The Orlando Pride’s
Orlando fights back, but Thorns’ dominance just too much
playoff run ends with a road loss to the Portland Thorns.
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Orlando Pride’s first run into the postseason was a short one.
The Pride fell behind quickly to the Portland Thorns during Saturday’s NWSL semifinal, conceding two goals in just the first 15 minutes and, despite fighting their way back, they never quite recovered.
The Pride lost 4-1 in front of a rowdy announced crowd of 18,193 at Providence Park and the Thorns will take a spot in next week’s NWSL Championship, which will be played at Orlando City Stadium.
The Pride players will rue a missed chance to land in the final but also expressed frustration at a result that looks harsher on paper than it played out.
“I think we’re definitely a championship-contending team, so it’s really heartbreaking after losing 4-1 because I don’t think that was deserving,” Alex Morgan said of the score. “Obviously, they executed their chances and Portland was the better team today, but I felt like this score wasn’t indicative of the play that was just on the field. That’s the most heartbreaking thing.”
A 23rd-minute goal from Alana Kennedy gave the Pride another wind and they looked dominant for stretches late in the first half while trailing 2-1. But the Pride struggled in the final third and the
Thorns poured it on in the second half, eventually scoring another two unanswered goals for the final result. The Pride ended the day with just one shot on target.
“With someone like Marta, it’s a team effort,” Thorns midfielder Christine Sinclair said of neutralizing the Pride attack. “She goes everywhere on the field to try to get involved and we knew that wherever she was, if she was in your zone, she’s yours. We completely shut her down. Same with Alex. She was on the ground a lot in the game and that was our goal, to make an uncomfortable environment for them to play in.”
The Thorns stunned the Pride early, scoring in the 12th minute on a nice sequence of ball movement on the counter-attack. Tobin Heath flicked the ball to Sinclair, who switched the attack to Meghan Klingenberg on the other side of the field. Klingenberg lofted a ball into the box and Amandine Henry slid into it for the tap-in goal.
Just three minutes later, the Thorns returned again to double their lead. Heath fired a precise free kick into the box that Emily Sonnett redirected past goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris with her head.
The Pride pulled one back in the 23rd minute on a short corner kick tapped back to Marta, who then lofted the ball into the box. It skidded off Toni Pressley’s head and then to Kennedy, who headed the ball in.
But the Thorns eventually put the match out of reach in the 71st minute via a Hayley Raso breakaway. Lindsey Horan lofted a well-placed long ball to Raso, who raced in behind the Pride back line and beat Harris one-on-one. Sinclair added to the total in the 83rd minute, finishing a cross into the box.
“We felt at halftime we were very much in the game. After a very shaky start, I was pleased with the way our players responded,” coach Tom Sermanni said.
“But the thing we couldn’t do and found difficult was to have the craft to break down their defense. They’ve done this against us most of our meetings — their defense was outstanding.”
This was Orlando’s first appearance in the postseason after they struggled last year and finished ninth in the 10-team league. This season, they started slow but went on an impressive nine-game unbeaten streak to leapfrog their way into the playoffs.
Despite an early exit from the playoffs and bitter disappointment, the Pride see their rebound from last season as a sign of progress going forward.
“We’ve got core now of a really good team,” Sermanni said. “… We’ve adjusted things in this second season, we’ve made some really important and good signings. Now we’ve got a foundation of a good team and it’s a question of us getting stability into Season 3 and building on the core we’ve got.”