed more accurately (77.9%-64.4%). However, the Pride were able to clear away the many attempts and hold onto the one-goal lead for 68 minutes.

“It’s a monumental result today. I think we showed a different side to us,” Hines said about the game. “You know, it wasn’t pretty from our side but Adri takes a shot and, you know, it’s a great finish. And, you know, you’re 1-0 up. We weathered a lot of their attacks. They played well, Angel City, they put us under a lot of pressure. They made us defend, and the players stood up to the challenge. It wasn’t an easy environment to (overcome), but most importantly, we come away with three points and keep moving on that table.”

The win pulls the Pride even on points with OL Reign for the sixth and final playoff spot, but they sit seventh because the Reign have a better goal differential. They’re also only one point behind the Washington Spirit and North Carolina Courage. Since the Reign play the Spirit and the Spirit end the season against the Courage, the Pride will qualify for the postseason if they win their final two games, regardless of results elsewhere.

This is only the second season that the Pride have traveled to California and they’ve found those trips prosperous. The team is now 4-0-0 away to San Diego Wave FC and Angel City FC, outscoring their opponents 6-1.

The Pride won’t be able to celebrate this big win very long as they have another game Friday night against Racing Louisville. The next opponent is four points under the playoff line and desperately needs to win.

“I think recovery is key right now,” Madril said about preparing for the quick turnaround. “I mean, I’m gonna live in the training room and we all have everything that we possibly need for recovery. So I think that’s going to be the next focus for the next 48 hours and then back to training to get ready for Louisville. I think we are entering into this new mentality where we know that it’s do or die right now. And so I think everyone’s kind of stepped it up a notch and in all realms. I think on the field during training, you know, recovery, all those things. And I think that continues this week to get ready for Louisville.”

“I think leading up to this game, we take one game at a time,” Hines added. “You can’t look too far ahead. So looking towards Angel City, we prepared, we put a lineup out there, get a game plan to ultimately get three points. We’ve now got that three points, recovery’s going to be involved now. So yeah, we set off to Louisville tomorrow. Make sure the players are all rested. They gotta obviously adapt to the time zones as well. So we’ll see what bodies are fit and ready to go against Louisville, which is going to again be a difficult environment to play in. But it always helps after a win and getting three points. So I’m sure the players will be hungry to go out there and get another three points out in Louisville.”


As Hines said, the Pride will rest tonight in Los Angeles and head to Louisville tomorrow in preparation for the upcoming match. They face Racing Louisville in Kentucky on Friday night — their penultimate game of the regular season.

Orlando Pride

A 360-Degree View of the First 360 Minutes of the Orlando Pride’s Season

A look at the Pride’s offensive and defensive performance through the season’s first four games

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

We are four games into the 2025 Orlando Pride season, and the symmetry of 360 minutes played and looking at the full 360 degrees of the Pride’s performance thus far was too perfect to pass up. A circle, as you all remember from geometry, or trigonometry, or Sesame Street, is perfectly symmetrical, as it can be divided into two congruent parts by any diameter. We will break this article into two parts as well, and I hope you are sitting down because it might shock you that those two parts will be the Pride’s performance thus far on….offense and defense.

Let’s start with offense, as that first letter o looks an awful lot like a circle and we are on a (donut-shaped) roll. The Pride’s offense is off to a fantastic start, with a league-leading 11 goals scored through the first four matches. They have actually scored nine of those goals themselves, seven from open play and two from penalty kicks, and their opponents put two into their own net as well to give them 11. No other Pride team had scored more than six goals through their first four matches, so this squad is off to an unprecedentedly fast start.

The Pride’s performance is not just excellent compared to their own history, but they are near the top in most of the key offensive categories. If you look at Opta’s tracking in the table below you can see how well they have done relative to the rest of the league (all data sourced from fbref.com and fotmob.com; goals scored excludes own goals and NWSL Avg. is the average of every team excluding the Pride).

