Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Utah Royals: Final Score 1-0 as Pride Claim First Win of 2024 NWSL Season
Marta’s 68th-minute goal lifted the Pride to their first win of the season over the Utah Royals on the road.
The Orlando Pride (1-0-3, 6 points) claimed their first win of the 2024 NWSL season by defeating the Utah Royals (1-3-0, 3 points) 1-0 at America First Field in Sandy, UT. Marta’s 68th-minute goal shortly after coming on as a second-half substitute was the difference between the two teams.
Pride Head Coach Seb Hines only made two changes to the team that drew the Chicago Red Stars 1-1 two weeks ago. Julie Doyle and Summer Yates joined the starting lineup in place of Luana and Marta. The back line in front of Anna Moorhouse was Kerry Abello, Kylie Strom, Emily Sams, and Brianna Martinez. Angelina moved from the attacking midfield back to the defensive midfield alongside Morgan Gautrat. The attack midfielders were Doyle, Yates, and Adriana with Ally Watt up top.
The most surprising omission from the lineup might have been Marta. The team captain was left on the bench after playing a pair of games for Brazil in the SheBelieves Cup during the international break.
“She had a different role today,” Hines said of his captain. “We were mindful of her energy levels. She played 90 minutes for Brazil on Tuesday and it was a quick turnaround with the travel also.”
It was also the first start of Yates’ young career. The midfielder played minimal minutes during her rookie campaign but has made a significant impact on the team’s attack this year, earning her first start for the Pride.
“That’s been coming with her,” Hines said about adding Yates to the starting lineup. “With the level that she’s had at the start of the season, she’s been brilliant. So she fully deserved the start today.”
Despite being the visiting team and playing in a difficult climate, the Pride were the better team from the opening whistle. Excellent performances by Yates, Adriana, Angelina, and Marta in the attack kept the Royals on their back foot and the center back pairing of Sams and Strom made it a relatively easy night for Moorhouse.
In the early minutes of the game, the Pride looked to attack through Abello on the left. In the third minute, she sent a cross into the box looking for Watt or Doyle, but Royals goalkeeper Mandy Haught was there to catch it. Three minutes later, Adriana tried to set her up for a cross, but Abello’s first touch was too strong and the ball went out of play.
The Royals nearly had their first chance in the eighth minute when a turnover by Doyle enabled rookie Ally Sentnor to send Hannah Betfort forward. Moorhouse initially was coming out to challenge, but retreated. Fortunately, Strom did well from her center back position to challenge the Utah striker and knock the ball out of play.
The game’s first shot came from an individual effort by Betfort. Receiving the ball from Dana Foederer at the top of the box, Betfort turned to lose Gautrat and get a shot off. It was on target, but Moorhouse was there to catch it.
The Pride had their first good chance in the 15th minute when Yates’ cross was blocked out of play by Madison Pogarch. Angelina’s corner kick was met by Adriana, who flicked it towards the back post with her right foot. Unfortunately, nobody could get on the end of it and the ball went harmlessly out of play.
In the 26th minute, Pogarch lost the ball to Yates and pulled on the midfielder’s arm trying to get it back, receiving a yellow card for her trouble. The ensuing set piece eventually ended up with Angelina outside of the box. The Brazilian took a shot aiming for the near post, but missed just wide. However, Haught wasn’t comfortable with the attempt, diving to ensure it didn’t sneak in.
The Pride had an excellent chance in the 37th minute when pressure by Yates forced a turnover to Angelina. Watt picked up the ball and played it forward for Yates, who found Angelina behind the Royals’ defense. It looked like Angelina had a chance from a tight angle, but she sent the shot wide.
An Adriana shot in the 40th minute was blocked and Pogarch got the last touch as it went out of play for a Pride corner kick. Yates took the set piece, sending it to the back post where Sams was charging in. The center back headed the ball back across the box where Gautrat attempted to redirect it on goal. Unfortunately, she sent her header wide of the target.
While the Pride had most of the attacking chances, Utah had one of its own in the 44th minute when Brecken Mozingo sent a long ball down the right for Paige Monaghan between Sams and Strom. Monaghan took possession in the box and shot from a tight angle, but Moorhouse was there to collect it.
