Orlando tries to end drought
Held scoreless since game against Spirit but rematch is on tap
Following their mid-week loss to Gotham FC, the Orlando Pride will regroup and head on the road to face the Washington Spirit for the second time in two weeks in the NWSL Challenge Cup. The opening match between the two sides on March 19 in Exploria Stadium ended in a scoreless draw, with Orlando’s defense holding serve and goalkeeper Erin McLeod making some key saves.
Since that match, the Spirit have found their scoring form, putting in three goals over the last two matches while the Pride have yet to score.
The task may be even more challenging for Orlando because McLeod has been ruled out with a right knee injury while striker Sydney Leroux is questionable with a left leg issue.
Recently acquired keeper Anna Moorhouse stepped in last match as the starter with
McLeod out and played well, making two saves in the match. Having arrived just last month from France, the 27-year-old got her first taste of NWSL competition against Gotham.
“Compared to France, the game is a lot more open,” Moorhouse said, “In France, you can definitely kill teams off, and in this league, you have to finish the chances that you’re given because you don’t get a lot.”
Finishing those chances have been the one thing the Pride have been unable to do. The team created 14 scoring chances against Gotham but produced just two shots on target.
It’s been something that the coaching staff has been working on over the last three matches and has been steadily improving, but with no goals to show for their efforts, it’s not enough.
“I thought the support angles were good. The movement was good; the getting-inthe-flank space, too. We can be more precise on our crosses and trying to pick players out and seeing where those gaps are,” coach Amanda Cromwell said, “I think in the attack we can get better at taking on 1v1 in the flank space. I think Darien [Jenkins] was dangerous when she came in, but I want her to be more dangerous. I want her to go at players, be courageous, and be OK with losing the ball. We have to know that’s an outcome sometimes, and it’s OK.”
The Pride will also have to step up offensively without their captain Marta, who was officially ruled out for the season on Friday in the wake of the forward suffering an ACL tear in her left knee during the Pride’s 1-0 loss at North Carolina on March 26.
“We’re absolutely heartbroken for Marta,” Pride general manager Ian Fleming said in a statement, “She’s an incredible leader, and we’ll, of course, miss that on the field this season. But if you know anything about Marta, she will face this challenge head-on like she does with each training or game, and we know she’ll do all she can to continue leading the team off the field. We look forward to helping her through this recovery, so she’s back even stronger.”
Orlando and Washington will kick off their match from Audi Field at 4 p.m., with the game being streamed online on Paramount+.