Metric2025 PerformanceRank in NWSLNWSL Avg.
Goals Scored924.5
Shots on Target %38%534%
Goal Conversion per Shot15%38%
Expected Goals (xG)6.435.1
Goals – Expected Goals+2.613-0.6
Big Chances Created746.6
Big Chances Conversion Rate71%238%

The one major offensive stat that is not great on the above chart is goals – expected goals. That stat is pronounced as “goals minus expected goals,” and is calculated thusly: nine goals scored minus 6.4 expected goals gives the value of +2.6. This means that while the Pride were only expected to score 6.4 goals, they actually scored nine, and so it could be interpreted that they are overperforming, and have been lucky.

Expected goals are really just the measure of how often goals are scored from the locations where the shot was taken from, and so while one interpretation could be that the Pride’s players were lucky, another could be that the Pride’s players are really good, and are simply outperforming the historical expectation that is used for xG. The Pride have Barbra Banda and Marta, two players who were named to the 2024 FIFPro World 11 team (and just received their trophies this week), and a wealth of attacking talent around them, and so while the stats say that the Pride may be benefitting from luck, I think the statisticians might need to circle back on those calculations when there are Pride players on the field.

The last two rows of that table show data about “big chances,” and how the Pride are creating almost two per game. The Pride create their chances off the dribble more than any other team in the NWSL, and they also create their chances by being more accurate with their passes and taking care of the ball better than any other team in the NWSL, as you can see in this table below:

Metric2025 PerformanceRank in NWSLNWSL Avg.
Progressive Carries per 9017.5112.3
Carries into the 18 per 908.013.9
Long Passes Completed per 9037.5330.5
Long Passes Completion Rate59%148%
Short + Med. Passes Completion Rate87%183%
Miscontrols per 9013.0118.7

The Pride’s offense picked up where it left off last season, which makes sense considering they brought back most of their pieces from that 2024 team. They did add one significant new piece, Prisca Chilufya, and she has fit right in as a player with pace and skills who has averaged nearly 30 minutes per game coming off the bench. The team may be without Julie Doyle and Summer Yates for a while though, as both suffered injuries during the first four matches, though the team has yet to announce the severity for either. We still have yet to see Grace Chanda on the field for the Pride, and with the Doyle and Yates’s returns still to be determined, the Pride will need Chanda or another player to provide depth minutes behind the usual starting group of Angelina, Marta, Ally Watt and Banda.


Switching over from the top half of the circle to the bottom half, the Pride’s defense has played even better defensively than the offense has offensively. The Mane Land’s Sean Rollins covered some of this in his excellent article earlier this week on the Pride’s defensive lineup configurations, but the team has given up only one goal in four games, and that goal had to go to video review before it was given. The Pride’s defense has been smothering, and if we look at the same stats we did for the Pride’s offense — but consider them in terms of what the Pride are allowing from the offenses of their opponents — we can see just how well they are playing (same notes as earlier the data source and the definitions):

Metric2025 PerformanceRank in NWSLNWSL Avg.
Goals Allowed115.1
Shots on Target % Allowed29%235%
Goal Conversion per Shot Allowed2%110%
Expected Goals (xG) Allowed4.345.3
Goals Allowed – xG Allowed-3.31-0.2
Big Chances Allowed446.8
Big Chances Conversion Rate Against25%440%

The Pride are not allowing real goals or even very many expected goals, and the credit definitely should be shared between Anna Moorhouse, with her 91.7% save percentage and her overperformance (+1.6) in the messily acronymed PSxG +/- (PSxG = post-shot expected goals, a measure of how well a ball was struck by the attacking player; Moorhouse’s positive value means that Opta, the coders, viewed that the shots taken by the opponents were taken well, but Moorhouse still saved them), and also the defensive back line, which has had Kerry Abello, Kylie Nadaher, and Emily Sams on the field for 1,064 of 1,080 possible minutes, and then a mix of Cori Dyke (222), Rafaelle (107), Oihane Hernández (30), Carson Pickett (16), Zara Chavoshi (4), and Bri Martinez (1) for the rest of the minutes.