Less than a minute later, the Pride nearly scored the opening goal. Adriana forced a turnover, enabling Yates to take control with her momentum going forward. The second-year midfielder found space between two defenders to shoot and it appeared to be on target, but Haught tipped it wide with a diving save.
Martinez might’ve gotten a little lucky a minute into first-half stoppage time when she lifted her foot near midfield to send the ball forward and caught Sentnor in the face. There was a brief stoppage of play, possibly as the video assistant referee checked for a possible red card. But Martinez was lucky to avoid any booking on the play.
At halftime, the Pride held the advantage in most statistical categories. They had more possession (51.5%-48.5%), shots (7-3), corners (6-1), and crosses (15-1), and better passing accuracy (83.5%-82.7%). However, a common problem early this season reared its head as the Royals put more chances on target (3-1) in the first half.
It didn’t take the Pride long to create a chance in the second half. In the 46th minute, a quick give-and-go between Adriana and Angelina sent Adriana forward. She sent a dangerous cross through the box that went past Watt and to Doyle at the back post. However, the midfielder couldn’t get a solid foot on the ball, sending it off target.
A minute later, Doyle had another chance when she intercepted a lazy pass by Agnes Nyberg. Dribbling into the box, Doyle decided to play it back for Watt at the top of the box instead of taking the shot herself. It was the wrong decision, as Kate Del Fava reached it first and cleared it away.
The Pride had a third good chance in the 53rd minute when Adriana made another long run into the Utah box. She found Doyle on the right, and the winger sent a low cross looking for Abello in front of goal. However, it was too close to Haught, who made the stop.
In the 54th minute, a challenge on Adriana resulted in the ball popping out wide to Watt. The forward carried it to the top of the box where she shot towards the near post. Once again, a long-distance attempt by the Pride was just wide.
Utah did little to trouble the Pride until the 58th minute, when Sentnor took a long shot. It was a strong hit and on target, but didn’t cause any problems for Moorhouse.
In the 58th minute, Adriana had a collision with Olivia Griffitts that resulted in the Brazilian requiring treatment. She briefly came back on after leaving the field, but quickly went back to the ground. As a result, Hines made his first change of the game, replacing Adriana with Marta.
It didn’t take long for Marta to make her mark on the game as she gave the Pride the lead in the 68th minute. It started with a quick pass from Marta to Watt on the right. The forward sent a cross to the back post that landed at the feet of Abello. Yates slid into the box to meet Abello’s first-touch cross, but missed. Instead, it went to Marta, whose first touch was a shot into the far netting, giving the Pride a much-deserved 1-0 lead.
“I saw that Ally (Watt) was getting into a crossing position and I knew that I had to make that back post,” Abello said about the play. “So I got up there and she hit it back post and I knew that we had other players in the box. So my only thinking was just to put it back across and let them do their thing. Someone almost got to it which opened up that path to Marta who put it away.”
“Marta takes a goal really, really well,” Hines added about the strike. “It comes from waves of attacks. One, two, third phase within that moment and then she just finished like perfectly into the corner.”
Hines made his second change shortly after, replacing Doyle with Haley McCutcheon in the 71st minute.
The Pride nearly doubled their lead in the 74th minute when Angelina sent a long ball for McCutcheon on the right. Cutting inside to beat her defender, McCutcheon played it to the far post where Watt was making a run. Nobody picked up the forward and she redirected the ball on target, but Haught did well to get down and block it out of play.
The ensuing corner by Yates was to the back post where Strom and Foederer both went for it. The collision sent the ball over the crossbar for a goal kick and left Foederer on the ground holding her left shoulder.
The Pride made their final changes in the 83rd minute as Mariana Larroquette and Ally Lemos entered the game for Watt and Yates. A minute later, Utah made three changes that included an appearance by former Pride midfielder Mikayla Cluff. It was Cluff’s first time facing the Pride after being traded this off-season.
Utah had a chance for an equalizer in the second minute of second-half stoppage time when Strom headed Griffitts’ cross out for a corner. The ensuing set piece by Zoe Burns went all the way through the box where Kaleigh Riehl collected it. The defender played it across for Sentnor, who took a long, on-target shot. However, it was too close to Moorhouse, who made the save.
