Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Racing Louisville FC: Final Score 1-1 as Poor Finishing Haunts The Pride Again
Two poor penalties doomed the Pride in a 1-1 draw with Racing Louisville FC.
The Orlando Pride (8-4-3, 27 points) had two penalties saved in a 1-1 draw tonight with Racing Louisville FC (6-6-3, 21 points) at Inter&Co Stadium. Marisa DiGrande gave the visitors the lead just before halftime, and Ary Borges redirected a late Pride set piece in for an own goal.
Pride Head Coach Seb Hines only made one change from the team that drew 1-1 with the Utah Royals Sunday night. Prisca Chilufya entered the lineup for Summer Yates, who exited Sunday night’s game at halftime with an injury. However, Yates started the game on the bench.
The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Carson Pickett, Kylie Nadaner, Emily Sams, and Cori Dyke. Haley McCutcheon and Morgan Gautrat were the defensive midfielders behind Julie Doyle, Ally Lemos, and Chilufya with Barbra Banda up top.
The Pride dominated possession in this game and created more chances than the opposition. Furthermore, they won two penalties that should’ve seen them hold a late lead. However, missed opportunities were the story for the second consecutive game as the Pride saw two more points slip through their fingers.
“Something that we spoke a lot about was starting the game fast and with lots of energy. And I think we did that today. I think we achieved that today,” Hines said after the game. “I think when you’re up and you have good momentum, you have to take advantage of that. And that’s when we’re falling short by not getting that first goal. And then anytime we don’t get that first goal, we give the other team an opportunity to win the game. And it’s already incredibly difficult. So, disappointing in that sense that we didn’t reward ourselves with the goal, but I can’t fault the players’ effort. They put everything into it. You know, you could see that there was a lot of energy. There was good intensity, both in possession and out of possession. Again, creating some really good opportunities. And it’s the final part, again, you know? I sound like a broken record, but it really comes down to that last moment of putting the ball in the back of the net.”
The Pride had the game’s first chance in the second minute when Chilufya sent a cross into the box for Doyle. The ball was knocked out before Doyle could get a foot on it, but only to McCutcheon at the top of the box. However, the midfielder fired her shot over the target.
Louisville got its first decent attack in the third minute with a dangerous ball into the box. However, it was too far ahead of Savannah DeMelo and eventually knocked out for a corner kick. DiGrande took the set piece and DeMelo turned it on goal, but it didn’t cause any trouble for Moorhouse.
The 11th minute saw the Pride create their second chance of the game when they worked the ball down the left before Dyke found Lemos in the middle of the field. The attacker took a shot from outside of the box, sending the attempt wide.
A minute later, a turnover near midfield allowed Chilufya to send Banda into the box. With a defender on her hip, Banda tried to send the shot towards goal. But the attempt went wide of the far post.
The Pride should’ve taken the lead in the 16th minute when Dyke sent Chilufya down the right. Banda was making a run, taking defenders with her, leaving Doyle open near the penalty spot. Chilufya found her teammate, and Doyle should’ve scored, but she scuffed the shot and missed the target.
In the 25th minute, Lemos slid in on DiGrande as she received a pass. The Pride midfielder got the ball first, but followed through, taking out the former Pride attacker. Referee Iryna Petunok called the foul, much to the dissatisfaction of Lemos.
The ensuing set piece by DeMelo was to the back post, where multiple players were making runs. Taylor Flint was the first to it, heading the ball wide.
The visitors created a chance in the 36th minute when Sarah Weber received a long ball near the top of the box. A good first touch saw the forward lose Sams before taking a shot. However, the attempt sailed wide of the post.
Banda received the ball on the left in the 43rd minute with Janine Sonis and Ellie Jean converging. The striker split the defenders to enter the box and Jean pulled her down. Petrunok pointed to the spot, awarding the Pride a penalty.
While Lemos and Doyle stood over the ball, it was Doyle who took the spot kick. The attacker sent her attempt towards the bottom right corner. Unfortunately, Bloomer guessed correctly, diving that direction and tipping the shot wide.
“Julie took accountability for the penalty,” Sams said about the attempt. “And then I think she came out and had a great performance.”
The ensuing corner kick was initially cleared before falling to the foot of Banda just beyond the penalty spot. The striker put her attempt on target, but Bloomer was up to the task again, tipping it over the crossbar.
Louisville cleared the second set piece, ending the attack without conceding.
On the other end, Louisville made the Pride pay for their missed chances. Sonis sent a cross that went over everyone except DiGrande beyond the far post. The midfielder had plenty of time to control the ball and place it through Moorhouse to give the visitors a 1-0.
The Pride had one last first-half chance in the final seconds when Pickett sent a ball into the box. Arin Wright got to the ball first, but headed it right to Banda. The striker put her shot on target and right into the hands of Bloomer.
After 45 minutes of action, the Pride had the advantage in possession (54%-46%), shots (8-5), shots on target (3-2), crosses (5-4), corner kicks (2-1), and passing accuracy (83%-77%). But the missed penalty and late first-half strike gave Louisville the halftime lead.
