Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. San Diego Wave FC: Final Score 2-1 as Pride Snap Nine-Game Winless Streak
The Pride finally tasted victory again, defeating the San Diego Wave FC for their first league win since June 13.
The streak is over. The Orlando Pride (9-8-5, 32 points) have finally won an NWSL game, defeating San Diego Wave FC (8-7-7, 31 points) 2-1 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, CA. Jacquie Ovalle scored her first Pride goal in the eighth minute, which was quickly erased by Dudinha two minutes later. But Carson Pickett came off the bench to score in the 54th minute, helping claim all three points for Orlando.
Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made one change to the team that lost 1-0 to the North Carolina Courage on Sept. 19. Marta was out with a back injury, replaced in the lineup by Julie Doyle.
The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Kerry Abello, Zara Chavoshi, Emily Sams, and Oihane. Haley McCutcheon and Angelina were in the defensive midfield behind Doyle, Ally Lemos, and Ovalle with Ally Watt up top.
Both teams came into this game needing a win, with the Pride winless in nine and the Wave winless in five. It looked like it would be a high-scoring affair with both teams finding the back of the net in the first 10 minutes. However, the game settled down after that. Both teams struggled to create a sustained attack, ending the first half even at 1-1.
The Pride jumped out to their second lead with a goal by the halftime substitute less than 10 minutes after the break. After being at fault for the Wave goal, Moorhouse came up with some huge saves in the second half to help earn all three points for her team.
The Wave created the first attack in the third minute when Trinity Armstrong made a long run into the Pride third of the field and played the ball forward for Hanna Lundkvist. The right back sent a cross to Kimmi Ascanio. The attacker took a shot on goal, but Lemos was there to block it. The hosts had another chance when Chavoshi fouled Adriana Leon in the Pride third of the field. Kenza Dali played the set piece short to Lundkvist, who fired from distance. However, her attempt was wide.
The Pride took immediate advantage of the miss, scoring off the restart. Moorhouse played the goal kick short to Sams, who played it to Oihane on the right. The Spanish defender sent a long ball for Watt on the wing, and the striker found Ovalle making a trailing run to the top of the San Diego box. The Mexican international fired past Wave goalkeeper DiDi Haracic for her first NWSL goal.
The goal was more significant than Ovalle’s first for the Pride. It gave the team its first lead in an NWSL game since June 13 when Barbra Banda scored in the 58th minute of a 1-0 win over Bay FC.
“You could see the relief that it gave the players after scoring the first goal,” Hines said. “It’s something that we’ve always spoken about. You know, getting off to a good start. And I think in previous games we have got off to a good start, but to actually reward ourselves is a fantastic goal. You know, it’s a great ball down the line, Ally makes a great run and a great decision-making moment to find Jacquie in that little pocket of space that we talked about, so she could finish with a left foot.”
Unfortunately, it didn’t take the hosts long to respond. In the 10th minute, Moorhouse received a pass back from Oihane and played it back to the same side. It was a poor pass with little chance of success. Dudinha easily intercepted the ball, and with the Pride goalkeeper off her line, the 20-year-old Brazilian chipped it in from distance to even the game at 1-1.
Lundkvist made a run down the right in the 17th minute before sending a cross into the Pride box. It was blocked by Chavoshi, but went off an unaware Abello and out of play for a corner kick. The set piece went to Watt at the top of the box, but her weak clearance went straight to Makenzy Robbe, who took a long-distance shot. The attempt was always rising and caused little concern for Moorhouse.
Haracic came off her line in the 21st minute to punch an Oihane cross away. Angelina was making a run to the top of the box and met the ball before it hit the ground, volleying it towards goal. Unfortunately, her attempt bounced wide.
Robbe laid the ball off for Dali in the 38th minute and the attacking midfielder sent Leon behind the Pride back line. As the striker entered the box, Chavoshi caught up and had to get the challenge right to prevent a penalty. Fortunately, it was a great tackle by the rookie center back, who even drew a foul.
While the first half started fast, it quickly slowed down. Neither team created a shot in the final 20 minutes of action as the game went into the break even at 1-1.
After 45 minutes of play, the Pride had more possession (56%-44%) and crosses (8-5). San Diego held the advantage in shots (6-4), corner kicks (2-1), and passing accuracy (85%-84%). The only shots on target were the two goals.
Hines made one halftime change, replacing Doyle with Pickett, an inspired substitution.
“We wanted to build up in a three tonight and have some width. Julie started off in that position on the left-hand side, giving us the width. And we had to make a change at halftime and bring Carson on,” Hines said. “And Carson’s very comfortable in that position as almost like a wingback.”
The Wave won a free kick in the 50th minute in their own half, taking it quickly to create a break. It ended up with Lundkvist, who played it off Pickett for a corner kick. Moorhouse came out to punch the ensuing set piece, missing the ball. After briefly bouncing around the six-yard box, it fell to Armstrong, who put her shot over the crossbar.
A giveaway in the back in the 52nd minute created another chance for the hosts. Dudinha created enough space from Oihane on the right to send a cross in. Abello was the first to the ball, but she mishit it out of play, resulting in another San Diego corner kick. Moorhouse got her fist to this set piece, sending it straight to Dudinha. The attacker’s back was to the goal, but she did well to turn Ovalle before sending her shot wide of the far post.
The Pride created their first chance of the second half in the 53rd minute when Oihane sent Ovalle down the right. The playmaker sent a cross to the back post, where McCutcheon was making a run. But the midfielder’s header was from a tight angle and Haracic made the easy catch.
