Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. North Carolina Courage: Final Score 1-0 as Pride Drop Another Tough One At Home
The Pride continue their poor run of form with a crushing home loss to the North Carolina Courage.
The Orlando Pride (8-8-5, 29 points) suffered another tough loss tonight, this time falling 1-0 to the North Carolina Courage (7-7-7, 28 points) at Inter&Co Stadium. Shinomi Koyama’s 89th-minute goal was the difference as the Pride continue their slide down the standings.
The Pride pushed this game, and the community showed up to support their side. The announced crowd of 20,575 is the second-highest attendance in team history and the most to view a Pride game at Inter&Co Stadium since the stadium’s opening in 2017.
Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made two changes from the team that drew 1-1 with Bay FC on Sept. 13. Anna Moorhouse returned to the starting lineup in place of McKinley Crone, and Rafaelle was out injured, replaced by Emily Sams.
The back line in front of Moorhouse in goal was Kerry Abello, Zara Chavoshi, Sams, and Oihane. Haley McCutcheon and Angelina were in the defensive midfield behind Jacquie Ovalle, Marta, and Ally Lemos, with Ally Watt up top.
The Pride nearly created the first chance of the game in the fifth minute when Oihane sent a low pass to the near post where Watt was making a run. The striker tried to backheel the ball, but she couldn’t get anything on it.
The visitors had an opportunity in the 10th minute when Riley Jackson played a beautiful ball over the top for Payton Linnehan on the right side of the box. The midfielder volleyed the ball into the six with teammates making runs, but Moorhouse came out to collect it.
Linnehan intercepted the ensuing outlet pass before playing a give-and-go with Cortnee Vine. Receiving it back, Linnehan found Manaka Matsukubo — North Carolina’s leading goal scorer — making a run into the Pride box. The Japanese international was in on goal, but her shot was right at Moorhouse.
Marta’s pass for Lemos was blocked in the 18th minute, but Lemos was still able to gain possession. The young midfielder used a nice cut to split Jackson and Tyler Lussi. However, her shot rolled harmlessly wide of the far post.
In the 26th minute, Sams played Oihane on the right who immediately played Ovalle forward. The newest Pride signing sent the ball into the six-yard box before it crossed the end line. The ball sat in the box before being cleared without any Pride players being able to take a shot. The clearance went to Angelina just outside the Courage’s defensive third of the field, and the midfielder played it wide left for Abello. However, the defender’s cross was too close to Marisa Jordan, who caught the ball to end the threat.
The Pride experienced a scary moment in the 30th minute when Matsukubo cut inside and went to the ground. Chavoshi stuck her leg in to tap the ball away but missed, getting a slight piece of the Courage attacker. Referee Matthew Thompson determined it wasn’t a foul but was called to the monitor by the video assistant referee. After a brief check of the play, Thompson stuck with his initial call. But Chavoshi can count herself lucky as the call could’ve easily gone either way.
The Pride nearly scored in the 44th minute when Jordan blocked Oihane’s cross. But the Courage goalkeeper couldn’t control the ball, and it landed at the feet of McCutcheon. It initially looked like the midfielder would lay it off for Watt, but she took it herself instead. It was on target, but Maycee Bell was there to clear the slow roller off the line, keeping the game scoreless.
At halftime, North Carolina had the edge in possession (61%-39%), corner kicks (1-0), and better accuracy (81%-69%). The Pride had more shots (4-1) and crosses (9-2). The official stats had the Courage with more shots on target (1-0) but for some reason didn’t count McCutcheon’s 44th-minute shot that was cleared off the line, so that statistic was really 1-1 in the first 45 minutes.
The video assistant referee took another close look at a potential Courage penalty in the 50th minute when Lussi’s cross was deflected by Oihane. The Spanish defender’s arm was up, but a close-up view showed the ball went off her chest rather than her arm, so it wasn’t a penalty.
Lemos sent Watt down the right, behind the back line, and into the Courage box in the 56th minute. It looked like it would be a breakaway for the striker, but Bell caught up with the speedster from behind. Watt tried to take on the defender and tripped while doing so, resulting in the ball rolling harmlessly out of play.