While the Royals had plenty of possession during injury time, they struggled to threaten the Pride. As a result, the visitors were able to hold on for the 1-0 win, their first of the young season.
At full time, the Pride had more shots (14-5), corners (10-3), and crosses (22-5), and better passing accuracy (83.4%-82.6%). Utah had more possession (50.2%-49.8%) and shots on target (5-4), but Marta’s 68th-minute goal was the only conversion.
“We’ve obviously set out at the start of the year, considering how well we did last year, we knew that we needed to pick up more points away from home,” Hines said about the win. “What a great example today with three points away from home under tough conditions. Obviously, after an international break as well, and so I just love the commitment and the desire for the players to keep going and play the right way. And it’s a massive reward for them to come away with three points after having a really good performance tonight.”
“We were just missing that kind of final piece,” Strom added about getting a win after three consecutive draws. “We were knocking on the door, knocking on the door, and we finally got one through. What a goal by Marta. Are you kidding me? So I think we just needed that confidence and self belief. We knew it was coming. We were never in doubt. We were not leaving this field without three points. So, so happy we got it.”
The Pride arguably had their best performance of the young season tonight, controlling the game for the entire 90 minutes. It was a defensive accomplishment to get the first shutout of the season and holding onto the lead to claim all three points.
“I’m really pleased with the, obviously, shutout. That’s something that we need to continue to grow on,” Hines said after the game. “I do feel like both in possession and out of possession, we controlled the game for the most part. I thought Summer (Yates) and Ally (Watt) did a really good job with dictating the press for us in errors from Utah. And then I think what we can do to improve more is being a little bit more threatening in transition. You know, maybe get a few more shots at the opponent’s goal. But other than that, I’m just so pleased for them.”
The Pride were trying to avoid being the first team in NWSL history to draw its first four games of the season and did so with this away win. They also move to six points on the season and move into fifth in the league standings.
With a win under their belt, the Pride will now return home to Orlando, where they’ll welcome San Diego Wave FC next Friday night.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Final Score 2-0 As Pride Are Dominated In California
The Pride returned to action from the summer break, falling 2-0 to Angel City.
The Orlando Pride (5-6-2, 17 points) returned from their month-long World Cup break, falling 2-0 to Angel City FC (5-6-1, 16 points) at BMO Field in Los Angeles, CA. A first-half goal by Maiara Niehues and a second-half strike by Sveindis Jonsdottir was the difference, although the game was thoroughly dominated by the hosts.
Pride Head Coach Seb Hines deployed his typical 4-2-3-1 formation in the team’s return to action. However, they were without Barbra Banda, who was out with a thigh injury. The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was made up of Kerry Abello, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, and Hailie Mace. Angelina and Ally Lemos were the defensive midfielders behind Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, and Luana with Julie Doyle up top.
This was one of the worst performances by the Pride this year. With Banda missing, the team was unable to get anything going offensively, alhough that might not have mattered as Orlando couldn’t get the ball out of its own end. The 2-0 scoreline is a generous one for the Pride, who could’ve easily lost by more.
Ally Sentnor, who joined Angel City during the break, tried to make something happen early during her debut. Inside the first minute, the U.S. international made a run to the top of the box before dribbling inside. The attacker struggled to find space before finally shooting, but Dyke was there to block the attempt.
The Pride had their first chance in the seventh minute when Rafaelle played a ball forward to Luana over the midfield stripe. The Brazilian took the space the defense gave her, dribbling near the top of the box before unleashing a shot. It initially appeared to be on target, but began curving, hitting the outside of the post and going out of play. That was about as close to scoring as Orlando came all night.
The hosts threatened to take the lead in the 14th minute when Jun Endo sent a dangerous ball into the six-yard box. Sentnor got on the end of it, but Dyke, Mace, and Moorhouse were all in front of the goal to keep it out.
Evelyn Shores received a pass on the left in the 17th minute before playing it to Endo, who was making an overlapping run. The Japanese international took a hard shot from a tight angle, but Moorhouse had her near post covered, catching the attempt.
In the 25th minute, Luana slid to keep possession from an Abello clearance, trying to play it back to McCutcheon. Unfortunately, it went straight to Jonsdottir instead. Jonsdottir immediately played the ball to Sentnor, who dribbled into the Pride box before sending a low shot wide of the far post.
