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

The Orlando Pride (12-0-5, 41 points) return home for the first time since Aug. 1 and first NWSL match at Inter&Co Stadium since June 21, as they welcome NJ/NY Gotham FC (10-3-4, 34 points). This is the first of two meetings between the two teams this season with the game in New Jersey scheduled for Oct. 20.

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

History

The Pride have faced Gotham 23 times since joining the NWSL in 2016. They’re 7-9-7 in all competitions and 3-7-2 in Orlando. The Pride’s record in NWSL regular-season games is 7-6-5 and 3-4-2 at home.

The most recent meeting between the two teams came on Aug. 9, 2023 in the Challenge Cup. Messiah Bright gave the Pride the lead in the first half, and the team was in line for all three points until Meleana Shim equalized in second-half stoppage time, resulting in a 1-1 draw. The July 23 meeting at Exploria Stadium was also in Challenge Cup play. A Megan Montefusco header gave the Pride an early lead, but they were unable to hold on. Jenna Nighswonger converted a penalty later in the first half and Gotham took over the second half with goals by McCall Zerboni and Yazmeen Ryan, beating the Pride 3-1. 

Prior to that loss, the teams played two regular season games in 2023. On May 14, the Pride were the better team and created more chances, but couldn’t find the back of the net and the game ended in a scoreless draw. The April 15 game at Exploria Stadium also looked to be headed for a draw, but Gotham struck twice in the dying minutes. Midge Purce converted a penalty 10 minutes into stoppage time and then assisted on Lynn Williams’s goal seven minutes later, setting a record for the latest goal in NWSL history as the Pride fell 2-0. The Professional Referee Organization stated publicly that the penalty given for a handball on Caitlin Cosme did not meet its standards for being clear and obvious enough for a review, but that didn’t change the result.

The two teams met four times during the 2022 season — twice in the NWSL regular season and twice in the Challenge Cup. The first was a Challenge Cup meeting on March 30 at Exploria Stadium. It looked to be heading for a 0-0 draw before Purce scored a late winner. The next Challenge Cup meeting was April 23 at Red Bull Arena. Gunny Jonsdottir gave the Pride the lead, but Toni Pressley got tangled up with Ifeoma Onumonu, resulting in a penalty. Kristie Mewis leveled the game from the spot just before the half. Neither team could find a winner and it ended 1-1.

The teams met in the 2022 NWSL regular-season opener on May 1 in Orlando. After two close matchups in the preseason tournament, this one was all Gotham, as goals by Zerboni, Purce, and Mewis lifted the visitors to a 3-0 win. On Aug. 20, they played for the final time in 2022 at Subaru Park in Chester, PA. Celia and Ally Watt built the Pride a 2-0 lead. Mewis got one back for the hosts, but the Pride held on for a 2-1 win.

The Pride and Gotham also met four times in 2021, with the first coming in the Pride’s inaugural Challenge Cup campaign. On April 14, Paige Monaghan’s goal lifted Gotham to a 1-0 win. The first regular-season game that year came on June 20 in Orlando. The visitors took the lead through Caprice Dydasco, but Courtney Petersen equalized, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

On Aug. 29, the teams played at Red Bull Arena. Erika Tymrak’s long-range goal lifted the Pride to a 2-1 win. The teams played one final, high-scoring game on Oct. 9. It was a bad start for the Pride as Gaetane Thiney scored a brace and Purce made it 3-0 late. The Pride came storming back with goals by Tymrak and Marta, falling just short in a 3-2 final.

The Pride and Gotham were in different groups for the 2020 Fall Series, so the last time they met prior to 2021 was in 2019, when the New Jersey-based club was still called Sky Blue FC. They first met that year on June 22 at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ. Chioma Ubogagu gave the Pride the lead from the penalty spot and Sarah Killion equalized. The difference was a Gina Lewandowski own goal as the Pride won 2-1.

On July 20 they met at Exploria Stadium. Marisa Viggiano’s goal won it for the Pride, 1-0. The final game occurred on Sept. 29 in New Jersey. Shelina Zadorsky gave the Pride the lead, but Carli Lloyd equalized in a 1-1 draw.

The teams met three times in 2018, starting on June 16 in Orlando, when a Sydney Leroux brace led the Pride to a 3-2 win. They met again in Orlando on Aug. 5, with the Pride giving up a 1-0 lead after Marta’s opening goal. But Dani Weatherholt equalized in a 2-2 draw. The final meeting in 2018 came on Sept. 8 in New Jersey — the final game of the season. There was only one goal in this one as Lloyd won it for Sky Blue FC.

The 2017 season saw the Pride and Sky Blue meet three times. The first was May 27 in New Jersey, where the Pride lost 2-1. They met again in New Jersey on June 28 and the Pride won, 3-2. The final meeting was on Aug. 12 in Orlando and the Pride won by its largest margin in team history, beating Sky Blue, 5-0.

