The Orlando Pride (5-3-1, 16 points) fell at home for the second time this season, losing 1-0 to the Kansas City Current (7-2-0, 21 points) at Inter&Co Stadium. Temwa Chawinga’s 52nd-minute goal was the difference as the Pride failed to win for the third consecutive game.

This was a game everyone following the league had circled on their calendar. The Current came into it in first place with the Pride right behind. The Pride and Current have widely been considered the top two teams in the league and the Current showed they were the team to beat this season.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines only made one change from the team that drew 1-1 with the North Carolina Courage Saturday night. Emily Sams returned to the lineup after a night off, sending Zara Chavoshi to the bench.

The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Kerry Abello, Kylie Nadaner, Sams, and Oihane. Haley McCutcheon and Morgan Gautrat were the defensive midfielders behind Carson Pickett, Marta, and Angelina with Barbra Banda up top.

The Pride got the game off to a fast start and it looked like they would cause problems for the Current all night. But as the game progressed, the visitors took more and more control. After the Current took the 1-0 lead early in the second half, they put more players behind the ball. The Pride held significant possession, looking for a way through, but struggled to threaten in the final third.

It didn’t take long for the Pride to create their first chances in this game, doing so inside the first minute. It started with a poor pass by Izzy Rodriguez that Banda intercepted and carried into the Current box. She tried to beat Lorena to her near post, but the goalkeeper did well to block it with her foot.

The rebound went right back to Banda and her second shot was blocked by Alana Cook. The second block went to Oihane out right. The defender sent her cross over the heads of Angelina and Banda where McCutcheon met it at the top of the six. However, the midfielder’s header was right into the hands of Lorena, ending the threat.

Less than 2 mins in and Barbra Banda is already hunting for a goal 👀 pic.twitter.com/hK2ek7WOaS

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 17, 2025

In the seventh minute, Banda played Oihane outside on the right and the defender sent another cross into the box. This time Angelina attempted to turn and volley the ball on target, but the Brazilian couldn’t get over it and sent the shot over the goal.

The Current looked to have their first chances in the ninth minute when Bia Zaneratto played Chawinga behind the Pride back line. Moorhouse made a pair of good saves before Sams cleared the ball away. However, Chawinga was offside on the initial ball.

The visitors finally did get a clean shot in the 20th minute when Zaneratto took a chance from outside of the box. But it was right to Moorhouse and the Pride goalkeeper didn’t have any trouble with it.

Three minutes later, Lo’eau LaBonta sent Debinha behind the Pride back line, and she tried to chip the ball over Moorhouse to the back post. Moorhouse committed to the ball and was able to get enough of her fist on it to send it away.

Anna Moorhouse said this is her house 🙅‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/Mcb7u5VgK1

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 17, 2025

The Pride finally got back on the front foot in the 44th minute with a sustained attack, primarily through Gautrat on the left. Eventually, the midfielder found Angelina near the top of the Current box. The Brazilian took a shot, but sent it well wide of the near post.

As the first half neared stoppage time, Angelina sent Banda into the Kansas City third of the field. The Zambian didn’t have any teammates with her, so she took it herself. Kayla Sharples stuck her leg in and knocked the ball away, resulting in Banda going down. The striker looked to the referee for a penalty, but Natalie Simon rightly waved play on.

In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Angelina played Oihane out to the right. The right back sent a low cross to the near post where Banda was making a run. She tried to flick it on goal with her heel, but the ball went wide.

There was a lengthy delay as the video assistant referee looked at the play for a possible handball on Cook. However, nothing came of it and the halftime whistle blew before play could continue.

At halftime, the Current had more possession (50.8%-49.2%), but the Pride had more shots (7-5). Both teams put two shots on target and had a corner kick in the first 45 minutes.

The Current got the first second-half chance and used it to take a 1-0 lead. It started when Sams cleared the ball up the field to Rodriguez, who sent it back the other way. Nadaner was the first one to reach it with Zaneratto on her back. The center back got a touch to the ball, but it got away from her. Chawinga took advantage, getting in on goal and putting it away to give her team the lead.

Temwa Chawinga saw her moment and she took it 👏

That's 25 career regular season goals for the 2024 NWSL MVP! pic.twitter.com/QxTeVsDRPm

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 17, 2025

“We looked at that kind of play before the game, so it’s kind of disappointing to then concede from that. Because we did identify it as a kind of something that they do,” Moorhouse said about the goal. “I mean, obviously, they’ve got the speed up top, and they just like to put the ball on behind for that. So, yeah, it’s just one of those things. Just finished it well.”

“She’s playing against a really good forward in Bia and probably every game she gets away with that touch,” Hines said about Nadaner losing possession on the goal. “But, unfortunately, it gets too far away. And they waited for that one moment and capitalized on it.”

Kansas City looked to double the advantage right away in the 54th minute when Rodriguez earned enough space from Oihane to send a cross to the back post. Hailie Mace and Pickett went up for the ball with Mace sending it wide.

The Pride tried to get one back in the 55th minute when Oihane was played wide. The Spainard sent a cross to Banda at the near post, but Sharples got there first to clear it out for a corner kick. Pickett’s ensuing set piece was caught by Lorena, ending the attack.

