Orlando Pride vs. Kansas City Current: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match preview as the Orlando Pride host the Kansas City Current with a chance to advance to the NWSL Championship. This is the first time the two teams have met in the postseason and the third time they’ve played this year.

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

History

The Current joined the NWSL in 2021 after the team’s ownership group bought the Utah Royals and relocated the club to Kansas City. It’s the second NWSL team in the city — FC Kansas City played there from 2013 to 2017 before moving to Utah — and the team was known as NWSL Kansas City for its inaugural season.

The Pride and Current have played seven games against each other, all in the regular season. Orlando has a 3-2-3 record in the series and is 1-1-2 at home.

The two teams last met on Sept. 13 in Orlando. The teams combined for 27 shots, but neither converted as the game ended in a scoreless draw.  On July 6 in Kansas City, Barbra Banda gave the Pride the lead, but the hosts responded two minutes later through Temwa Chawinga. Despite a second yellow card for Carrie Lawrence dropping the Pride to 10 players just before halftime, Marta converted a second-half penalty, lifting her team to a 2-1 win.

The first time the teams met in 2023 was on April 23 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City. It was scoreless after an hour before the Current got a quick flurry of goals by Debinha and CeCe Kizer, lifting Kansas City to a 2-0 win. On June 23, 2023 in Orlando, the visitors took the lead through Debinha, and Kizer doubled the advantage just before halftime. Marta converted a penalty to pull one back, but the Pride fell 2-1.

Their first meeting in 2022 came on July 31 in Kansas City while the Pride were in the middle of their seven-game unbeaten run. The Pride opened the scoring when Erika Tymrak found the head of Celia and doubled the lead just after halftime through Julie Doyle. The Current stormed back with goals by Elyse Bennett and Kizer, pulling out a 2-2 draw.

The first meeting in 2022 was on May 14 at Exploria Stadium. The Pride took the lead early in the second half on a Gunny Jonsdottir goal. Bennett scored late in the second half, and the visitors appeared to win the game a minute into injury time through Kristen Hamilton. However, Kylie Strom was pulled down in the box five minutes later, resulting in a penalty. With Marta injured, the only player willing to step up to take the penalty was center back Toni Pressley, who drilled the ball into the roof of the net, pulling out a 2-2 draw.

The teams played twice during the 2021 NWSL season, with the first game occurring May 30 at Exploria Stadium. Courtney Petersen found Alex Morgan just outside the six-yard box and the striker headed in the game’s lone goal as the Pride won 1-0.

The Pride and Current met again on June 23 at Legends Field in Kansas City. The Pride had a weakened squad as then-coach Marc Skinner left some key players at home, preparing to lose them to the Olympics. It looked to be costly when Mariana Larroquette gave the hosts the lead late in first-half injury time. But the Pride responded well. Two minutes after Larroquette’s goal, Sydney Leroux’s shot took a deflection off a defender and went in to make it 1-1. Shortly after halftime, Leroux scored on a great individual effort from just outside the box. Marta then scored the goal of the game, beating Kansas City goalkeeper Abby Smith from the top of the center circle, lifting the Pride to a 3-1 win.

Overview

The Pride had a record-setting regular season and were on their way to an unbeaten record until they lost two of their last three games. Even with their 3-2 win over Seattle Reign FC in the regular-season finale, they conceded two goals for the first time at home this year. The performances caused questions about how the team would play in the postseason and whether the Pride could reach their ultimate goal of an NWSL Championship.

Those questions were seemingly put to rest in the team’s first-ever home playoff game when they dominated the Chicago Red Stars 4-1 in the quarterfinals. They gave up a goal on a mistake by Anna Moorhouse, enabling Jameese Joseph to block the clearance in for Chicago’s lone goal of the night. However, the Pride were already up 4-0 at that point, and the result was already determined.

The team only gave up one goal defensively, the fewest goals the Pride conceded in four games. The match also saw Banda score a brace, her first goals since Sept. 20 against Bay FC. If the Pride are getting back to their best, it can’t be at a better time as they’re about to face one of the league’s best teams.

Like the Pride, the Current were unbeaten in their first 15 games of the season, a run that ended with their 2-1 loss to the Pride on July 6. While they weren’t able to keep up with the Pride’s pace, the Current finished the regular season in fourth. They’ll be motivated to get revenge on the Pride for their loss earlier this year and the opportunity to play in the championship game at their home stadium.

The Current were one of the best teams offensively and defensively this season. Their 31 goals conceded was fifth fewest in the league and their 57 goals scored were the most, six more than the Washington Spirit, who were second in goals scored.

While the Pride are led offensively by Zambian international Banda, Malawian international Temwa Chawinga is the biggest threat for the Current. The favorite for the NWSL Most Valuable Player award finished the regular season with a league-leading 20 goals in 26 games and scored the lone goal in Kansas City’s 1-0 win over the North Carolina Courage in the first round of the NWSL playoffs last weekend.

The pair of African natives will be the key factor in this game. Banda snapped her goalless drought against Chicago and the Pride will need her to continue producing to reach the championship game. Additionally, Orlando’s defensive unit will need to keep Chawinga from taking over the game. It’s a tall task for a team that has conceded goals from defensive mistakes in each of its last four games.

“An exciting one,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said about today’s game. “You know, it’s the semifinals of the playoffs. Winner goes all the way to the championship game, so stakes are high, and obviously we want to be the team that is on that flight to Kansas at the end of the game. So we expect two teams going after it. Obviously, we’ve played them two times in the regular season, (they’ve) been really competitive games, and we expect nothing different going into this game.”

All of the players missing for the Pride tonight are those already out with season-ending injuries and illnesses. Those players include Rafaelle (thigh), Megan Montefusco (heel), Luana (illness), Simone Charley (ankle), and Grace Chanda (thigh).

The Current will be without Hildah Magaia (leg), Alex Pfeiffer (knee), Gabrielle Robinson (knee), Mallory Weber (knee), and Bia Zaneratto (foot). Additionally, Lo’eau LaBonta (leg) is listed as questionable.

Projected Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Kerry Abello, Kylie Strom, Emily Sams, Cori Dyke.

Defensive Midfielders: Haley McCutcheon, Angelina.

Midfielders: Julie Doyle, Marta, Adriana.

Forward: Barbra Banda.

Kansas City Current (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Almuth Schult.

Defenders: Ellie Wheeler, Kayla Sharples, Alana Cook, Hailie Mace.

Midfielders: Claire Hutton, Vanessa DiBernardo, Michelle Cooper.

Forwards: Temwa Chawinga, Debinha, Nichelle Prince.

Referees

REF: Danielle Chesky.
AR1: Jennifer Garner.
AR2: Darren Bandy.
4TH: Abdou Ndiaye.
VAR: Shawn Tehini.
AVAR: Tom Felice.

How to Watch

Match Time: 3 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV: ABC.

Streaming: ESPN+.

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

Enjoy the match. Go Pride!