The recent addition of Hernández is almost a champagne problem, as with so many high-level defenders, there will not be enough minutes to go around. Competition will be fierce, and iron sharpers iron, so this is a good thing, but there will inevitably be some frustrated players for the Pride’s coaching staff to manage. With some of the recent injuries in the midfield, perhaps some of these defenders may be considered as possible backups for wing attacking positions, but those injured players will eventually return, as will some of the players from the long-term injured list (we hope), and the upshot is that the Pride have an incredibly deep team with the best problem to have: more good players than available minutes.

We are only four games into the season, so it is far too early for anything other than statements about early trends, but these early trends have definitely been positive. The Pride have 12 points from a possible 12 and the stats on both offense and defense emphatically back up the the 100% record.

And that is not circular reasoning.

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Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride Are Dominant With Any Back Line

The Pride have three shutouts in four games despite a key injury on the back line and shuffling of the back four.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Last season, the Orlando Pride were the best defensive team in the NWSL. They flirted with the league record for fewest goals conceded before resting starters and conceding seven in the final three games. The Pride are picking up where they left off last season by consistently keeping the opposition off the scoresheet.

To say the Pride defense has been stingy this season would be an understatement. They’ve conceded one goal through four games, completing their third clean sheet Saturday night in a 1-0 win over Seattle Reign FC. The only goal came in the team’s 2-1 win over San Diego Wave FC on Mar. 29 via Chiamaka Okwuchukwa, and that required video review to overturn a foul call for it to stand.

The fact that the Pride have been so successful defensively goes back to the roster construction by Haley Carter and Seb Hines. The pair have focused on bringing in versatile players who can play multiple positions, making it easier to change tactics mid-game with making additional substitutions.

Last year, the Pride started with a back line of Kerry Abello, Kylie Nadaner (then still known as Kylie Strom), Rafaelle, and Emily Sams. However, Rafaelle tore her right quadricep while representing Brazil at the Olympics. With the starting center back out, Hines inserted rookie Cori Dyke at right back and moved Sams back to her natural center back position alongside Nadaner.

The Pride didn’t miss a beat. With the new back line, the Pride went on a streak of five consecutive clean sheets. They gave up just one goal in seven games before resting their starters in a 2-0 loss to the Portland Thorns, ending their league-record, 24-game unbeaten run.

Rafaelle was taken off the season-ending injury list prior to this season and started alongside Nadaner. As she continued to gain fitness, Hines was careful about the number of minutes she received.

“Rafa missed a lot of football last year. You can see what she brings when she’s on the field. And so getting her to 45 minutes was a goal of ours,” Hines said after her first game back on March 7. “We would have liked to keep her on the field for longer, but, you know, you’re putting a player at risk at that moment.”

The Brazilian played 45 minutes against the Washington Spirit in the Challenge Cup and 62 minutes in the regular season opener a week later. However, she was taken off at halftime in the second league game against NJ/NY Gotham FC, something Hines said was precautionary.

“It’s disappointing for Raf, because she was building good momentum, getting good minutes,” Hines said after the game. “You know, it’s just a caution. We don’t want any sort of setbacks either, so we’re not taking any risks with that.”

Despite Hines’ insistence that the substitution was a precaution, the defender has missed the last two games. For most teams, losing a veteran international center back would be damaging. But not so with the Pride. They continue on like nothing’s changed.

“The transition is seamless with bringing Cori on and Em obviously shifts back to a more natural position at center back,” he said. “Kylie shifts across, and it’s only Kerry Abello that keeps her position.”

That back line, which was so successful last year, became the starting defense in the following two games. They conceded the team’s lone goal in the first of those two against San Diego but got back to keeping clean sheets in Seattle Saturday night.