A turnover by Abello in the 62nd minute created a chance for the visitors. Koyama lifted the ball into the box and Matsukubo headed it back for Hannah Betfort. The second-half substitute mishit the ball, but it went straight to Lussi. Fortunately, Chavoshi got there first to clear it away.
Marta lifted the ball into the box in the 64th minute for Watt. The striker did well to bring it down and turn to create a shot. However, Williams stayed in front of the attacker, deflecting the shot and allowing the Courage to clear the danger. Three minutes later, Marta made a long run into the North Carolina box. Kaleigh Kurtz blocked her shot, but Marta regained possession. Kurtz stayed on the Pride captain, knocking it off her foot. However, this time it went to Ovalle, whose shot was just wide of the far post.
Immediately after the miss, Hines made his first change of the game, replacing Lemos with Carson Pickett.
The Courage had a great chance on the other end when Williams’ cross was headed off the near post by Lussi. The rebound went to Koyama at the near post, but her attempt was saved by Moorhouse.
Hines made his second change in the 71st minute, replacing Watt — who received treatment multiple times in the game — with Julie Doyle. With little happening for either team and Hines looking for a late winner, he made his final change in the 83rd minute, replacing McCutcheon with Summer Yates.
Unfortunately, it was a bad pass by Yates that started the Courage’s go-ahead break in the 89th minute. Williams collected the ball at the top of the 18 and played it to Koyama before receiving it back. The right back then sent Aline Gomes behind the back line and into the Pride box. Abello caught up but stumbled, allowing Gomes to shoot. However, Moorhouse blocked the ball away. Koyama was following and put the rebound in to give the Courage the late 1-0 lead.
The fourth official showed 10 minutes of stoppage time and the Pride had a chance for an equalizer in the second when Oihane’s cross found Pickett. The defender put her first touch on target, but it was right to Jordan.
Marta won a corner kick in the ninth minute of stoppage time that gave the Pride a great chance to equalize. The set piece was short to Marta, who sent a low cross into the box. Pickett tried to redirect the ball on goal, but Betfort was there to block it. The ball went to Yates, who shot, but Natalie Jacobs blocked it out of play for another corner kick. The next set piece by Angelina was headed forward by Chavoshi and cleared, ending the threat.
That was the final chance for either team as the Pride suffered another tough loss. The Courage ended the game with the advantage in possession (53.2%-46.8%), shots on target (4-2), and passing accuracy (79.6%-75.1%). The Pride had more shots (10-7), crosses (26-6), and corner kicks (3-2).
“Disappointed with the result, but not the performance,” Hines said after the game. “I thought, between the two halves, I thought we put some really good pressure on, forcing a lot of turnovers, a lot of errors. And it’s, I mean, I sound like a broken record, but it’s fine margins again. We were so close to scoring. You know, they’re clearing one off the line, two goals off the line. And it’s just not meant to be right now. And I just told the players at the end of the game, you just got to keep believing and keep pushing, and it will turn around. You know, there’s a lot of great moments within the game, but we’ve just got to continue to do what we’re doing, and it will turn around at some point. And luckily for us, there’s still enough time in the season to turn it around. And yeah, the challenges have been, obviously, three-game week and quick turnaround. But I’m not one to make excuses. I thought we were great. I thought there was a lot of intent today.”
“Tough game. We tried everything we could. It was unfortunate on the last two minutes of the game, we just got scored on,” Angelina added. “They got lucky, but we kept trying. I mean, that’s the spirit of this team. We keep trying, we keep fighting, and we’re going to try and find a win.”
Since arriving in Orlando, Hines has emphasized the big five moments, which include the first and last five minutes of each half. The Pride have conceded in those moments in the last five league games and seven of the last eight NWSL matches.
“I think we’ve probably conceded in different ways. Obviously, today we were trying to get the winning goal, which then also left us vulnerable at the back,” he said. “So in that sense, yeah, it did leave us vulnerable. But there’s also moments where, you know, at the end of the first half, where we’ve got numbers behind the ball and it just lands to the opposing player and they’ve ended up scoring. So, yeah, I don’t really have the answer for it. We’ve spoken about multiple times of those big five moments and switching on and mentality, but also you need something to work in your favor as well. Like, put the ball in the back of the net. It lands to us or something. But, yeah, it’s something that we’ve spoken about. We obviously want to change it as well, where we’re not conceding and we’re looking to be on the other end and scoring and managing those moments.”