Shores fought through a pair of defenders in the 31st minute to get the ball to Niehues. The Brazilian attempted a low cross that McCutcheon cleared but only to Shores at the top corner of the box. The left back took a touch around Mace to create space for a shot, sending her attempt over the target.
The Pride struggled to clear in the 35th minute when Sentnor played a ball to Endo, who was making an underlapping run. Angelina chested down Endo’s cross in an attempt to clear, but it didn’t go far. Gisele Thompson was able to tap it to Jonsdottir, whose shot went wide.
A minute later, the Pride were unable to clear again, resulting in the game’s opening goal. Dyke got in front of Thompson’s ball into the box, but she knocked it to Ary Borges, who took a shot that Dyke blocked again, but she failed to get it out of the box. The rebound fell straight to Niehues, who curled a shot out of Moorhouse’s reach and into the corner to give Angel City the 1-0 lead.
“You’ve got to defend the cross, so stop the cross. And then you’ve got to defend the cross, and we don’t quite clear our lines,” Hines said. “We talk about clearing it out of dangerous areas. It lands at Ary Borges. She has a shot, it deflects, and then we don’t close the next shot from Niehues. We speak about that a lot. The closer you are, the less chance they are of scoring, and we stood off them. They took that opportunity really well, but we feel that with our standard and our level, we should be doing better.”
The Pride continued to play on the back foot, defending desperately as Angel City created chances. In the 38th minute, Borges picked out Niehues near the top of the Pride box. The attacker shot as McCutcheon closed her down, sending her attempt wide of the near post.
Angel City continued on the attack, keeping the ball in the Pride half as they struggled to clear. In the 42nd minute, Jonsdottir tried to chip Moorhouse from outside the Pride box, but the Pride goalkeeper made the easy catch.
Angelina took the ball away from Borges in the first minute of first-half stoppage time 30 yards from goal. The midfielder lifted an overly ambitious attempt toward Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson for her team’s second shot of the game. However, it didn’t cause any trouble.
It was a dominant 45 minutes for Angel City. While the Pride had more possession (54%-46%), most of it was in their own half. The hosts had more shots (10-2), shots on target (3-0), crosses (10-3), and corner kicks (2-0). Both teams completed 77% of their passes in the first half.
Hines made a pair of changes during the break as his team looked to get back into the game. Marta and Nicole Payne entered the contest for Luana and Mace. Despite the changes, it was Angel City that continued to be the more threatening team.
A poor Orlando clearance in the 47th minute allowed Shores to keep the ball in the Pride third. She found Carina Lageyre near the top of the box, but the shot was right at Moorhouse.
The Pride won a throw-in in the 55th minute that quickly turned into a disaster. McCutcheon played the ball back for Rafaelle, who was immediately put under pressure from Jonsdottir. The Icelandic international blocked the defender’s pass and sprinted to the end line before beating Moorhouse from a tight angle to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
“It starts with a throw-in. So the ability to keep possession from a throw-in is really important,” Hines said. “You know, we have a couple of objectives from that, and it’s just details, right? Weighted pass, make your choice to the correct forward. If you’re going to go long, you’ll sort of take away the deflection from the forward. So yeah, another moment where we felt we’re in control, and we give them an opportunity to counter and go straight to goal from that.”
Hines made two more changes in the 62nd minute, replacing Abello and Ovalle with Zara Chavoshi and Solai Washington.
As the game entered the final 20 minutes, the Pride started to gain more possession and create more chances in the final third. However, they still were unable to create any clear-cut opportunities or cause Anderson any trouble.
In the 77th minute, a pass to Lemos hit the referee, causing a stoppage in play. Hines took the opportunity to make his final change, replacing Rafaelle with Hannah Anderson.
Neither team had taken a shot since the 55th-minute goal, when Angel City created a chance in the 78th minute. A long goal kick by Anderson bounced over Chavoshi’s head, allowing Endo to get into the Pride third. She shot from outside the box, forcing Moorhouse to dive to her right and make the stop.