A minute later, the Pride took their second lead of the game. This goal came from a great ball by Oihane, who had Watt and Pickett making runs into the Wave box. The pass was beyond the reach of Watt but landed perfectly for Pickett, whose first touch was a shot past Haracic to retake the lead.
“I mean, Oi, obviously one of our best servers of the ball, her and Jacquie on that side,” Pickett said. “So I just saw that she got it, and I saw Ally make a run, and I was like, you know what? I’m just gonna do everything I can to get there in case Ally doesn’t. And luckily, it fell right to me and (I) just hit a right-footed shot, which was a little bit of a shocker.”
“Carson takes the goal really well,” Hines added. “It’s a great ball from Oi to find her on that weak side. And yeah, scoring it with her right foot, which is something we haven’t seen often. But she takes the goal really well.”
The Pride had a chance to score a third in the 58th minute when Oihane sent a cross too close to Haracic. The goalkeeper fumbled the ball in her own six-yard box, but nobody in purple was close enough, allowing Haracic to jump on it.
Kristen McNabb’s pass to halftime substitute Jordan Fusco in the 60th minute was intercepted by Angelina. She played the ball to Pickett, who tried a quick touch to McCutcheon. It looked like Armstrong would intercept it, but she couldn’t control it, allowing McCutcheon to shoot from the top of the box. Unfortunately, her attempt skipped wide of the left post.
The Wave created an opportunity for an equalizer in the 66th minute when Armstrong sent a good ball forward for Leon, who quickly found Ascanio. The attacker fired before the defenders could react, but it was right into Moorhouse’s arms.
The Pride nearly conceded for a second time in the 74th minute when the hosts had three golden chances. Dudinha played the ball wide for Fusco, who sent the ball to the top of the six-yard box. It was just beyond the reach of Kyra Carusa, finding Lundkvist at the far post. The defender laid it back for Ascanio, who fired with space, but Moorhouse came up with a huge save. The rebound found Lundkvist, who laid it off again — this time for Carusa. However, Chavoshi blocked her shot. Laurina Fazer collected the ball at the top of the box, but her shot was also blocked. This time the rebound fell to Dali, whose shot forced Moorhouse to tip the ball wide of her post.
The first corner kick was knocked out for a second and the ensuing set piece was cleared away to end the threat, with the Pride narrowly keeping their lead.
Dudinha looked to make something happen from the left again in the 80th minute, twisting and turning Oihane before sending a cross into the box. She found Carusa just outside the six-yard box, but the redirection header was too close to Moorhouse.
McNabb sent a nice ball into the box in the 87th minute for Carusa. Unfortunately for the hosts, it was a little bit behind the attacker, who couldn’t get much on her header. As a result, Moorhouse made an easy save.
Lundkvist and Dali played a give-and-go in the second minute of stoppage time, almost creating a chance. Dali sent a dangerous ball into the box with Carusa making a run. But it was just a bit too far in front of the attacker, allowing Moorhouse to collect.
In the third minute of stoppage time, late substitute Quincy McMahon sent a ball into the six-yard box that should’ve been an easy stop, but Moorhouse tipped it right in front of her goal. Fortunately, nobody in white was there, and the Pride were able to clear away the game’s last chance.
At full time, possession was even, but the hosts finished with the edge in shots (16-9), shots on target (6-2), crosses (20-19), and passing accuracy (84%-81%). The Pride only led in corner kicks (7-6) and, most importantly, goals scored.
“Really hard-fought win. The players were terrific tonight,” Hines said. “We played some really good stuff as well. You know, we emphasized switching the point of attack to create opportunities to score. And I thought we implemented the game plan really well. Any time we’ve got a foundation by scoring the first goal gives us an opportunity to go on and win the game. And we showed a bit of resilience after the goal that we conceded. But a lot of players stepped up today, and I’m really proud of them because it’s a win that we’ve been really wanting for a long time. So, yeah, it’s a group effort, really pleased, and we’ll move on to the next one.”
“I think it was long overdue” Pickett added. “Obviously, it’s been a while since we won and gotten a good result, so I think it kind of gave us that momentum moving forward. Last five games, hopefully we get five wins.”
The win is the first for the Pride in the league since June 13. Coincidentally, that win over Bay FC also came on the West Coast. Tonight’s victory ended a nine-game winless run in NWSL action and was the club’s first since the summer break. Orlando improved to 3-0-1 in road games at San Diego.
“We’ve been dying for three points for so long,” Hines said. “And again, we’ve had some really good results, and it’s come down to fine margins. Even tonight, San Diego clear one off the line and would have given us a bit more breathing space. But listen, I can’t say enough good things about the team. They’ve stuck to the plan, they’ve trusted the process. They’re all together in the sense of wanting to get the three points.”
“It means everything,” Pickett added. “We have worked day in, day out. We’ve never turned on each other. We’ve stayed strong, and we have done everything we possibly can to try and get results, and it hasn’t fallen our way. I feel like we’ve been a bit unlucky. So, yeah, it was a big sigh of relief when we won. The final whistle blew, I think everyone’s just like, okay, let’s go. We’re going to finish this strong.”
The Pride moved from seventh to fourth in the crowded NWSL standings, putting them in a much better position than two hours earlier. They’re not safe yet, since they’re only four points ahead of the final playoff spot and several teams now have a game in hand. However, they’re only two points behind NJ/NY Gotham FC for third and they still have everything to play for.
The team will stay on the road as they travel south of the border to face Club America in the Concacaf W Champions Cup Tuesday. Then they’ll head to Houston, TX, where they’ll take on the Dash in their next league game Friday night.