While the Pride have struggled to score, they are getting closer. They sent shots off the crossbar and post against Bay FC Saturday and had two more cleared off the line tonight.
“You’ve gotta highlight the good moments,” Hines said. “You’ve gotta highlight the desire to be in those positions and, you know, the delivery of the cross and making defenders defend. You know, it’s incredibly difficult when balls are getting put into the box and things are landing to the opponent, and so we have to continue to be persistent. We have to continue to highlight those good moments. And you can’t lose hope as well. And that’s really important at this stage of the season, that we don’t lose hope.”
“We keep believing. We take it game by game,” Angelina said. “Obviously, we’re focused on today. We didn’t focus on last game, or the game days coming. So we take it step by step. We keep believing, because we have a really good team, really good roster. We’ve been unlucky, obviously, these past few games. But like I said, we take it game by game and next game we’re going to be totally focused on that one to get the win.”
The Pride are now in a precarious position as the season winds down towards its end. They currently sit in seventh with 29 points, just one point ahead of the Courage and two points ahead of Racing Louisville FC. Falling behind both would see the team that dominated all last year drop out of the playoff positions.
The Pride have a week to figure out how to get their first win since June 13 when they travel west to take on San Diego Wave FC on Sept. 26.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Final Score 3-1 as Banda Brace Leads Pride to Victory
Barbra Banda bags a brace and an assist but goes down injured late in the victory.
After dropping two games to expansion teams and stealing a win in San Diego, the Orlando Pride looked to enter the summer break on a good note. The Pride (5-5-2, 17 points) had never lost to Bay FC (3-6-2, 11 points) and used a second-half burst to maintain that winning record and won 3-1 at Inter&Co Stadium.
Barbra Banda opened the scoring in the fourth minute and followed it up in the 51st minute with her second. She added an assist to Cori Dyke in the 55th minute to close out the Pride scoring. Caroline Conti scored the lone Bay FC goal at the seven-minute mark.
“No better gift than a 3-1 victory at home in front of our fans,” Pride Head Coach (and birthday boy) Seb Hines said after the game. “It feels good that we’re ending this period on a high. I think it’s the first time this season we’ve got back-to-back victories.”
The Pride made one change in the lineup, giving Kerry Abello her first start of the season over Julie Doyle. Anna Moorhouse started in goal with Abello, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, and Oihane on defense. Haley McCutcheon and Ally Lemos played midfield in front of them with Mace, Luana, and Nicole Payne attacking from the midfield. Banda and her leading-leading nine goals played alone up top.
After an hour weather delay, the Pride went with the in-vogue start these days by kicking the ball straight out of bounds deep on the start and pressing high. It led to an opening three minutes of play in which the Pride kept the pressure up and forced the ball to stay on the Bay FC side. In the fourth minute, Luana headed a ball towards the center which Banda controlled, bodied Bay FC’s Joelle Anderson off the ball, and slotted the opening goal with her left foot.
Bay FC fought right back in the seventh minute as the visitors didn’t have to fight through the press off their kickoff. Claire Hutton crossed the ball into the box, Abello deflected it wide but there was no Pride defender there and it fell to Caroline Conti. Abello tried to fight all the way over but Conti was able to put it past Moorhouse before any help arrived.
The entire back line got pulled to the right on the play and Mace could not get back to help out wide.
“Hailie Mace came into NWSL as a winger. She’s got some tendencies that fit a winger profile. We knew Bay FC had a high back line. How do we get behind that back line? Having someone to support Barbra and not just Nicole but add in another player who can get into the attack,” Hines said regarding the switch.
In the 16th minute, Rachael Kundananji beat Oihane and crossed the ball to Hannah Bebar, who headed it into the net, but Cristiana Girelli was in an offside position threatening the goal, so the assistant referee ruled that it put Moorhouse off enough to interfere with the play.
The teams settled down a bit and traded possession until the 27th minute when Oihane centered the ball to Payne, who scuffed the shot high. One minute later, Luana sent a through ball for Banda to run onto and she went down in the box in a collision with Brooklyn Courtnall. It was fairly evident, however, that Banda got her leg into Courtnall’s to either try to control the ball or draw a foul, and the referee, Jaclyn Metz, saw it the same way.
