Orlando Pride vs. Boston Legacy FC: Final Score 2-1 as Pride Blow Second-Half Lead in Loss

The Orlando Pride (3-4-2, 11 points) fell to league bottom-dwellers Boston Legacy FC (2-5-2, 8 points) 2-1 tonight at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. Marta gave the Pride the lead from the spot in the 14th minute, but a 72nd-minute goal by Aleigh Gambone and an Amanda Gutierres penalty in stoppage time sealed Boston’s second win of the year. 

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made three changes to the team that beat the North Carolina Courage 1-0 Friday night. Ally Lemos, Solai Washington, and Barbra Banda were replaced by Julie Doyle, Marta, and Simone Jackson.

“We put a lot into the last game against North Carolina. Some of the players had minor injuries,” Hines said about the changes. “Didn’t want to rule them out of this game, so had to rotate Barbra out of the lineup. Solai was forced with an injury. I thought Julie at the 10 did really well, running in behind, getting in some dangerous areas. SJ, getting her first start today, did well also.”

The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Oihane, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, and Hailie Mace. Angelina and Haley McCutcheon were the defensive midfielders behind Doyle, Summer Yates, and Jackson with Marta up top.

On paper, this should’ve been a win for the Pride. They’ve been one of the top teams in the league the last three seasons and were playing an expansion side with only one win. But Boston was the better team throughout the 90 minutes. The Legacy controlled possession and chances, but some poor decision-making left little to do for Moorhouse.

Allowing the hosts to control the game came back to haunt the Pride as they conceded two goals in the final 20 minutes. They’ll feel aggrieved as Boston should’ve had a player sent off right before its first goal and a video review on the late penalty that the Pride weren’t provided. But it never should’ve come to that, even with the changes to the starting lineup.

The hosts had the first attack in the third minute when Oihane lost the ball to Nichelle Prince in her own third. Aissata Traore took possession and attempted to cross, but Angelina knocked it out of play. The ensuing corner kick was sent to the back post where Lais Araujo took the game’s first shot. However, it was blocked and the Pride were able to clear.

The Pride created their first attack in the fourth minute when a poor touch by Araujo allowed Yates to take control. She played Marta into the box, but Emerson Elgin did well to shield the attacker, allowing Casey Murphy to collect it.

Annie Karich tried to surprise Moorhouse in the 10th minute with the goalkeeper slightly off her line. The shot from well outside the box was on target and caused Moorhouse to tip it over the crossbar. The corner kick was headed away by McCutcheon, ending the threat.

Mace played the ball over the top on the right sideline in the 11th minute for Doyle. The midfielder played the ball through the legs of Araujo before firing on target, forcing Murphy to block the ball out of play.

As the ensuing set piece went into the box, Traore pushed Rafaelle over near the far post. While Murphy caught the ball, referee Ekaterina Koroleva blew her whistle and pointed to the spot.

Angelina and Marta stood at the penalty spot as the Boston players argued the decision. Unsurprisingly, it was Marta who took the spot kick. The Pride captain placed the ball under Murphy’s arm on a diving save attempt to give the Pride the early 1-0 lead.

Boston tried to beat Moorhouse from distance again in the 17th minute when Bianca St-Georges received a pass from Karich at the top of the box. The Canadian international’s second touch was a shot that was easily handled by Moorhouse.

Jackson played a beautiful ball down the right in the 25th minute for Doyle. The attacker got behind her defender and sent a cross toward the penalty spot where Yates was making a run. It looked like she might have a free shot on goal, but Jorelyn Carabali stuck her foot in to tap it away.

Boston quickly went the other way, earning a corner kick when St-Georges’ shot was blocked out of play. The ensuing set piece bounced around the box before Traore turned to shoot. However, her attempt was blocked and the Pride were able to clear.

Down a goal, Boston held the majority of possession, continuing to look for a breakthrough. However, nearly all of its chances came from low-percentage attempts from outside the box. Prince sent a shot from outside that sailed over the target, and Karich shot from even further out a minute later, which also went over everything.

Boston had one of itsr few close-range chances in the 34th minute when Carabali made a run to the top of the Pride box before finding Alba Cano making a diagonal run. The attacker turned to shoot, forcing Moorhouse to make a save.

Barbara Olivieri played the ball through Cano to Prince on the right side, creating one of Boston’s best chances of the half. Prince’s first touch was a ball to Olivieri, who continued her run into the box. The Venezuelan had space for a shot but sent her attempt over the top.

Boston had one last attack in the third minute of first-half stoppage time. Olivieri made a strong run to the end line before her cross was blocked out of play by Mace. The corner kick to the near post was knocked down by Prince for Traore, whose shot was blocked into the side netting. Cano’s second corner kick skipped off the head of St-Georges, the last chance for either team.

After 45 minutes, Boston had the advantage in possession (61%-39%), shots (14-3), shots on target (3-2), crosses (17-3), corner kicks (6-2), and passing accuracy (80%-74%). But the penalty was the difference as the Pride took a one-goal lead into the break.

Hines made three changes at halftime. Banda, Lemos, and Hannah Anderson came on for Marta, Angelina, and Rafaelle.

“Really, just stay with the game. Don’t, don’t overthink. Don’t overcomplicate,” Raabe said about the message to the substitutes. “Go in, do your thing, work with the team, work together.”

Rafaelle’s departure was due to a concussion, so the teams were given a sixth substitution.