The Pride finally got their first shot on target in the 80th minute when Washington flicked a long ball forward and fought through a pair of defenders. She dribbled into the box from the left and fired for the near post, where Anderson was waiting to block the ball out of play.
Anderson came out to punch away the ensuing corner kick, running over Chavoshi. The ball went toward her own goal, forcing Sarah Gorden to head it off the line. McCutcheon tapped the ball back to Angelina at the top of the box and the midfielder sent it back in. It fell for Anderson behind the back line at the top of the six-yard box, but Shores was able to stick a foot in and clear it over the end line. Angel City cleared the second corner kick and ended the threat.
As the game entered two minutes of stoppage time, Chavoshi sent a low cross to the top of the six, where Washington was making a run. The second-half substitute tried to backheel the ball on goal, not getting much on it and allowing Anderson to make the easy stop. That was the final chance for either team as Angel City saw out the victory.
The Pride ended the game with more possession (57%-43%) and better passing accuracy (79%-75%), but Angel City led in every other statistical category. The hosts had more shots (15-4), shots on target (6-1), crosses (18-11), and corner kicks (5-3).
“Never good enough to lose a game 2-0,” Hines said. “Two things in this league that you have to deal with, one is direct play. You have to deal with teams who are going to be really aggressive and try to get back to front really quickly. And you have to be prepared for transition. We can’t allow gifts in this league, and we gave Angel City two gifts. And they capitalized on those moments. We had some good possession, but didn’t create anything up until probably the last 10 minutes of the game.”
“Definitely frustrated, disappointed,” Dyke added. “We know that was nowhere near our best night, but we’ve just got to learn from it and then turn the page, because we know we have (another) big game coming up as well.”
The loss keeps the Pride in eighth, one point ahead of Angel City. To make matters worse, they’ve played a game or two more than all the teams around them, so they could fall down the standings in the near future.
The Pride will have to put this game behind them quickly as they return home to face the Kansas City Current on July 10.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Pride return to action tonight as they head back to the West Coast to face Angel City in Los Angeles.
Welcome to your match preview as the Orlando Pride (5-5-2, 17 points) return to action, facing Angel City FC (4-6-1, 13 points) in Los Angeles. This is the second and final time these two teams will meet during the 2026 NWSL regular season.
Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.
History
Angel City was one of the NWSL’s two expansion teams entering the league in 2022. As a result, the Pride have only played tonight’s opponents nine times. The Pride are 5-2-2 in those games, all in NWSL regular-season play. While the Pride are only 2-1-2 at home, they’re 3-1-0 in Los Angeles.
The most recent matchup between these two teams took place on April 3 in Orlando. Haley McCutcheon gave the Pride the lead in the 84th minute, but the game appeared headed for a devastating draw when Gisele Thompson equalized two minutes into stoppage time. However, McCutcheon came to the rescue again, scoring in the eighth minute of stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win for the hosts.
The first game last year between the two teams occurred on April 25 in Orlando. The visitors got off to a great start with first-half goals by Riley Tiernan and Katie Zelem. But the Pride took over in the second half. Marta got one back midway through the second period, and Barbra Banda equalized four minutes later. An own goal by M.A. Vignola in the third minute of stoppage time gave the Pride a 3-2 win. On Aug. 21, 2025 in Los Angeles, the hosts dominated possession and the number of chances as the game appeared to be heading to a scoreless draw. But Alyssa Thompson converted in the 86th minute as Angel City took all three points.
The first of two meetings in 2024 took place on March 22 in Orlando. Former Pride attacker Claire Emslie gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot, and it looked as though the Pride would drop their first game of the season. But Marta volleyed home an equalizer from an Angelina corner kick late, pulling out a 1-1 draw. On June 30, 2024 in Los Angeles, Adriana gave the Pride the lead early and scored a second goal six minutes later. Banda netted a goal of her own six minutes into stoppage time, leading the Pride to a dominating 3-0 win.
The first meeting of the 2023 season took place April 2 in Orlando. Emily Sams took down Alyssa Thompson in the first half, giving the visitors a penalty. Emslie stepped up and converted to give her team a 1-0 lead. Messiah Bright responded just after halftime to make it 1-1, and the game appeared to be heading for a draw. But Katie Johnson scored the winner in the 10th minute of second-half injury time. On Oct. 2, 2023 in Los Angeles, an Adriana volley beat Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson to her near post for the only goal as the Pride won a crucial late-season game.