“I think it’s obviously disappointing to concede so close to halftime. But the message in the locker room was just to keep doing what we have been doing,” Sams said. “We have been dominating the whole first half. And again, besides that one chance, I don’t think they really had many other chances. And so the message was to keep doing what we need to do and to put away our chances.”
Playing away from home, you might expect Louisville to sit back and absorb pressure. But the visitors were on the front foot as the game restarted after halftime.
Just two minutes in, Louisville nearly made it two when a ball into the six-yard box floated just over the head of Emma Sears. Fortunately, Moorhouse was there to grab it and prevent further damage.
The Pride got their first chance of the second half in the 53rd minute when Banda turned on the ball and sent it towards goal. However, Bloomer was there, as she had been all night, to make the stop.
Looking for a way back into the game, Hines made a triple substitution in the 60th minute. Simone Jackson, Ally Watt, and Rafaelle came on for Doyle, Chilufya, and Dyke.
The game settled down following the substitutions with the only attempt in the next 10 minutes being an off-target shot by Gautrat.
Hines made his final two changes in the 71st minute, replacing Gautrat and Lemos with Simone Charley and Angelina.
The pair didn’t take long to get involved, both having a chance in the 73rd minute. First, it was Angelina, whose shot was blocked. The block went directly to Charley, who took a shot of her own. However, she wasn’t able to hit it cleanly, allowing Bloomer to make an easy stop.
In the 79th minute, Charley won the ball back from Flint and dribbled towards the Louisville box. The midfielder tried to pull her back but missed. Katie O’Kane caught up and put her body on Charley, causing the attacker to go down.
Petrunok initially called the foul just outside of the box, but was called to the monitor to look again. After a lengthy review, she awarded the Pride their second penalty of the night.
“Credit to Simone Charley. You know, she’s had a bumpy, up-and-down journey to get to this point. But she’s here now, and she’s making an impact,” Hines said. “And credit to her for getting her head down and working so hard to have an influence on the game. Well deserved today for winning the penalty, because she’s put a lot of work into those moments.”
Angelina stepped up to take the spot kick. It was a poor penalty with the perfect height and placement for Bloomer to push it away.
The Pride had another chance in the 89th minute when Banda won the ball in the Louisville third of the field. She found Jackson as the rookie was entering the box. However, the ball popped up on Jackson, making it difficult to put it on target. As a result, she sent the shot wide.
A foul by O’Kane in the second minute of stoppage time gave the Pride another chance to find a goal and this time they didn’t squander it. Angelina tapped the ball for Pickett, who sent a curling cross into the box. Charley flicked it forward with her head for Nadaner at the back post. However, before it reached the center back, Borges headed the ball into her own net, evening the game at 1-1.
In the ninth minute of stoppage time, Angelina took possession near midfield and carried the ball to the top of the Louisville box. She had players on either side, electing to play Banda to her right. The striker had a decent look at goal, but sent the attempt over the top.
That was the final touch as the Pride claimed a 1-1 draw for the second-consecutive game.
At full time, the Pride had the edge in possession (60.5%-39.4%), shots (16-12), shots on target (5-4), crosses (10-5), corner kicks (7-2), and passing accuracy (80.2%-73.2%). But the two penalty saves loomed large as they could only claim a point.
“I think it was a good battle. We started off really well, created some opportunities. Then, you know, Louisville took the lead,” Hines said. “And we showed great resilience again, to come back and get a point and dying seconds. We could’ve won it.”
“I would say tonight has been one of our best 90-minute performances, other than the fact that we should have scored a lot more and should have come away with three points. It’s definitely a disappointment,” Sams added. “But I would say, besides a little point in the first half, we dominated. And I think that’s the best team performance we put together. Besides just the final piece.”
This is the second consecutive game in which the Pride gave up a first-half goal and had to come back to get a point. On Sunday, they conceded in the fourth minute before equalizing in the 72nd minute. Tonight, they conceded just before halftime and equalized minutes from the end.
“It’s definitely frustrating. I mean, I think everyone feels a little bit of that frustration, but I also want to turn that into a positive,” Sams said after the game. “Because we just never gave up the whole time. And I think we had that belief as soon as we went down that we were going to win that game. So, of course, it’s frustrating to not come away with the three points. But I think it’s a positive that we stuck to what we were doing, and we never let the pressure off and never showed that disappointment.”
“We never give up. That’s a big positive from us,” Nadaner added. “I think we deserve more of that game, but the game is cruel. That’s the way it goes. And we just need to take the positives, learn from the negatives, and we go again.”
The Pride currently retain their second-place position since the Washington Spirit drew earlier in the day. However, the San Diego Wave and Seattle Reign sit just behind and have yet to play this weekend.
After a pair of draws against teams lower in the standings, the Pride head out on the road to take on the first-place Kansas City Current next Saturday afternoon.