The 2016 season was the first time the two teams met, with the inaugural game coming on Sept. 7 in New Jersey. Alex Morgan and Sam Kerr swapped goals in a 1-1 draw. They met again three days later in Orlando, with Sky Blue winning, 2-1.

Overview

The Pride set several team and league records in their 1-0 win over the Houston Dash on Aug. 23. They extended their unbeaten run in regular-season play to 18 games (a new league record), recorded their eighth clean sheet of the season (a new team record), and recorded their 12th win of the season (a new team record).

More important than setting records, the win keeps the Pride atop the NWSL standings. The Kansas City Current lost to the Washington Spirit on Aug. 25, extending the team’s lead in the standings to four points. The Houston game was far from the Pride’s best performance of the year, and they got lucky when Andressa hit the post in the 86th minute. But they managed to keep the momentum going before returning home.

Tonight, the Pride play at Inter&Co Stadium for the first time since their final NWSL x Liga MX Femenil game on Aug. 1 and they’ll welcome one of the best teams in the league. Gotham was somewhat of an embarrassment to the league in its early years, struggling to acquire adequate facilities for its players and fans. But the club has become a problem for opposing teams in recent seasons, bringing in top players and winning the NWSL Championship last year.

Gotham currently sits in fourth with 34 points, three points behind the second-place Spirit. Similar to the Pride, Gotham’s success this year can largely be attributed to its defense. Tonight’s visitors have only conceded 13 goals, which is second-fewest in the league behind only the Pride. However, while the Pride have also been one of the best attacking teams, Gotham is in the middle of the table with 21 goals scored.

Gotham has spread its goals among multiple players this season. Ella Stevens leads the team with six conversions, followed by Rose Lavelle’s five, and Williams’ three. Ryan and Esther Gonzalez each have two. Similar to the goal scorers, the assists are also shared among multiple players as Stevens, Ryan, and Nighswonger each have three assists.

Tonight’s opponent is coming off a 2-0 win over the Portland Thorns at home in its first game since the Olympic break. Neither team was at full strength, missing some of their Olympic stars. Starting center back Tierna Davidson and starting midfielder Lavelle both came off the bench after helping the United States to the gold medal. Facing the best team in the league away from home, Gotham will likely have a stronger lineup.

“It’s a good opponent, last year’s NWSL champion. It’s nice to be home as well in front of our own fans, so we’re all excited for that,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said about tonight’s game. “But, again, it’s just continue the momentum. I thought you could tell that we’ve been apart for a bit of time (against Houston), so those connections weren’t quite there that everyone saw at the start of the season. But just really happy that we managed to get the three points away from home. Houston away is always a difficult game to play in, but it was a good game for us and a lot to build on and we’re excited with Gotham coming to our home stadium.”

The Pride have seven players missing tonight due to injury, including Grace Chanda (thigh), Simone Charley (ankle), Luana (illness), Sofia Manner (concussion), Megan Montefusco (heel), Rafaelle (foot), and Viviana Villacorta (knee). Additionally, Ally Lemos (USA) and Amanda Allen (Canada) are at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

Gotham are without Svava Gudmunsdottir (excused absence), Sinead Farrelly (concussion), Sam Hiatt (foot), Maitane Lopez (hip), Midge Purce (knee), Abby Smith (lower leg), and Lynn Williams (lower leg).

---

Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Kerry Abello, Kylie Strom, Emily Sams, Carson Pickett.

Defensive Midfielders: Angelina, Haley McCutcheon.

Attacking Midfielders: Summer Yates, Marta, Adriana.

Forward: Barbara Banda.

Bench: McKinley Crone, Julie Doyle, Evelina Duljan, Morgan Gautrat, Celia, Mariana Larroquette, Carrie Lawrence, Carson Pickett, Ally Watt.

NJ/NY Gotham FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Ann-Katrin Berger.

Defenders: Jenna Nighswonger, Jess Carter, Tierna Davidson, Emily Sonnett.

Midfielders: Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle, Nealy Martin.

Forward: Crystal Dunn, Yazmeen Ryan, Ella Stevens.

Bench: Mandy Freeman, Esther Gonzalez, Jessica Silva, Cassie Miller, Kelley O’Hara, Bruninha, Katie Stengel, Taryn Torres, McCall Zerboni.

Referees

REF: Thomas Snyder.
AR1: Katarzyna Wasiak.
AR2: Tom Felice.
4TH: JJ Bilinski.
VAR: Elijio Arreguin.
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson.

---

How to Watch

Match Time: 6 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV: Bally Sports Sun.

Streaming: NWSL+.

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

---

Enjoy the game. Go Pride!