In the 33rd minute, Oihane was subbed out for Hannah Anderson. Oihane had been laboring a little and may have picked up a knock somewhere.
The Pride couldn’t re-establish the high press so they turned into a lot of possession by Bay FC. Any attack by the Pride ended in a turnover off a bad pass or ill-conceived long shots as Orlando’s attackers were impatient in building play. Turnover after turnover plagued the Pride for the remainder of the half as they did not threaten at all until the 45th minute, when Banda took on Maddie Moreau and Kundananji, shook them both loose, and then crossed the ball into an empty area at the back post with no one to finish.
It was a fitting final piece of sound and fury, signifying nothing, as the half wrapped without any plays of interest. The Pride weren’t able to lead any of the statistics, tying Bay FC in shots (4-4), while Bay FC led in shots on target (3-1), possession (53%-47%), and passing accuracy (85%-83%). Neither team was able to force a corner in the first half.
To start the second half, Hines subbed in Summer Yates for Abello, which pushed Mace back to the back line. In the 48th minute, Kundananji got behind when Anderson got caught out and was sizing up a one-on-one with Moorhouse. Dyke hustled back and blocked the shot.
“We started the game super strong, super intense, but I think we fell off towards the end of that first half,” Dyke said. “We got a little too stretched between the lines and weren’t getting enough pressure on the ball and we talked about that at halftime. We needed to stay more compact and then pick our moments to go.”
Go they did. Three minutes later, Yates sent a through ball angled behind Banda which allowed her to run onto the ball unopposed. She beat goalkeeper Emmie Allen, who came out of the box aggressively to defend, and then passed the ball into the net in the 51st minute.
Four minutes later, Banda pressured Allen, forcing the goalkeeper into a clearance out of play. On the ensuing throw-in, Banda held off Bebar in the box, spun, and crossed the ball to Dyke, who put the ball in off the crossbar. The ability of the Pride to retain possession and work the ball in against a lesser opponent opened up the scoring and turned the game on its head.
Bay FC didn’t have a lot to do over the next stretch of time and Taylor Huff went down with an injury in the 61st minute, prompting a change as she was subbed out for Karlie Lema. Dorian Bailey came on for Joelle Anderson in the same stoppage but at the 62nd minute.
The teams went back and forth for a bit until the Pride drew a corner in the 71st minute. It deflected off a Bay FC defender and fell to Rafaelle at the far post, who headed it just wide. Three minutes later, Jacquie Ovalle and Zara Chavoshi wrapped up the Pride substitutions by coming in for Payne and Mace. Bay FC also took the stoppage in the 74th minute to sub two players in, bringing on Keria Barry and Onyeka Gamero for Kundananji and Girelli.
Unfortunately, in the 81st minute, Banda was dribbling down the left side when she pulled up lame and went to the ground off the pitch. She stayed there until tended to and was obviously upset. We’ll have to wait for any injury news on her. Bay FC made its final substitution in the ensuing stoppage in the 82nd minute, bringing on Kelli Hubly for Conti.
The injury to Banda left the Pride playing with only 10 players for the remaining 15 minutes (including added time) due to using up all three substitution windows. They stayed fairly solid in defense and played a lot of keep-away ball to see out the victory while playing short.
“A great way to finish this part of the season with a win at home. I think we were consistent today and we took the chances we created,” Luana said. “We’ve been having highs and lows in this part of the season but we bounced back in these two wins and it brought us a lot of confidence.”
Orlando City was ahead in the only stat that matters, goals, but trailed in every other major stat. Bay FC finished ahead in shots (14-8), shots on target (5-4), possession (54%-46%), passing accuracy (85%-84%), and corners (4-1).
The Orlando Pride now will be off until early July for the NWSL World Cup break. The next match is scheduled for July 3 in Los Angeles against Angel City FC.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Pride return home to face Bay FC in their final game before the FIFA World Cup break.
Welcome to your preview and match thread as the Orlando Pride (4-5-2, 14 points) return home from a three-game road trip to take on Bay FC (3-5-2, 11 points). This is the first of two meetings between the two teams with the return game scheduled for Sept. 27 in San Jose.
Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.
History
Bay FC is one of two expansion teams that entered the NWSL for the 2024 season. The teams have met four times, with the Pride holding a 3-0-1 record and a 1-0-1 mark at home in the series.