The first-ever game between the teams took place on May 8, 2022 in Los Angeles. In the third minute, Gunny Jonsdottir’s cross was tipped by Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic, but it went right to Sydney Leroux. The Pride striker fired right at Morgan Reid standing in front of goal. The ball bounced off the defender and went in to give the Pride an early lead. The hosts controlled the final hour, but the Pride held on for 87 minutes to claim their first win of the season.
The teams met again on Aug. 7 in Orlando. Former Pride defender Ali Riley opened the scoring with a wonderful strike from the left side. The Pride responded in the second half through Julie Doyle just three minutes after she entered the game to even it at 1-1. The visitors took another lead when Cari Roccaro beat Viviana Villacorta to a corner kick, putting it past Erin McLeod. The Pride equalized for a second time in the 90th minute when Doyle and Paige Nielsen raced for a Thais Reiss cross, with the defender reaching it first. But Nielsen’s attempted clearance went into her own net, allowing the Pride to claim a 2-2 draw and extend their unbeaten run to five games.
Overview
The Pride are in the middle of their most challenging season in three years. They’ve struggled defensively following the trade of Sams and an injury to Kerry Abello that’s kept her out for most of the season so far. They’ve also struggled to score outside of Banda, though that’s been the case the last couple of seasons.
The team hit its lowest point in mid-May, losing back-to-back games to expansion sides Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC. But the Pride bounced back strongly, defeating San Diego Wave FC 1-0 away and Bay FC 3-1 at home, creating some momentum heading into the World Cup break.
There were a lot of questions about how Banda would return this season after suffering a season-ending injury last year. But she’s been dominant, leading the league in scoring with 11 goals and in shots on target with 27. She has a commanding four-goal lead in the race for the scoring title.
Defensively, the team has struggled at times, notably giving up seven goals in two games as the calendar turned from April to May. But Head Coach Seb Hines made a good decision to switch Hailie Mace and Cori Dyke, moving Mace back to her natural right back position and Dyke to center back. In the five games since, the Pride have conceded three times once, twice once, and recorded two clean sheets.
Tonight, the Pride return to action as they head back out to the West Coast to face Angel City FC. The Southern California-based team sits 12th in the NWSL standings on 13 points, four behind the Pride for the final playoff spot. That makes tonight’s game crucial as we near the midway point in the season.
While the Pride come into this game on a two-game winning streak, Angel City has lost its last two. Tonight’s hosts fell 2-1 to the Houston Dash away and 2-1 to the North Carolina Courage at home. However, these teams haven’t played since the end of May, so it’s difficult to say how much that form will affect them tonight.
Unlike the Pride, Angel City has spread out its goals this year. While the club doesn’t have anyone challenging for the golden boot, Gisele Thompson, Maiara Niehues, and Sveindis Jonsdottir all lead the team with three goals. Kennedy Fuller is right behind with two.
The assists are also spread out, with Evelyn Shores, Jonsdottir, and Fuller all tied on two. Five other players are just behind with one each.
Defensively, Angel City has remained consistent with its back line, which consists of Shores, Sarah Gorden, Sams, and Gisele Thompson. Meanwhile, Anderson continues to be the team’s number one choice at goalkeeper.
However, Angel City has been busy since it last played. On June 17, the club traded Fuller to Bay FC for transfer funds and allocation funds. The same day, it fired Head Coach Alex Straus, handing the reins to Assistant Coach Leif Gunnar Smerud on an interim basis.
The following day, the LA-based side agreed to a trade with the Kansas City Current for U.S. international Ally Sentnor, sending $850,000 in intraleague transfer funds the other way.
“There’s a lot of unknowns with a new coach coming in, new feelings, new vibes. They’re not content about where they are in the league, so they’ll be wanting to move up,” Hines said about tonight’s game. “I think looking at personnel can tell you a lot about how they play. They have some great athletes in their team. They’ve got a very quick back line. When the availability comes out, that can also tell you a lot about how they’re going to play. They’ve got some key personnel missing out on the last couple of games. So that’s also important to take into account. They’ve got some players coming back from injury. So, we’ll analyze it when we get the availability report. But it’s also about ourselves. We’ve been working hard these last three weeks on being back to who we are, and it’s going to be great to be tested in LA in front of their own crowd. And I know everyone’s really itching to get back onto the field. So we want to set the tone early on in the game and hopefully we can set that out to the final whistle and come home with three points.”
