Orlando Pride vs. Racing Louisville FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Orlando Pride (8-4-2, 26 points) look to rebound from a disappointing draw as they welcome Racing Louisville FC (6-6-2, 20 points) to Inter&Co Stadium. This is the second and final time these teams will face each other this regular season.

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

History

This is the fifth season of existence for Racing Louisville. The two teams have played 12 times, with the Pride going 3-4-5 (3-4-3 in NWSL games, 0-0-1 in the NWSL Challenge Cup, and 0-0-1 in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup). The Pride are 3-0-2 against Louisville at home in league play.

The most recent meeting between the two teams occurred on June 20 in Louisville. Arin Wright gave the hosts the lead at the half-hour mark and former Pride attacker Taylor Flint doubled the advantage in the second half as the Pride fell 2-0 to end the first half of the season.

The first game in 2024 between the two came on March 16 in Louisville. The season opener for both teams looked like it would be a long day as Elexa Bahr and Uchenna Kanu gave the hosts a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes. The Pride got on the board in the 24th minute with an own goal by Elli Pikkujämsä, but the task was made more difficult when Kylie Strom received her second yellow card in the second half. However, Amanda Allen and Summer Yates combined on a late goal by Yates, as the Pride pulled out an unlikely 2-2 draw.

On May 5, 2024, in Orlando, an Emily Sams cross in the 17th minute found the head of Barbra Banda at the back post for the game’s only goal in a 1-0 Pride win. On Aug. 1, 2024 in the Summer Cup, Evelina Duljan scored her lone Pride goal to give the Pride the lead. However, Reilyn Turner equalized, sending the game into penalties. The Pride took the early shootout lead when Jaelin Howell missed, but saves by Jordyn Bloomer on Morgan Gautrat and Ally Watt saw Louisville take the extra point.

The first game of 2023 occurred on May 6 at Exploria Stadium. Messiah Bright gave the Pride an early lead and the hosts held on for 69 minutes for the 1-0 win. It was the first home win of 2023 for the Pride and their second win of the season. The second meeting was on Oct. 6, 2023 in Louisville. The Pride got off to a great start with goals by Marta from the spot early and an excellent individual effort by Kerry Abello to make it 2-0. However, Bright took Savannah DeMelo down in the box just before halftime and Nadia Nadim converted the penalty. A five-minute swing with a goal by Kristen Davis and an own goal by Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse resulted in the Pride losing the critical game 3-2.

The first meeting between the two teams in 2022 took place Sept. 16 in Louisville. Racing struck first when Nadim was left open in front of goal for a tap-in. The hosts doubled their lead on a great strike by DeMelo from outside of the box, and the Pride fell 2-0.

The first meeting of 2022 was in a unique setting, taking place at Daytona International Speedway on July 3. The game was a part of the 2022 Daytona SoccerFest and was the first time a professional soccer game was played at a racetrack. Emina Ekic gave Louisville a halftime lead and DeMelo doubled the lead shortly after the break. However, the Pride fought back with goals by Strom and Darian Jenkins, pulling out a 2-2 draw. The game launched a seven-game unbeaten run that pulled the Pride back into the playoff race.

The first year the two teams met was in 2021 during the NWSL Challenge Cup in Louisville. CeCe Kizer gave the hosts the lead early, but Taylor Kornieck equalized just before halftime. It looked like the Pride would win when Abi Kim scored late, but Brooke Hendrix equalized in second-half injury time and the teams drew 2-2.

The teams played three times in the 2021 regular season, with the first meeting coming on July 9 in Orlando. Ebony Salmon gave Louisville the lead, but Sydney Leroux scored to force a 1-1 draw with a goal in second-half injury time. The second meeting was on Sept. 11 in Orlando. The Pride took a 2-0 lead into the break with goals by Leroux and Marta. Kizer got one back, but Alex Morgan’s conversion sealed three points for the Pride.

The final meeting of 2021 was in the penultimate game of the year for both teams. The Pride needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive and they got off to a good start when Jodie Taylor scored in the third minute. However, the game slipped away as Salmon and Katie McClure scored on either side of halftime and Yuki Nagasato made the final 3-1.

