Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Chicago Stars FC: Final Score 5-2 as Pride Get Thumped On The Road
The Pride played one of their worst games of the season, falling to bottom-dweller Chicago.
The Orlando Pride (8-7-4, 28 points) ended their four-game goalless run, but extended their winless streak in NWSL play to seven games, falling 5-2 to Chicago Stars FC (2-9-8, 14 points) in Evanston, IL. Sam Staab, Jameese Joseph, Bea Franklin, Julia Grosso, and Lumila were the scorers for the Stars and Carson Pickett and Haley McCutcheon netted goals for the Pride.
The seven games without a win is the club’s worst run since late summer of 2019 and present a worrying sign that last year’s champions may be headed out of the playoff spots by the end of the 2025 season.
With vice-captain Kylie Nadaner out due to an illness, the back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Pickett, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, and Emily Sams. McCutcheon and Angelina were in the defensive midfield behind Marta, Ally Lemos, and Oihane with Simone Charley up top.
The teams combined for only one shot on target in the first half, but both teams created chances they should have scored on. The first good chance came from Ludmila in the 11th minute, when the Chicago striker carried the ball into the Pride box. The forward had enough space between Sams and Dyke to get a shot off, but Moorhouse made the save with her legs at her near post.
Chicago had another chance in the Pride third in the 12th minute when Marta lost the ball to Franklin in her own third. The Pride captain was down for a couple minutes as she received attention but was able to continue. The ensuing set piece was too close to Moorhouse, who caught the cross.
Joseph had a dangerous chance in the 19th minute when she got behind the back line with Moorhouse way off her line. The Stars forward touched the ball around the Pride goalkeeper to get in on goal. Fortunately, Rafaelle did well to win it back in the box, clearing the ball out of play.
Marta sent a cross to the near post in the 23rd minute that appeared to be handled by Naeher. But the goalkeeper fumbled it over the end line for a corner kick. The ensuing set piece bounced around before falling to Charley from close distance, but the attacker sent the attempt over the crossbar.
There was a break in the action in the 27th minute when Ally Schlegel went down near midfield away from the ball. As the attacker received treatment on the sideline, the Pride created a chance when Lemos sent a cross to the back post. McCutcheon was there to get her head on the cross, but the defensive midfielder sent it wide.
The Pride created another chance in the 33rd minute when quick passing from Angelina and Sams sent Lemos to the end line. The midfielder sent a dangerous ball across the face of the goal that got past Naeher with McCutcheon making a back post run, but McCutcheon couldn’t get on the end of the cross, missing another chance to end the team’s goalless drought.
In the 37th minute, Pickett found Charley near the penalty spot. The attacker won the ball, but her header was wide. Marta nearly broke the Pride’s scoring drought in the 43rd minute from the left side of the box. The Pride captain fired for the far post, sending it past Naeher. The shot was inches from going in but went wide instead.
It looked like the Stars took the lead in the first minute of first-half stoppage time when Schlegel sent Joseph down the right. The attacker found Ludmila behind the back line at the far post and Chicago’s most threatening attacker tapped it in, but the flag went up for an obvious offside on the initial ball, saving the Pride from going behind.
The final chance of the first half came from the hosts in the dying seconds. Kathrin Hendrich carried the ball forward from her center back position and found Schlegel beyond midfield. Rafaelle stepped up to the challenge but couldn’t win the ball.
The Stars had a four-on-three advantage, but Schlegel decided to take it herself. The attacking midfielder fired from the top of the box, sending her attempt wide.
That was the last first-half chance for either team as the game reached halftime scoreless. It was a close half, with the Stars having the advantage in possession (56%-44%), shots (8-6), shots on target (1-0), corner kicks (2-1), and passing accuracy (81%-79%). The Pride had more crosses (14-3).
Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made two changes at halftime, replacing Charley and Oihane with Jacquie Ovalle and Julie Doyle. It was Ovalle’s first appearance for the team after arriving for a world-record transfer fee.
“She’s a quality player,” Hines said of Ovalle. “She came in at halftime. Obviously hasn’t been integrated with the team for too long. But you can see her quality and what she can bring. This was just the starting point, and hopefully she can play more minutes for the rest of the year.”
It didn’t take long for the hosts to take the advantage, doing so just five minutes into the second half. It started when Ludmila was taken down by Rafaelle near the top of the Pride box, drawing a yellow card. Staab stood over the set piece, sending the ball over the wall and into the top corner to give Chicago the 1-0 lead.
Chicago nearly doubled its lead in the 52nd minute when Grosso sent a low cross into the box. Dyke tried to clear the ball, but it popped up on her, allowing Schlegel to get her head to it. Fortunately, she put it off the crossbar and the Pride were able to clear.