In the 60th minute, Sams pushed into the attack. The center back attempted to find Angelina, but it was right back to her. Then she tried to set up Gautrat at the top of the box. The defensive midfielder didn’t get much on the ball, enabling Lorena to make the easy stop.

Hines made his first change of the game in the 65th minute and, down a goal, it was an attacking one. Ally Watt came into the game for the defensive-minded Gautrat.

Chawinga had a chance for a second goal in the 69th minute when Rodriguez’s cross was chested down by Zaneratto. Sams was on the striker, but got turned around, giving Chawinga a clean look. However, her shot was right at Moorhouse who made the stop.

Pickett played a long ball into the box in the 73rd minute, but it went all the way through to Oihane on the other side. The right back lifted a ball into the box for Banda and the striker jumped to get her head to it, sending it wide of the far post.

Immediately after the chance, Simon sent the players to the sideline for the second-half hydration break. Hines made two changes during the stoppage, replacing Oihane and Angelina with Prisca Chilufya and Ally Lemos.

In the 79th minute, Chawinga dribbled across the top of the box with Sams and Marta on her. The striker went down after some contact with Sams and a foul was called. Lemos was in the process of clearing the ball at the time, sending it off the back of Chawinga’s head. Chawinga was down for a while and received attention from the trainer as she underwent a concussion test. However, she was eventually able to continue.

Hines made his final change in the 82nd minute, as Summer Yates came on for McCutcheon. It was Yates’ first appearance since April 12 when she suffered an ankle injury against Seattle Reign FC.

“I’m excited to be back. Thankful that our medical team was able to get me back quicker than expected. So, super excited that I was able to get on the field and, you know, just run around and play again. Not be in a boot,” Yates said about her return. “So, yeah, super excited. And hopefully I can help the team in these up and coming games.”

Mace put a shoulder into Banda in the 85th minute and the referee called for a foul. The ensuing set piece by Pickett was flicked on by Watt and off Banda. However, the striker couldn’t reach it before Lorena collected the ball.

In the 87th minute, Zaneratto played Chawinga towards the Pride box. The striker turned Nadaner and created enough space from Abello to get a shot off. Fortunately, it was right at Moorhouse, who blocked it with her legs.

As a second shot flew wide, Chawinga was hopping away from the play. This time she wasn’t able to continue and had to be substituted.

The fourth official showed 12 minutes of second-half added minutes, giving the Pride plenty of time to find an equalizer.

In the fifth and sixth minutes of stoppage time, the Pride earned three corner kicks as the Current fiercely defended their one-goal lead. However, none of Pickett’s set pieces were put on goal.

In the 10th minute of stoppage time, Nichelle Prince fouled Sams just inside the Current third of the field. Lemos’ set piece was blocked, but the Pride kept possession. A second ball by Yates was sent into the six-yard box and into the arms of Lorena.

Sharples knocked the ball off of Banda’s foot and out in the final minute of stoppage time, giving the Pride one last chance to find an equalizer. Pickett’s set piece was headed away and the final whistle blew, ending the game and handing the Pride their second home loss this season.

At full time, the Pride had far more possession (58.4%-41.6%), crosses (26-8), and corner kicks (7-1). But the Current had more shots (12-11) and shots on target (5-4). But Kansas City was the team able to break through and hold on for the 1-0 win.

“I thought it was a well balanced match,” Hines said. “I think both teams were trying to figure each other out for long periods of the game. What our players put into that game, the effort and the commitment, the desire, was tremendous. And we just fell short today with the result. But I thought the performance was there. Obviously, you never want to lose a game, especially 1-0 at home. But I can’t give the players enough compliments for their efforts tonight.”

“Tough result, obviously,” Moorhouse added. “But I thought we played well. We dominated in parts. It’s always going to be a tough game. We’ve had some tough games in the past against Kansas, so yeah, it’s a disappointing result. But the performance is something to work on and something to keep pushing on.”

The Pride are learning how hard it is to be the hunted instead of the hunters. They were 23 games unbeaten before they suffered their first loss last year with just three regular-season games remaining. This is their third loss this season, second at home, and their third consecutive game without a win.

“I think we’ve got to put everything into perspective, right? Three years ago, this team was the laughing stock of the league. And last year we showed our ability to prove a lot of people wrong,” Hines said. “Winning both shield and championship doesn’t come easy, and so once you’ve achieved that, you earn respect around the league. You know, teams adapt to it. Even teams like Kansas, going to a back five and reducing the amount of space that you can play for. It’s challenging, it’s difficult, and we’ll go through those moments together.”

“Teams are playing different against us,” Moorhouse agreed. “We’re usually coming up against teams sitting back in a low block, defending for their lives. And we’ve got to figure out a way to kind of score goals against that. We were on top for the majority of the past games. And we just need to find a way to score that goal. And then maybe we can relax a little bit. And then we don’t have to chase the game in the dying minutes.”

San Diego Wave FC’s 1-0 win over NJ/NY Gotham FC tonight saw the California-based club jump the Pride in the standings. After spending nearly all of last season the start of this season in one of the top two spots, the Pride are now third in the NWSL, one point behind San Diego and five points behind Kansas City. They could drop further tomorrow night when the Washington Spirit, one point back, host the Utah Royals.

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The Pride have a week to brush off this loss as they head back out west to face the Utah Royals next Friday night in Sandy, UT.