Orlando Pride vs. Chicago Red Stars: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Orlando Pride (0-0-2, 2 points) continue their two-game homestand tonight as they welcome the Chicago Red Stars (2-0-0, 6 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7 p.m., Bally Sports Florida and NWSL+). This is the first of two times these teams will face off this season with the second meeting coming on Sept. 8 in Illinois.

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

History

The Pride and Red Stars have played every season since Orlando’s entrance into the NWSL except 2020. The teams have played 18 games, with the Pride going 5-12-1. The Pride got their first home win against tonight’s opponent in the last meeting and are 1-7-1 in their own building in all regular-season games against Chicago.

The last time the Pride and Red Stars met was on Aug. 20, 2023. It was the first game back from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the debut of Pride center back Rafaelle. The Brazilian scored in the 15th minute to give Orlando the lead and introduce herself to her new fanbase. The hosts continued their attack, resulting in four more goals. Messiah Bright scored a pair in the 24th and 49th minutes, new signing Mariana Larroquette scored her first Pride goal in the 64th minute, and Mikayla Cluff capped off the night with a goal in the 69th minute as the Pride won 5-0.

The first meeting last season was on May 27 in Illinois. Orlando dominated the entire 90 minutes, with Chicago only getting two chances on its home field. But the Pride struggled to hit the target, and Yuki Nagasato’s goal was the difference as the Pride fell 1-0.

The second meeting of the 2022 season was on June 12 in Illinois. Mallory Swanson capitalized on an early Pride turnover and the Red Stars held on for the 1-0 win. The first meeting of 2022 took place on May 22 in Orlando. Sarah Griffin gave the visitors the lead, and Bianca St. Georges and Swanson made it 3-0 Chicago. It appeared as though the Red Stars would run away with the game, but the final 10 minutes saw three goals and two penalties for an exciting finish. Sydney Leroux missed a penalty, but Amy Turner scored the Pride’s first goal late. Pugh converted her penalty moments later, and Leah Pruitt scored her first goal for the Pride a minute after that in a 4-2 Red Stars win.

The teams met three times during the 2021 season, but didn’t play until Aug. 8 in Illinois. Jodie Taylor and Leroux scored for the Pride before the half. The 2-0 win ended a six-game winless streak and was the first NWSL win for interim head coach Becky Burleigh.

The second meeting was Oct. 13 in Bridgeview, a rescheduled game that was originally supposed to take place Oct. 2. Kealia Watt scored early and the Red Stars defended that lead for 84 minutes on their way to a 1-0 result. The teams met again Oct. 29, 2021, in Orlando in the final game of the regular season. The Red Stars controlled the game but the Pride held off the Chicago attack for 65 minutes, at which point Watt scored the lone goal in a 1-0 Chicago win.

The Pride and Red Stars didn’t play in the 2020 Fall Series, so the last meeting prior to 2021 came in 2019. The first game was June 30 at Exploria Stadium. Goals by Chioma Ubogagu and Marta were topped by a Sam Kerr hat trick as the Red Stars won 3-2. The second game was on Aug. 21 in Bridgeview. The Pride took a 2-0 lead with goals by Rachel Hill and Ubogagu. Tierna Davidson cut the lead in half for Chicago, but it wasn’t enough as the Pride won 2-1. 

The third meeting in 2021 came on Sept. 11 in Orlando. Casey Short stole the game for Chicago with the game’s lone goal five minutes into second-half injury time as the Red Stars won, 1-0.

The 2018 NWSL season saw the Pride and Red Stars meet three times. On May 2 in Bridgeview, Hill and Ubogagu scored in a 2-0 Pride win. They met in the same location May 26, with a Leroux brace and goals by Hill, Alex Morgan, and Dani Weatherholt leading to a 5-2 Pride win. The Red Stars were led by a Kerr brace, resulting in a 3-1 victory over the Pride on Aug. 25 in Orlando in the third meeting of 2018.

The Pride and Red Stars met three times in 2017 — the first year that they played that many games against each other. A Christen Press goal on July 1 lifted Chicago to a 1-0 win. On July 22 in Bridgeview, a Press brace led her team to a 2-1 win. The final meeting came a week later in Orlando. Morgan and Sofia Huerta traded goals in a 1-1 draw.