The most recent meeting took place on Sept. 13, 2025, in Orlando. The visitors took the lead just before halftime when Racheal Kundananji headed in a long pass by Caprice Dydasco. The Pride equalized in the second half, when Ally Watt headed a Jacquie Ovalle cross past Jordan Silkowitz to claim a 1-1 draw.
On June 13 of last year in San Jose, CA, Bay FC led almost every statistical category, but the Pride defense held strong until Barbra Banda scored shortly after halftime. The Pride withstood attack after attack, coming away with a hard-fought 1-0 win.
The teams met twice in 2024, with the first-ever game between the clubs occurring on May 11. Just prior to the half-hour mark, Banda dribbled inside and Deyna Castellanos attempted an ill-advised challenge, resulting in a foul in the box and a Pride penalty. Adriana put the ball into the bottom left corner for the only goal, lifting the Pride to a 1-0 win. It was the sixth win in an NWSL-record, eight-game win streak.
The teams met for the second time on Sept. 20, 2024. It looked like the game might be headed for a scoreless draw until Banda got her head on the end of a Carson Pickett cross, redirecting it past Katelyn Rowland to give the Pride the 1-0 win.
Overview
The Pride return home tonight after a difficult road trip that saw the team fall 2-1 to Boston Legacy FC and 3-1 to Denver Summit FC. Having already lost to both expansion teams, they headed west to face San Diego Wave FC, a team near the top of the standings. But Nicole Payne’s first professional goal lifted Orlando to a 1-0 win.
Despite not scoring in two of the last three games, Banda still leads the league with nine goals in 10 games this season. She has a two-goal lead on Ashley Sanchez, who is second in the league. Haley McCutcheon is the only other Pride player with multiple goals, scoring twice in the same game. Ovalle, Marta, and Hannah Anderson have the team’s other three goals. The assists have been spread out much more evenly with Ovalle, McCutcheon, and Rafaelle all sharing the team lead with two.
The clean sheet against San Diego was big for the back line as the team has conceded too many goals recently. Dating back to their 3-2 loss to Racing Louisville FC on April 24, the Pride have conceded multiple goals in four of the last six games. The only other game in which they didn’t concede at least twice was a 1-0 win over the North Carolina Courage on May 8, their last home game.
Tonight is the Pride’s last game before the league breaks for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. After the game, they won’t play again until July 3 and won’t play at home until July 10. That makes getting a quality result tonight essential for momentum going through the remainder of the season.
If you’re looking for a team to win against, Bay FC is one of the most likely candidates. The Bay -area side sits 13th in the NWSL on 11 points, just four points ahead of Louisville for last place. Tonight’s visitors are currently on a four-game winless run (0-2-2) and a two-game losing streak. Their last win was a 1-0 victory against San Diego on May 3. The club’s most recent games are a 2-0 loss to Portland Thorns FC on May 20 and a 1-0 loss to Chicago Stars FC on May 24.
Bay FC has struggled this year on both ends of the field. Its eight goals are second fewest in the league and Bay is one of three teams with single-digit goals this year. Meanwhile, the team’s 14 goals conceded are sixth in the league. The California side has been better defensively overall than the Pride, who have conceded 16 goals, but worse offensively, as the Pride have scored 15 goals so far this year.
Bay FC has been led in the attack by Alex Pfeiffer and Dorian Bailey with two goals each. Kundananji, Taylor Huff, Keira Barry, and Joelle Anderson have one apiece. Pfeiffer also leads the team in assists with two, tied with Cristina Girelli. Huff and Sydney Collins are the only other players with assists this season.
It should help the Pride tonight that Bay FC will be missing two key players. Silkowitz and starting center back Aldana Cometti were sent off against Chicago Sunday, meaning they’ll miss tonight’s game.
However, the Pride have their own key absences. In addition to injuries that have accumulated this season, Angelina was handed an additional game’s suspension after being sent off on May 16 for pulling Delanie Sheehan’s hair.
“We’re looking forward to it. Looking forward to being back home,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said about tonight’s game. “It’s been a long road trip. Excited to get in front of our own fans. Want to create that atmosphere, make it hostile for Bay FC. We know it’s a quick turnaround for both teams as well, so we want to make sure that we start off on the front foot, build on what we achieved last Sunday in San Diego, and finish this part of the season on a high.”