The Pride will take the field tonight without Banda (thigh), Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Oihane (lower leg), and Villacorta (knee). Angel City will be without Prisca Chilufya (knee), Savy King (foot), Leroux (excused absence), and Hina Sugita (knee).
Official Lineups
Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.
Defenders: Kerry Abello, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, Hailie Mace.
Defensive Midfielders: Angelina, Ally Lemos.
Attacking Midfielders: Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, Luana.
Forward: Julie Doyle.
Bench: Cosette Morche, Hannah Anderson, Solai Washington, Zara Chavoshi, Seven Castain, Summer Yates, Simone Jackson, Nicole Payne, Marta.
Angel City FC (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Angelina Anderson.
Defenders: Evelyn Shores, Sarah Gorden, Emily Sams, Gisele Thompson.
Midfielders: Ally Sentnor, Carina Lageyre, Ary Borges.
Forward: Jun Endo, Sveindis Jonsdottir, Maiara Niehues.
Bench: Karsyn Cherry, Claire Emslie, Nealy Martin, Sophia Mattice, Faith Nguyen, Casey Phair, Hannah Seabert, Taylor Suarez, Riley Tiernan.
Referees
REF: Mark Verso.
AR1: Bruno Rizo.
AR2: Alexandra Arita.
4TH: Trevor Wiseman.
VAR: Joshua Encarnacion.
AVAR: Melissa Beck.
How to Watch
Match Time: 10 p.m.
Venue: BMO Stadium — Los Angeles, 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!
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Three Keys to Victory
What do the Pride need to do to earn all three points against Angel City?
The Orlando Pride are back in action Friday night against Angel City FC at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. It’s been over a month since we’ve seen any NWSL regular-season matches, and I am excited for the season to resume. The Pride were on a two-match winning streak before the break and will want to regain that momentum. What must the Pride do to earn all three points against Angel City?
Shake off the Rust
The Pride last played a competitive match on May 29. That essentially makes this break another off-season. That is a good thing and a bad thing. It’s a good thing because the Pride definitely needed to work on some issues, especially on the defensive end. It’s a bad thing because the team had won two in a row. Getting back to full match speed after a month can be a challenge.
Fortunately, it’s a challenge that Angel City shares. Angel City was probably grateful for the break given the team was 1-3-1 in its last five matches and had dropped two straight before the break. Both teams will need to shake off some rust, and whichever team is able to do so more quickly and more effectively will have an advantage.
Banda-less Scoring
As we heard on SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast, Seb Hines is being cautious when speaking about Barbra Banda’s availability for this match. That may indeed be the case, or Hines may be playing coy about the Pride striker’s availability. If it’s the former, then the Pride need to find goals without the league-leading scorer on the pitch.
There’s a good chance we’ll see Marta and Jacquie Ovalle on the pitch at the same time. While it would be better to have Banda out there for those two to feed, I’ll take defenses having to deal with them coming from either side of the box any day. It may be that they are able to play off each other to create and finish the chances the Pride need to win the match. Of course, I won’t argue with other Orlando attackers getting in on the fun.
Clean (Moor)house
The Pride have four clean sheets so far this season despite the defense not looking as solid as it has in the past. I’m hopeful that the team used the break to figure out the best back line with the available players. The Pride are still missing a true center back to pair with Rafaelle, though Cori Dyke has been adequate in recent matches. Angel City added Ally Sentnor to the roster and her first match for the club is against the Pride. It’s important for the defense to stop her, as she will want to put on a show in her debut.
Anna Moorhouse needs to switch back on. Statistically, she was one of the NWSL’s best goalkeepers during the 2024 season. That is not the case this season, as Andrew DeSalvo outlined in our subscriber newsletter. Moorhouse has a chance to get things back on the right track following the break, and it starts with a clean sheet against Angel City Friday.
That is what I will be looking for on Friday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!
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