The Red Stars won both meetings in 2016 by 1-0 final scores.

Overview

The Pride enter this game after claiming points in their first two games of the season. Despite being down a player for the final 28 minutes, they pulled out a draw away to Racing Louisville in the season opener, and a late Marta conversion from an Angelina corner kick saw the Pride claim another point last Friday night against Angel City FC. It’s an improvement on last season when it took five games to get their first point of the season.

While the Pride would’ve preferred a win in their home opener, it was a good result considering their absences. The team played without three of their four starting defenders, but still held a strong Angel City attack to only one goal off a penalty. The team is still without Rafaelle and has yet to welcome striker Barbra Banda into the side but will be healthier against Chicago.

The Pride are currently in ninth in the NWSL after the first two games, but are only one point out of third. Two teams have had a perfect start to the season with six points and the Red Stars are one of those teams.

Tonight’s opponent finished last in the league last year after making several changes to their lineup and have made more this off-season. The team has a new center back pairing with Sam Staab joining from the Washington Spirit and Natalia Kuikka from the Portland Thorns. They also have multiple starters returning for their second season with the club.

However, the biggest addition to the lineup is USWNT attacker Mallory Swanson. Initially joining the team in 2021, Swanson ruptured the patella tendon in her left knee while competing in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland on April 8, 2023. The injury saw her season end shortly after it began and significantly damaged Chicago’s chances of reaching the postseason.

The key for the Pride tonight will be controlling Swanson and forward Ally Schlegel, who can both cause problems for defenses. The Red Stars have also upgraded their back line with their two new center backs, potentially making it hard for the Pride to break through. As if the additions aren’t enough, Chicago also returns Alyssa Naeher, who also starts in goal for the USWNT.

“I think Lorne’s (Donaldson) come in and done a terrific job with the group,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said about tonight’s opponent. “Looking back at last year, they leaked a lot of goals and he’s got more structure to the group, a lot harder to beat. There’s no other way of looking at it. They’ve got six points out of two games, they’re at the top of the table, and they’ve got good momentum. So we have to watch them. They’ve got dangerous players with Mal Swanson, Alyssa Naeher, they’ve added players with Sam Staab and Kuikka, so they’re a good group of players and team. So we’re going to have to be at our best and we’re going to have to play our best game to get three points.”

The Pride have more players available tonight with the return of Emily Sams from illness and Kylie Strom from suspension. Those missing tonight’s game include Simone Charley (SEI-right leg), Megan Montefusco (SEI-right heel), Rafaelle (left foot), and Viviana Villacorta (SEI-left knee).

The Red Stars come into this game healthier than the Pride. Only Sami Feller (SEI-hip) and Penelope Hocking (concussion) are listed as out.

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Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Kylie Strom, Emily Sams, Kerry Abello, Brianna Martinez.

Defensive Midfielders: Morgan Gautrat, Luana.

Attacking Midfielders: Angelina, Marta, Adriana.

Forward: Ally Watt.

Bench: McKinley Crone, Ally Lemos, Amanda Allen, Julie Doyle, Mariana Larroquette, Celia, Carrie Lawrence, Haley McCutcheon, Summer Yates.

Chicago Red Stars (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher.

Defenders: Taylor Malham, Sam Staab, Natalia Nuikka, Maximiliane Rall.

Defensive Midfielders: Cari Roccaro, Julia Bianchi.

Midfielders: Nadia Gomes, Mallory Swanson, Jenna Bike.

Forward: Ally Schlegel.

Bench: Ava Cook, Jameese Joseph, Sarah Griffith, Mackenzie Wood, Bea Franklin, Tatumn Milazzo, Camryn Biegalski, Ally Cook, Hannah Anderson.

Referees

REF: Anya Voigt.
AR1: Matthew Seem.
AR2: Tiffini Turpin.
4TH: JJ Bilinski.
VAR: Kevin Broadley.
AVAR: Maggie Short.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 7 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV: Bally Sports Florida.

Streaming: NWSL+.

Twitter: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @TheManeLand and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter feed (@ORLPride).

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Enjoy the match. Go Pride!