Boston continued to hold possession, but it also continued to shoot from long range. In the 47th minute, Karich played the ball square for Olivieri. The Pride left the attacker alone, daring her to shoot from distance. Olivieri took the opportunity and put the shot on target, but it didn’t cause any trouble for Moorhouse.

Banda made her presence felt in the 48th minute when she shielded Araujo and drew a foul in the Boston third of the field. Lemos’ set piece was initially headed away by St-Georges, but it went to Banda, who turned to shoot. The attempt was off Doyle to McCutcheon, who sent a weak shot to Murphy.

While neither attempt caused any problems for Boston, they were the Pride’s first shots since Marta’s 14th-minute goal.

Jackson intercepted a poor pass in the 52nd minute and played it forward for Doyle. The attacker initially looked to lay the ball off before seeing Banda one-on-one with Araujo. The Zambian did well to shield the defender, forcing Elgin to leave Mace making a run from the back. Banda found her teammate with plenty of space for a shot, but the right back sent it wide of the target.

Hines made his fourth change in the 57th minute. Doyle, who was on a yellow card, came off for Luana.

Luana immediately made an impact, drawing a foul on Josefine Hasbo in the Boston third. Lemos sent the set piece into the box, finding the head of Banda. The striker tried to tuck the shot inside the far post but missed wide.

In the 62nd minute, Yates went down as Mace shielded Sammy Smith to earn a goal kick. As Yates limped off the field, she was replaced by Seven Castain.

The Pride should’ve been a player up in the 69th minute when Carabali went studs up over the ball on Banda. The forward went down and received attention, though she was able to continue. Koroleva didn’t even call a foul on a play that should’ve been a red card.

Hines made his final change of the night in the 71st minute, replacing Jackson with Reagan Raabe.

A minute later, Boston found its equalizer. A long ball into the Pride box was headed back nicely by Gutierres for Gambone making a trailing run. The second-half substitute struck the ball cleanly past Moorhouse to even the game at 1-1.

The Pride quickly went on the attack, nearly finding their second goal in the 74th minute. Castain sent a long ball down the field for Banda, who collected it in a seemingly innocuous position. But the striker cut back and fired for the far post. The ball took a deflection off a defender, likely keeping it from going in.

The ensuing set piece found Castain, who headed it wide.

In the 79th minute, Gutierres sent a long ball forward for Smith. But Oihane knocked it out for a corner kick. The corner kick by Gambone was to the top of the box where Gutierres was waiting. The attacker volleyed the ball just wide of the post, keeping the game even.

The Pride felt they should’ve had a second penalty in the 86th minute when Banda dribbled into the Boston box and sent a cross towards the penalty spot. The ball hit the arm of Karich as she attempted to tuck it behind her. Banda’s arm went up, but Koroleva decided Karich didn’t make herself bigger.

The fourth official showed five minutes of stoppage time and the Pride nearly found a winner in the third minute. Banda used her physicality to win a long ball that Elgin looked to have under control. She dribbled into the box before firing at the near post.

Murphy blocked the ball and it appeared to be heading out of play, but Raabe kept it in. She sent a very dangerous ball across the face of goal with Castain approaching it, but it was just beyond her reach.

Boston went to the other end and won a corner kick when Oihane cleared the ball over the end line. The ensuing set piece went beyond the far post where Karich collected it. The midfielder took a touch inside before firing on goal. Anderson blocked the attempt, though Moorhouse was in position to make the save.

The next time the ball went out of play, Koroleva signaled for a video review. The corner kick went off the hand of Luana, whose arms were above her head. As a result, Boston was awarded a penalty.

Gutierres stepped up to take the spot kick. The Brazilian sent Moorhouse the wrong way and tucked the ball into the corner to give the hosts a late 2-1 lead.

With only a minute added onto added time, the Pride were unable to create anything on the attacking end and came away with a devastating loss.

At full time, Boston had the edge in possession (62%-38%), shots (22-11), shots on target (7-4), crosses (31-8), corner kicks (11-4), and passing accuracy (79%-72%). The Pride defended for nearly the entire game, a strategy that came back to haunt them.

“Frustrated. Disappointed. Never like losing, especially in the manner that we lost the game,” Hines said. “It was a tough game, physical game, took the lead. Going into halftime, lots of positives. Trying to maintain that defensive structure, not give them too many opportunities. A lot of their opportunities in the first half came from distance. I felt in moments we could have been more threatening in transition, making sure that we have the willingness to run and support the attack. Obviously had to make some changes at halftime that were forced on us. And then, obviously, overall, we’re not happy with the defeat.”

The biggest surprise about this game was how much Boston controlled it. The hosts were the aggressors throughout the game, putting the Pride on their heels. Chances for the visitors were few and far between, even in the second half when they brought on Banda.

“We knew what we were going into. We knew that they were aggressive. We knew that they, at times, want to press individually,” Hines said about the gameplan. “So how do you create that space when the team is so aggressive in those moments? You have to pull them out of positions and then exploit the space that they’ve left in behind. And I think that’s where we had a lot of joy in the first half, with Marta as the nine dropping down and Julie as the 10 running in behind. I would have liked to see that a little bit more with other players, other than Julie running in behind as well.”

The loss sees the Pride tied with Seattle Reign FC on 11 points for the eighth and final playoff spot after nine games. It’s a crowded group as the Houston Dash and Bay FC are one point behind and one point behind the Kansas City Current.

The Pride will have to shake this loss off as they stay out on the road against expansion sides, facing Denver Summit FC in Colorado Saturday night.