The Pride set records left and right in 2024 and are already off to the same thing this year. They’ve scored 11 goals so far, one more than the second-place Kansas City Current. Combined with the one goal conceded — tied with the Current — the Pride are the first team in NWSL history to have a +10 goal difference after four games.

According to Hines, the defensive success of this team is support. They back each other up when mistakes are made, keeping the opposition from taking advantage.

“I thought Ky and Em were seamless back there and then Anna (Moorhouse) comes up with a massive save. And It could’ve really changed the game,” Hines said after Saturday night’s win. “So, everyone plays a role in the defending. Sometimes when we make errors, we’ve got players who support.”

It’s unclear when Rafaelle will return, but one thing’s for certain: It doesn’t matter who starts where on the back line for the Pride. The versatility of the players means they can fill in multiple positions without missing a beat.

The team’s defensive prowess will be put to the test in the coming weeks. The Pride welcome the Spirit back to Orlando on April 19, including U.S. internationals Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman. The following week, they welcome an Angel City team that features the always dangerous Alyssa Thompson and Claire Emslie. It would be even more difficult since they travel to Portland the next game, but Sophia Wilson (nee Smith) is out for the year. It will still be difficult, but the Pride won’t have to contend with Wilson.

Regardless of how the Pride play defensively in those games, it’s been a stellar start to the 2025 NWSL season. The back line led the Pride to unprecedented heights in 2024 and appears to be doing the same this season. It seems there’s no limit to how good this defensive unit can be.

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Orlando Pride vs. Seattle Reign FC: Final Score 1-0 as Pride Win Fourth Straight To Start The Season

The Pride won their fourth straight game with only their second-ever road victory against Seattle Reign FC.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride (4-0-0, 12 points) continued their stellar start to the 2025 NWSL season, defeating Seattle Reign FC (1-2-1, 4 points) 1-0 at Lumen Field in Seattle. Barbra Banda gave the Pride the lead in the 41st minute — the fourth time this season the Pride have scored first. The Reign tried to claw their way back in the second half, but the visitors held on for all three points.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made two changes to the team that beat San Diego Wave FC 2-1 on March 29. Ally Lemos and Summer Yates entered the starting lineup for Morgan Gautrat and Angelina, who started on the bench after captaining Brazil during the international break.

The back line in front of Anna Moorhouse was Kerry Abello, Kylie Nadaner, Emily Sams, and Cori Dyke. Lemos and Haley McCutcheon were the defensive midfielders behind Yates, Marta, and Ally Watt with Banda up top.

This was a game of two halves in every sense of the phrase. The Pride dominated the first 45 minutes and could’ve been up multiple goals at halftime. But Seattle came storming back in the second half, causing the Pride to defend for most of it. After being outshot 6-5 in the first half, Seattle outshot the Pride 7-1 in the second half. But some good defending and excellent goalkeeping kept the hosts off the board.

The Reign tried to get off to a strong start, sending a long ball downfield in the 12th minute. Moorhouse came out to collect but was unable to do so. Ainsley McCammon was following up and attempted a weak shot, allowing Sams to clear the danger.

The first chance for the Pride came in the 14th minute, when Yates used some quick feet to create a chance. However, her right-footed shot was right at Seattle goalkeeper Claudia Dickey.

While the Reign got off to a strong start, the Pride began to take over as the game neared the 20-minute mark. 

“It took us some time. They adapted. They played five in the back, which kind of caught us off guard,” Hines said about the beginning of the game. “I think something that we have to be mindful of is teams adapting to us. So, no surprises when they went to five at the back, two sixes, two 10s, and one nine. We had to kind of change our build-up shape within that, and once we made that adjustment, I thought we looked after the ball. We switched the point of attack. We looked more threatening in moments.”

In the 21st minute, Yates built an attack, sending Banda through and giving the striker a chance. The Zambian had an opportunity to shoot on goal but didn’t get much on it and caused little trouble for Dickey.

The Reign created their second shot in the 22nd minute when Dahlien took an attempt. However, it was weak and didn’t cause any trouble for Moorhouse.