The Pride took advantage of the miss, equalizing in the 53rd minute. Marta found McCutcheon on the left, approaching the end line. The defensive midfielder quickly played the ball to Pickett in the box and the left back chipped the ball over Naeher and into the far corner to even the game at 1-1.
Unfortunately, the Stars responded just a minute later. Receiving the ball on the right from Grosso, Joseph used quick feet to beat Pickett and cleared herself room to take a shot. The forward sent her low, hard attempt behind Moorhouse and into the far corner to give Chicago a 2-1 lead.
It looked like the Stars might extend their lead in the 56th minute when Joseph played a long, low ball to Ludmila on the right and behind the Pride back line. Rather than shooting, the striker attempted to dribble around Moorhouse. It was a mistake as the Pride goalkeeper did well to take the ball off her foot, keeping the deficit at one.
Marta had a chance to equalize in the 59th minute when she received a short pass from McCutcheon and split a pair of defenders. The attacker fired from inside the box, but Naeher was there to block it away.
The hosts extended their lead in the 65th minute and Ludmila was at the center of it again. This time it was a clear defensive mistake as McCutcheon lost track of Bea Franklin. As the cross came in, Franklin entered the six-yard box while McCutcheon stood flat-footed. It was a simple header from Franklin and not much Moorhouse could do as the hosts took a 3-1 lead.
In the 69th minute, the Stars’ lead grew. A long ball out of the back was over Ludmila to Grosso. Sams got her foot to the ball but couldn’t control it. Grosso took possession, dribbled around Dyke, and put it in to make it a 4-1 game.
Immediately after the goal, Hines made his third change of the game, sending Watt on for Lemos.
It looked like the Pride were dead in the water, but they didn’t give up. Doyle received a pass from Sams on the right in the 72nd minute and sent a dangerous ball into the six-yard box. McCutcheon beat the defenders to the ball, tapping it in to make it a 4-2 game.
“I just started driving at my outside back and saw that she was square, and saw that they had a very high line defensively and there was some space for the corridor,” Doyle said. “Haley, and there was even other runners that were doing such a good job of being there when the ball got there. So, really proud of Haley for scoring that goal.”
Ludmila sent Joseph behind the Pride back line just moments later, looking to respond. The forward took a shot before Rafaelle could catch up to her, but she sent the attempt over the crossbar in the 73rd minute.
Hines made his final two changes in the 76th minute as Luana and Summer Yates entered the fray for Pickett and Marta.
Ludmila played a great ball into the Pride box, sending Nadia Gomes behind the Pride back line in the 82nd minute. Moorhouse did well to come off her line, cutting down the angle and making the stop.
On the other end, Ovalle sent a cross to the near post where Watt was making a run. The forward was able to volley the ball on target, but the attempt was right to Naeher.
The back-and-forth battle continued a minute later when Joseph got behind the Pride back line. Moorhouse again came up big, making the stop with her legs to keep the deficit at two goals.
The Stars put the game away in the 89th minute when Grosso played Gomes forward on the left. The substitute’s cross to the back post found Ludmila, who attempted to volley the ball on goal. It wasn’t a clean hit, but she was able to knock the ball past Moorhouse and over the goal line to make it 5-2.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Leilanni Nesbeth took down Yates just outside the box, earning a yellow card. Luana sent the free kick into the six-yard box, but it was cleared away for a corner kick. The set piece found Rafaelle’s head near the penalty spot, but her header was into Naeher’s arms, ending the threat.
The final chance came in the sixth minute of stoppage time when Ovalle was pulled down entering the Chicago third of the field. Luana’s free kick found McCutcheon’s head, but the attempt went over the crossbar on the last play of the game.
While the possession was even and both teams completed 81% of their passes, Chicago had more shots (19-13), shots on target (8-5), and corner kicks (3-2). The Pride had more crosses (26-8).
“Disappointing result,” Hines said. “Credit to Chicago, they executed in the final third. And we move on. We’ll reflect, we’ll review. Apologize to the fans that were watching at home. Apologize to the fans that were here with their support. That wasn’t us today and we have to get it right. We have to stick together. We have to be a collective and move onto the next game.”
“It’s brutal to lose like that,” Doyle added. “There’s obviously some positives. I really feel like we did give it our 100%. We left everything out there. It’s tough when you’re down a goal. It’s the risk that you take when you’re pressing. And I think every single time we went down, we wanted to risk and we didn’t want to lose today. So we were sending numbers forward and they just caught us on that transition and that’s what got us.”
The Pride’s winless streak dates back to a 2-0 loss to Racing Louisville on June 20. They’ve yet to win a game since the end of the summer break. Making matters worse, this was only Chicago’s second win of the season, ending the Stars’ 14-game winless run since April.
The Pride return home Saturday, when they’ll face Bay FC.