Overview

The Pride come into this game after possibly the most disappointing result of the season. White the Pride were missing Marta, Angelina, and Abello, the last-place Utah Royals were missing several starters as well. Mina Tanaka caught Anna Moorhouse off her line early and the Pride couldn’t equalize until the final 20 minutes, when Simone Jackson set up Prisca Chilufya, resulting in a 1-1 draw.

The two problems that have plagued the Pride all season arose against Utah. The team started very slow, giving up an early goal, and struggled to score despite creating more chances than the opposition. Too often the team sent the ball forward for Banda, who had to take on multiple defenders by herself with little support.

However, credit to Pride Head Coach Seb Hines, his substitutions were inspired. Jackson and Chilufya were two of the best players on the field, immediately making their presence felt. Simone Charley also created a chance less than a minute after entering the game in the 79th minute.

The Pride will be much closer to full strength tonight as they welcome the Brazilian duo of Marta and Angelina back into the squad. The pair missed the Utah game as they won the Copa America Femenil final the previous night. They’re back with the team and could play a part against Louisville.

Exiting the summer break, the Pride’s hold on second in the NWSL standings was precarious to say the least. It’s even more so after dropping two points against the Royals Sunday night. They’re tied with the Washington Spirit on 26 points, only ahead on goal difference. Meanwhile, the San Diego Wave and Seattle Reign sit just behind, one and two points back respectively.

Louisville has a lot to play for coming into this game. Racing is currently in seventh, just one point ahead of NJ/NY Gotham FC and the North Carolina Courage in a three-way battle for the last two playoff spots. Their -5 goal difference means they need every point they can get, because they’ll lose the tiebreaker with the surrounding teams.

The 2-0 win over the Pride on June 20 is flanked by a pair of two-goal losses to the Kansas City Current, including a 2-0 loss at home on Aug. 1. However, Kansas City has been unquestionably the class of the league this season with a commanding 10-point lead over the second-place Pride.

Tonight’s opponent is led in the attack by Emma Sears, who has six goals on the season. Following Sears with multiple goals this season are Flint with three, Kayla Fischer with two, and Savannah DeMelo with two.

Meanwhile, Janine Sonis leads the team with three assists. Wright, Fischer, DeMelo, and former Pride defender Courtney Petersen all have two assists on the season.

“It wasn’t too long ago we were playing them. Obviously, at their place. But to Inter&Co Stadium and we want to bounce back from a disappointing result against Utah,” Hines said about tonight’s game. “I don’t think it was a bad performance other than the first 20 minutes. That’s something that we’ve spoken about as a team. How do we start the game more on the front foot, more energy, more drive to score that opening goal. But it’s going to be a tough matchup. Louisville has done extremely well this year. They’re a high-pressing team, so we have to be mindful of that and got to really focus on our details to manipulate them to try to score goals.”

The Pride are back to full strength tonight with everyone available for selection.

Meanwhile, Louisville will be without Angela Baron (excused absence), Katie Lund (hip), Lauren Milliet (shoulder), Maddie Pokorny (hip), Olivia Sekany (knee), and Kirsten Wright (knee).

---

Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Carson Pickett, Kylie Nadaner, Emily Sams, Cori Dyke.

Defensive Midfielders: Haley McCutcheon, Morgan Gautrat.

Midfielders: Prisca Chilufya, Ally Lemos, Julie Doyle.

Forward: Barbra Banda.

Bench: McKinley Crone, Simone Charley, Oihane, Ally Watt, Marta, Rafaelle, Angelina, Simone Jackson, Summer Yates.

Racing Louisville FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Jordyn Bloomer.

Defenders: Courtney Petersen, Arin Wright, Ellie Jean, Janine Sonis.

Midfielders: Savannah DeMelo, Taylor Flint, Marisa DiGrande.

Forwards: Emma Sears, Sarah Weber, Ella Hase.

Bench: Ary Borges, Kayla Fischer, Jordan Baggett, Katie O’Kane, Uchenna Kanu, Katie Scott, Avery Kalitta, Cristina Roque, Bethany Balcer.

Referees

REF: Iryna Petrunok.
AR1: Sarah Gaddes.
AR2: Stephen Milhoan.
4TH: Andrew Musashe.
VAR: Kevin Broadley.
AVAR: Alicia Messer.

---

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV: Ion.

Streaming: None.

Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @themaneland.bsky.social on Bluesky and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter (@ORLPride) or Bluesky (@orlpride.com) feed.

---

Enjoy the game. Go Pride!