In the 23rd minute, Lemos nearly scored from a corner kick. The set piece was curling towards goal and went over the outstretched hand of Dickey, but it struck the crossbar. Banda met the ball just beyond the back post and tried to head the rebound on goal, sending her attempt over the frame.

McCutcheon was called for a foul near midfield in the 26th minute, and the ensuing free kick went into the Pride box. There was some confusion while trying to clear, allowing McCammon to get a shot off. However, Sams got in front of the attempt and the Pride eventually sent the ball upfield.

The Pride finally converted in the 41st minute, taking a lead for the fourth consecutive game. It started when Yates received a pass just outside the box and to the left of goal. The midfielder created space from her defender and sent a low cross across the top of the six-yard box. Banda got behind the back line and stayed onside, meeting the ball. It was an easy finish for the striker, tapping it in to give the Pride the 1-0 lead.

“We’re just pleased that Summer was able to get the cross off and Barbra is in the right place,” Hines said about the goal. “A good goal movement from Barbra and a tap-in goal.”

“I think we had a good amount of opportunities in the first half, but we just really couldn’t finish one. So, I think finishing one at the very end of the half really set us up nicely for the second half,” Lemos added. “Especially with that momentum going and I just really think like we were dictating the pace. And it was really, really good for us.”

The Pride have now scored first in all four games they’ve played this season. Scoring first is something Hines had spoken about and he made a point to mention it again tonight.

“It’s all mentality. It’s all character,” Hines said about scoring first. “We make a real point of scoring that first goal. It can obviously dictate the outcome of the game. So, for us to get that first goal’s vital for us.”

Unfortunately, Yates went down during the attack. After receiving attention from the medical staff, she left the field. The injury left Hines with a decision to make. Either use a substitution window or play with 10 until halftime. The Pride head coach went with the former, replacing Yates with Angelina.

The Brazilian substitute tried to make an immediate impact on the game, creating a chance in the 45th minute. She made a run from outside the box, finding enough space to send a shot on target. However, Dickey was there to tip it over the crossbar.

That was the final attempt of the first half as the Pride took a 1-0 lead into the break. After 45 minutes, the Pride had the advantage in possession (57%-43%), shots (6-5), shots on target (4-1), crosses (7-2), corner kicks (3-0), and passing accuracy (82%-77%). Most importantly, they took a 1-0 lead into the locker room.

The Pride stayed with their same lineup to start the second half, but Seattle made one change. Lynn Biyondolo (née Williams) came into the game for Jordyn Huitema. It was an inspired change, as the U.S. international caused problems for the Pride back line.

The Reign nearly found an early second-half equalizer, creating an attack in the 49th minute. Maddie Dahlien was sent behind the back line, sending a shot on target. Moorhouse made the save but was unable to control it. Rather than pushing it aside, she blocked the shot right in front. Nerilia Mondesir was the quickest player to react, but the Haitian international sent her attempt over the top.

Mondesir played a one-two with Biyendolo in the 56th minute, sending her behind the back line. However, she was forced wide and took a shot from a difficult angle. The attacker was aiming for the near post, but Moorhouse had it covered, blocking the attempt away.

Hines made a pair of changes in the 61st minute. Oihane and Prisca Chilufya entered the game for Dyke and Marta. It was Oihane’s Pride debut.

“Where I’ve been most impressed with how she’s just fitting in with the tenacity to go out there and defend and defend one-v-ones, and stop crosses, and get really tight to the forward,” Hines said about Oihane getting her Pride debut. “So, tonight was her first opportunity. And, like I said, she’s bought into what we’re trying to do here, and knowing that role and responsibility as a fullback.”

In the 63rd minute, Maddie Mercado used a couple of stepovers to lose her defender and create a chance at goal. She took a shot, but it was right at Moorhouse, who didn’t have any trouble making the save.

Hines made his final two changes in the 75th minute. Carson Pickett and Viviana Villacorta came on for Watt and Abello.

