Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match preview and live thread as the Orlando Pride (7-11-2, 23 points) travel north to face the Washington Spirit (11-5-4, 37 points). This is the second and final time the two teams will face each other in the regular season.

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

History

The Pride and Spirit have played 30 times since Orlando joined the NWSL in 2016. The Pride are 9-8-6 in regular-season play against Washington and 11-11-8 in all competitions against the Spirit, adding in Challenge Cup and NWSL playoff matchups. Orlando is 4-4-3 against Washington in NWSL play away from home and 4-6-3 away in all competitions.

The last time these two teams met was on May 2 in Orlando. Sofia Cantore got off to a roaring start, netting a brace inside the first six minutes. Barbra Banda then scored two of her own in the 33rd and 39th minutes to send the game into the break even at 2-2. But the Spirit took over in the second half with goals by Claudia Martinez and Trinity Rodman, sealing a 4-2 victory.

The first meeting of 2025 took place on March 7 as the Pride hosted the NWSL Challenge Cup. Rafaelle netted the opening goal to give the Pride a late first-half lead. Leicy Santos equalized in the second half with a terrific strike, and the game finished tied at 1-1. The Spirit won the ensuing shootout 4-2 to claim the preseason trophy. 

The first league game of 2025 was held on April 19 in Orlando. Gift Monday scored the game’s lone goal in the second half, giving the Spirit the 1-0 win. On Oct. 18, in Washington, D.C., Kerry Abello opened the scoring late in the first half with an own goal, then scored one for her own team three minutes later. Cantore gave the Spirit the lead just before the half, but then Marta came on. The Pride captain’s shot off Narumi Miura equalized early in the second half and she converted a penalty later, after Ally Watt drew the foul, securing the 3-2 win.

The first meeting of 2024 took place April 26 in Washington, D.C. Angelina gave the Pride the early lead before Ouleymata Sarr equalized shortly before halftime. A Banda strike and a Summer Yates penalty conversion in the second half seemed to put the game away, but Anna Moorhouse dropped an easy catch from Ashley Hatch’s shot, giving the Spirit a second goal. Fortunately, the Pride held on for the 3-2 win.

They met a second time on Oct. 6 in Orlando. Despite dominating the game, the Pride didn’t convert until Marta scored early in the second half. Tara McKeown deflected an Adriana shot in for an own goal later, lifting the Pride to a 2-0 win and clinching the NWSL Shield. The Pride and Spirit were the best two teams throughout the season and faced each other in the NWSL Championship on Nov. 23 in Kansas City. Banda’s first-half goal was the difference in the game as the Pride won their first-ever league title.

The first meeting of 2023 took place May 10 at Audi Field in NWSL Challenge Cup group play. Tori Hansen gave the Pride a surprising early lead, but late first-half goals by Lena Silano, Sam Staab, and Marissa Sheva made it 3-1 Washington at halftime. Watt scored off the bench early in the second half, but Ashley Sanchez put the game away in injury time as the Spirit won 4-2.

The first regular-season matchup of 2023 was held May 20 in Orlando. Marta converted a first-half penalty, but Staab equalized five minutes later. Kylie Strom netted the winner late as the Pride won 2-1. The Pride dominated the Spirit in the second regular-season matchup on July 1. Julie Doyle had a brace in the first 16 minutes and a McKeown own goal put the game out of reach as the Pride won 3-0.

The final meeting in 2023 was in the Challenge Cup on Aug. 4 in Orlando. The game appeared to be headed for a scoreless draw until Mariana Speckmaier scored eight minutes into second-half injury time, lifting her team to a 1-0 win.

In 2022, the teams first met on May 27 at Exploria Stadium. Rodman gave the Spirit an early lead and Hatch doubled the advantage after halftime. As the game entered second-half stoppage time, it appeared as though the Pride would fall for the second straight time, but late goals by Mikayla Cluff and Darian Jenkins stunned Washington with a 2-2 draw. The teams met again on July 17 at Audi Field, and the Spirit dominated the game statistically but couldn’t find the back of the net, resulting in a scoreless draw.

Prior to the draw in May, the Pride and Spirit played two games in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup. The first was a scoreless draw held March 19 in Orlando. The second Challenge Cup meeting took place April 3 at Audi Field. Gunny Jonsdottir scored the team’s first goal in four games. However, the Spirit already had a 3-0 lead. Rodman added another goal as the Pride fell 4-1.

The teams played four times during 2021. On April 21 in the Challenge Cup, Sydney Leroux’s goal helped the Pride win 1-0. The Pride opened their regular season by hosting the Spirit on May 16. Hatch gave Washington the lead, but Alex Morgan equalized to claim a 1-1 draw. The second regular-season meeting that year happened on June 6 in Washington. Hatch opened the scoring, but Taylor Kornieck equalized minutes later, resulting in another 1-1 draw. The teams met for the final time in 2021 on Aug. 22 at Audi Field. Marta gave the Pride the lead, but Hatch equalized just two minutes later. It looked like it would be a third straight 1-1 draw, but Sanchez won it for Washington late.

Due to the pandemic, the Pride and Spirit didn’t play in 2020, but they faced each other three times in 2019, first meeting on July 6 in Orlando. Marta scored a brace in the second half, leading the Pride to a 4-3 win. They played again on Aug. 24 in Washington. Crystal Thomas gave the hosts the lead and Marta equalized. Hatch’s goal lifted the Spirit to a 2-1 win. The final game was supposed to be the following weekend but was postponed due to Hurricane Dorian. The game was eventually played Oct. 9 in Orlando and the Spirit dominated the rubber match, beating the Pride 3-0.