The Pride will be without Angelina (suspension), Cosette Morche (ankle), Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Viviana Villacorta (knee), and Solai Washington (knee). Marta (thigh) and Ovalle (thigh) are listed as questionable. Bay FC will be without Cornetti (suspension), Abby Dahlkemper (maternity leave), Anouk Denton (lower leg), Dydasco (maternity leave), Heather Gilchrist (knee), Alyssa Malonson (knee), Emily Menges (maternity leave), Pfeiffer (knee), and Silkowitz (suspension).
Official Lineups
Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.
Defenders: Oihane, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, Hailie Mace.
Defensive Midfielders: Ally Lemos, Haley McCutcheon.
Attacking Midfielders: Kerry Abello, Luana, Nicole Payne.
Forward: Barbra Banda.
Bench: McKinley Crone, Zara Chavoshi, Hannah Anderson, Julie Doyle, Marta, Jacquie Ovalle, Summer Yates, Seven Castain, Simone Jackson.
Bay FC (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Emmie Allen.
Defenders: Sydney Collins, Joelle Anderson, Brooklyn Courtnall, Maddie Moreau.
Defensive Midfielders: Hannah Bebar, Claire Hutton.
Attacking Midfielders: Racheal Kundananji, Caroline Conti, Taylor Huff.
Forward: Cristiana Girelli.
Bench: Camryn Miller, Kelli Hubly, Jamie Shepherd, Dorian Bailey, Karlie Lema, Onyeka Gamero, Tess Boade, Keira Barry.
Referees
REF: Jaclyn Metz.
AR1: Art Arustamyan.
AR2: Adam Cook.
4TH: Edson Carvajal.
VAR: Anya Voigt.
AVAR: Katarzyna Wasiak.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.
TV: None.
Streaming: NWSL+.
Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @themaneland.bsky.social on Bluesky and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter (@ORLPride) or Bluesky (@orlpride.com) feed.
Enjoy the game. Go Pride!
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Three Keys to Victory
What do the Pride need to do to earn all three points against Bay FC?
The Orlando Pride welcome Bay FC to Inter&Co Stadium this Friday night for the last match before the World Cup break. This is an opportunity to get a win over a team lower in the table and move up in the standings. What must the Pride do to earn all three points against Bay FC this weekend?
Keep the Chip
I have been asking all season on SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast for the Pride to play with the chip on their shoulder that they had when they won the double in 2024. We saw that against the San Diego Wave. My hope is that the players have now remembered what that feels like and will execute with the same level of intensity going forward.
The task is potentially a little easier against Bay FC, as the California-based side has scored less than half the number of goals that the Wave have this season. Of course, that is the trap. The Pride cannot slack off against Bay FC. Having Rafaelle anchoring the defense is a big help, and moving Hailie Mace out to right back has proven effective. In 2024, this team hated — with a capital “H” — conceding goals. They took it personally. That is the passion I want again. The chip on the shoulder.
Overwhelm and Outscore
As I mentioned above, Bay FC is not a prolific scoring team. Friday’s visitors have also given up 14 goals this season. That’s not the best or the worst in the league, but they haven’t faced Barbra Banda yet. The Orlando Pride don’t have any trouble creating chances, but they have had trouble getting anyone other than Banda to finish them this season. Banda leads the league in goals, and she has an opportunity to maintain or extend that lead against Bay FC.
What will truly make the difference for the Pride against Bay FC is if any of the other players can contribute a goal. We saw the space that Banda can provide her teammates when Nicole Payne scored her first goal against San Diego. Now I want other players to take advantage of that space to provide some goals for the Pride.
More Luana
Luana got her first start since coming back to the squad cancer-free. I think we’ve forgotten that she was a starter on the 2024 squad before her Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis. She was a starter on a team that won the double. Now she is back and she is a leader and an inspiration for her fellow players.
Given Marta’s limited minutes, having Luana out there as a stabilizing presence is important. Obviously, she brings a different skill set than Marta but still a critical one. Much like the defense, the midfield was better last match, and I feel she was a big part of that.
That is what I will be looking for on Friday night. The Pride can head into the World Cup break on a high with a victory. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!
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