The U.S. Men’s National Team came to Orlando to play a January friendly against Costa Rica and kept its perfect record at Inter&Co Stadium intact, improving to 7-0-0 at the home of Orlando City and the Orlando Pride with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica. Hopefully Orlando was not chosen for it’s warmth, as temperatures hovered around 40 degrees with a fine mist for maximal heat dispersion. The conditions did not seem to bother the team however (or maybe it bothered Costa Rica more), as the youthful U.S. lineup picked up the win.

As is often the case for a January camp, the makeup of the Unitd States squad consisted of largely less-experienced pool players, so the game started a little on the nervy side. A little before halfway through the first half, midfielder Diego Luna took an errant arm across the face, breaking his nose. Luna running around the field with both nostrils packed may have helped galvanize the team, as he found Brian White a just moments after he returned from getting treatment and a new shirt, and the Yanks were up 1-0.

The Americans continued to grow into the match and by the second half mostly orchestrated the game, with a couple acrobatic saves by Zack Steffen as punctuation. The U.S. didn’t find the net again until late in the second half, however. Caden Clark finally broke through again in the 77th minute to relieve some nerves and ensure the victory. Patrick Agyemang’s goal in the 90th minute put an exclamation point on the match, sealing the victory.

We hope you enjoy these images from a cold, wet night of international soccer at Inter&Co Stadium.

Orlando City followed the lead of the Pride, advancing to the Eastern Conference final by a score of 1-0 over Atlanta United. Orlando came out attacking, creating several good chances but either putting them straight at Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan or missing entirely. Ramiro Enrique finally found the net late in the first half, cleaning up a fortunate deflection off a defender on a corner kick in the 39th minute to lead at the half.

Desperation settled in for Atlanta in the second half, as the visitors pressed hard to find an equalizer. Orlando continued to attack opportunistically and still managed to outshoot the Five Stripes but generally dropped the line of confrontation. Atlanta was forced to settle for only poor chances, and was unable to land a shot on target for the entire game. If you can’t get your shots on target, you can’t score, and Orlando’s goal held up as the Lions advanced with the win over their rivals.

The sold-out crowd was exceptionally vociferous in this match. Normally, the supporters end is the clear vocal center of the various chants and songs, but for this match the whole stadium was in full voice by the end. Especially of note was the final rendition of ‘Do you hear Atlanta sing?’ with the last line absolutely ear splitting from the whole building. (I’m afraid you’ll have to look up the lyrics if you aren’t familiar with this particular cheer.)

With the victory, the Lions have secured one last home game on the season, facing the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. A victory will see them through to the MLS Cup final, facing the winner of LAFC and Seattle on the road.

We hope you enjoy these images from a memorable win in the Orlando-Atlanta rivalry, even if the match itself was sometimes not the most entertaining example of the beautiful game.

The Orlando Pride continued their impressive 2024 season Sunday afternoon, holding off the Kansas City Current 3-2 to advance to the NWSL final. The teams gave each other a lot of respect through the first half of the game, emphasizing organization and defense and relying on organized buildups. This was a successful plan as both teams still found team goals in the opening half. Kansas City was first successful in the 33rd minute on a millimeter-perfect cross from Michelle Cooper that Debinha converted while lurking at the back post. The Pride kept their cool and equalized before the half, with Ally Watt finding Haley McCutcheon darting into the space that Barbra Banda had provided, drawing the defense with her.

Orlando kept its defensive solidity but got more aggressive in trying to get the attack out on the run, taking control of the game for the majority of the second half in doing so. This strategy, aided by the removal of Lo’eau Labonta from the Current midfield in favor of attacker Nichelle Prince, worked to the Pride’s advantage, freeing Banda several times throughout the half. She scored in the 51st minute when Kylie Strom lifted a perfectly weighted ball into the top of the box. Rather than trying to touch down the incoming pass in tight space, Banda brilliantly boxed out her defender, letting the ball run into the box and finished with authority, slamming the ball into the back of the net.

Marta doubled the lead in the 82nd minute when Banda poked the ball from defender Kayla Sharples in midfield, touching it into space for Marta. The Brazilian then showed her class, dribbling into the box, forcing two defenders to commit to blocking a shot that never came, and then touching the ball around goalkeeper Almuth Schult and finishing the play in a highlight reel moment of brilliance.

After that, desperation prevailed for Kansas City, with all 11 players coming forward on corner kicks for the entirety of the announced 12 minutes of second half injury time and a lot more — just over 18 additional minutes in all. The pressure and volume of attacks pulled the Current within a goal as one of the shots caught Kerry Abello in an outstretched arm. Though she tried to pull it in, it was instrumental in blocking the shot and an easy decision upon video review to award a penalty.

Up only a goal, the Pride defended desperately and held on. With the victory, the Pride advance to the NWSL Championshipin Kansas City, where they will face the Washington Spirit Saturday at 8 p.m.

We hope you enjoy these images from a memorable and historic match at Inter&Co Stadium.