The Reign created problems in the 80th minute when a set piece into the box resulted in a scramble. Angharad James-Turner took a shot near the penalty spot that hit Sams. Eventually, the Pride were able to clear without conceding an equalizer.

A bad turnover under pressure in the 81st minute by McCutcheon allowed Mondesir to find Biyendolo going the other way. The midfielder sent Maddie Dahlien behind the Pride back line and it looked like the attacker might slip the ball past Moorhouse. However, the Pride goalkeeper did well to come off her line, blocking the shot with her left leg and keeping the clean sheet alive.

In the 85th minute, Emeri Adames played a ball to the top of the box, where Biyondolo did well to bring it down with her chest. Adames continued her run into the box and Biyondolo found her. Adames took a touch to her right before aiming for the near post. But Pickett did well to get in front and block the attempt.

The Pride tried to double their advantage in the 87th minute when Chilufya made a long run to the top of the Seattle box before the ball was knocked off her. Fortunately, it went straight to Banda, who was making a run to her right. Banda’s second touch was a shot for the near post, but the striker missed wide.

Seattle won a corner kick in the 88th minute and it resulted in a good chance for an equalizer. The set piece was sent into the box, where it found Shae Holmes. The defender tried to redirect the ball on goal, but she sent the attempt over the top.

The fourth official displayed five minutes of stoppage time and the Reign continued to push for an equalizer. But the Pride did well to clear any balls into the box, keeping the hosts from threatening. In the end, the visitors held on for the 1-0 win, moving to 4-0-0 on the season.

At full time, the Pride had the advantage in possession (61%-39%), crosses (10-9), corner kicks (4-3), and passing accuracy (83%-73%). However, a furious second half saw the Reign end up with more shots (13-7) and shots on target (5-4). Fortunately, the Pride’s bend-but-not-break defense stood tall and kept the hosts from equalizing, securing all three points.

“Really pleased, really happy. You know, the league and the parity within the league, it’s so difficult to come away with three points away from home. So, I’m super proud of the players,” Hines said. “They showed their character today. I thought we did a really good job of dictating play, looking after the ball in moments. And the goal was phenomenal. I thought Summer Yates, unfortunately got injured, but I thought she was outstanding today and set the tone. And that’s just one player, but I thought there was some really good performances tonight. And then towards the end, when a team’s trying to get back into the game again, we showed character. New players coming in. Oihane making a debut today, fitted right in. Carson comes back as well is important. And so, yeah, overall, really pleased with the togetherness and to come away with three points.”

“It was a hard game. I think we took a little bit to get into the game, but after the goal, I think we did really well,” Angelina said. “We kept the ball a little bit more, so I think we got into our game.”

The Pride continue their dominant start to the 2025 NWSL regular season. In addition to their 4-0-0 record, they now have 11 goals scored and only one conceded. They’ve started this year where they left off in 2024 — with a stingy defensive unit, recording three clean sheets in their first four games.

“The whole team is doing really well. We know the great season that we had last year, and we continue to do that this year,” Angelina said about the three clean sheets in four games. “So, it makes us proud, and it makes us feel really confident, because we know the quality of this team in the front, in the back, middle. So we’re really happy with the results that we’ve been getting.”

“We just really picked up where we left off last year. Defensively, you can’t ask for better,” Lemos added. “I mean, like you said, three shutouts in four games — that’s almost unheard of. And I just think we’re not even at our top yet. And I just think if we keep doing what we’re doing, it’ll all work out. And, you know, a shutout is a dub for the defense.”

The three points keeps the Pride on top of the NWSL standings, pending the result of the Kansas City Current’s game against the Wave later tonight. Regardless, the Pride once again appear to be the team to beat in the league.


The Pride return home next Saturday looking to keep their 100% record alive. It will be a tall task as they welcome the Washington Spirit for a 5 p.m. kickoff at Inter&Co Stadium in a rematch of the 2024 NWSL final.

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