Orlando Pride vs. Boston Legacy FC: Five Takeaways

The Orlando Pride hosted expansion side Boston Legacy FC for the first time in Inter&Co Stadium, and it didn’t go as planned. The visitors defeated the home team 1-0 to sweep the Pride in the regular season. There isn’t much time to reflect before the Pride head west to take on the Utah Royals on Saturday, so here are my five takeaways from the match.

Speed Lacking

This team is slow without Barbra Banda. Jacquie Ovalle is good with the ball at her feet and can deliver good set pieces or crosses when in the right position, but she is not fast. Marta is 40, and as great as she is, she isn’t outrunning younger players. The fullbacks are not fast. Angelina isn’t particularly quick either.

The lack of pace means that even if the Pride get a transition opportunity, the defense can usually catch up to disrupt the play. Trying to win races to open balls often results in the opposition winning the ball. We saw plenty of this in this match.

VARious Decisions

Ovalle was involved in two controversial calls involving video review. The first was on a first-half Ovalle corner kick that she curled inside the far post and into the back of the net. It should have been a beautiful Olimpico, but Ally Lemos was backed up next to Boston goalkeeper Casey Murphy. She barely touched her and I disagree with the call, but the goal was waved off because Lemos was ruled to have interfered with Murphy.

The other call came on the other end, and also on a corner kick. Boston put the ball across the goal and out for a goal kick, but then the video assistant referee decided to take a long look. Ovalle was, in my opinion, absolutely holding onto the player she was defending, but inexplicably after review, the goal kick was confirmed. I’m not certain if it was intentional, but the call did effectively even things out.

No Banda, No Finishing

The Pride were able to create several crosses from the wide spaces before Banda entered the match in the 60th minute. Unfortunately, there was no one in front of goal for the Pride to even attempt a shot (see “Speed” above). The few shots that the Pride were able to get off either went wide, high, or straight to the keeper. Even Banda wasn’t able to finish any of her chances, though as you’ll read below there were some extenuating circumstances.

Banda Brutalized

It was clear that once Banda came into the match, Boston center back Jorelyn Carabalí was told to do anything short of shivving Banda to stop her. Banda was bumped, dragged, kicked, pulled, and all sorts of other things that should have been called as fouls with some worthy of bookings, but the referee wasn’t having it. This is nothing new for Banda and the Pride, as teams are often able to maul the Zambian striker without it being called because of her size and strength. It’s unfair whenever it happens, but it seemed to be more egregious in this match.

Reality Check

On Friday, we saw the Pride play to the top of their ability. The 3-0 win over the Kansas City Current was vintage 2024 Orlando Pride. It was also an illusion. That performance is not indicative of what this team is on any given day. I think the performance against Boston is much closer to the truth. The team looked better once Banda was on the pitch, but it wasn’t enough. The Pride are about to lose Banda to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, and I don’t think the team has any answers or the personnel to implement those answers.

That is what I saw in the disappointing home loss to Boston Legacy FC. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!