The first of two meetings in 2018 took place March 31 at the Maryland SoccerPlex. Hatch scored a goal and added an assist in a 2-0 win for the Spirit. The Pride got their revenge in the second game in the same location. Alanna Kennedy’s goal was the difference as the Pride won 1-0. The final meeting that year was held July 7 in Orlando. Hatch gave the Spirit the lead, but Leroux scored just before halftime and a Marta goal gave Orlando the 2-1 win.

The 2017 season was the first time the teams played three times in a year. Their April 22 meeting was the Pride’s first home game that year. Line Sigvardsen-Jensen gave the visitors the lead, but Danica Evans answered as the teams drew 1-1. They met for the second time that year in Maryland on July 8 when Marta and Mallory Pugh both scored braces in a 2-2 draw. The final game in 2018 was on Aug. 8 in Orlando. Marta, Camila, and Morgan all scored as the Pride ran away with a 3-0 win.

The Spirit swept the first two meetings in 2016, winning 2-0 in Maryland and 2-1 in Orlando.

Overview

It’s been a nightmare for the Pride since the FIFA World Cup break and it’s not getting any better. The team is 2-6-0 and has lost three consecutive games. The stretch started with Orlando challenging for a home playoff game and has seen the team fall all the way to 13th and four points behind the Seattle Reign for the eighth and final playoff position.

The only real positive this year has been the play of Banda, who leads the league with 12 goals. The striker was coming off an injury when play restarted in early July and then departed for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. But she’s back now, a welcome sight since nobody else on the team has been able to score consistently.

Banda played 65 minutes in her return to action, a 2-1 loss to the Portland Thorns on Aug. 15. She’ll likely start again and play even more minutes.

With Banda absent or playing limited minutes, the Pride have found it hard to score. They’ve been shut out four times and only scored multiple goals in one game, a shocking 3-0 win over the Kansas City Current on July 10.

Unfortunately, the defense hasn’t been any better. The Pride have conceded multiple goals in each of their last three games, including five against the North Carolina Courage on July 31, three against Racing Louisville FC on Aug. 7, and twice on Aug. 15 against Portland.

The Pride need to turn things around, but it won’t be easy today. The Spirit are one of the best teams in the league, currently sitting in second place on 37 points. They’re six points behind Gotham FC atop the standings and are trying to hold off the Utah Royals and San Diego Wave, just one point back.

While the Pride are struggling on both ends of the field, the Spirit have been excellent everywhere. Their 30 goals rank fifth in the league and their 18 goals conceded are second fewest. Their goal difference of +12 is second only to Gotham, which has a goal difference of +13.

If there’s a time to play the Spirit, this might be it. They’ve hit a rough patch the last few games, falling 1-0 to San Diego on Aug. 2, losing 4-3 to North Carolina on Aug. 8, and drawing Angel City FC 1-1 on Aug. 16.

Superstar forward Rodman has led the Spirit attack this year. Her 10 goals place her third behind Banda and North Carolina’s Ashley Sanchez in the NWSL Golden Boot race. She’s followed in goals by Santos and Cantore with five each, Martinez and Rebeca Bernal with three apiece, and Tara Rudd, Monday, and Hal Hershfelt, who have each scored once.

Defensively, the Spirit have been without their leader, goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury, who had a baby last month. In her place, Sandy MacIver has done well to keep things heading in the right direction. It helps that she’s had a consistent back line of Kate Wiesner, Esme Morgan, Rudd, and Gabrielle Carle. All four have played at least 16 of the team’s 20 games this year. Helping matters for the Washington defense is the return of central midfielder Andi Sullivan from injury.

“It’s always a tough game going to Washington. They have a good set of players,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said about today’s opponent. “Historically, we’ve done all right there over the last couple of occasions we’ve been to Audi Field. That should give us a lot of confidence that we can go out there and get three points.”

The Pride will take the field today without Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Viviana Villacorta (knee), Marta (excused absence), Kerry Abello (thigh), and Solai Washington (head). The Spirit are without Melissa Bethi (excused absence), Lucia Di Guglielmo (lower leg), Kingsbury (maternity leave), Casey Krueger (maternity leave), Monique Ngock (excused absence), and Santos (hip).

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Projected Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Hailie Mace, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, Oihane.

Defensive Midfielders: Ally Lemos, Angelina.

Attacking Midfielders: Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, Nicole Payne.

Forward: Barbra Banda.

Washington Spirit (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Sandy MacIver.

Defenders: Kate Wiesner, Esme Morgan, Tara Rudd, Gabrielle Carle.

Defensive Midfielders: Rebeca Bernal, Andi Sullivan.

Attacking Midfielders: Trinity Rodman, Hal Hershfelt, Paige Metayer.

Forward: Sofia Cantore.

Referees

REF: Matthew Corrigan.
AR1: Colin Ashley.
AR2: Tom Felice.
4TH: Max Alatorre.
VAR: Shawn Tehini.
AVAR: Brian Marshall.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 4 p.m.

Venue: Audi Field — Washington, D.C.

TV: ESPN2.

Streaming: ESPN App.

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

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Enjoy the game. Go Pride!