Finishing, fatigue factors in first loss of ’21
11 scoring chances, nothing to show against Gotham
The Orlando Pride’s 1-0 loss to Gotham FC Wednesday night was highlighted by familiar — but likely fixable — problems.
The team ceded another late-game goal, this time allowing a 79th-minute breakaway to result in a loss. Despite the scoreline, the Pride took meaningful strides on the offensive end of the pitch.
The Pride took 17 shots and recorded 11 total scoring chances, but couldn’t convert any of those opportunities into a goal.
“If we score those chances, then it’s a different game,” coach Marc Skinner said. “I thought we were better than we were against Louisville.
“Take away the result, I’m happy with the growth of the team, no doubt.”
This level of offensive activity was a stark improvement from the Pride’s style in 2019, when the team often struggled to break out of its own defensive half. The team was able to pressure on and off the ball, dominating the tone of most of the game.
Defender Courtney Petersen, who played in a winger position against Gotham, said Pride attackers need to improve both the quality and quantity of their runs to offer more support to strikers Sydney Leroux and Taylor Kornieck.
“I think it’s just getting numbers in the box,” Petersen said. “I think there were many times where we did play Syd [Leroux] in behind and then it was her versus three or four other defenders in the box. I just think we need to get runners
and people need to be willing to get into the box and make those runs. No matter how tired you are, the end goal is to score and if you score and you’re tired, like, that’s going to be the best feeling ever.”
These finishing struggles also came against a team in a similar rebuilding situation. Rebranded Gotham FC occupied the bottom rung of the NWSL in 2019 as Sky Blue FC. Although a penalty shootout win in the 2020 Challenge Cup quarterfinals showed promise for the future, Gotham is still cementing its identity during coach Freya Coombe’s first full season.
This allowed the Pride to pick out more opportunities than they would have against a more seasoned team, such
as the Portland Thorns or the North Carolina Courage. The Pride may not create 11 chances against those types of teams, so capitalizing on every single chance becomes more important.
Disjointed finishing isn’t necessarily a cause for warning sirens in the second game of a season, especially for a team that only played four matches in 2020, but the Pride also struggled to maintain intensity throughout the full 90 minutes.
Skinner previously said a major part of the Pride’s strategy for home matches is to “put opponents to a sword” in the Orlando heat. It’s an important advantage. Wednesday’s home opener kicked off on a breezy 83-degree night, and the heat
will only rise throughout the season.
The Pride were partially successful in this effort, holding Gotham mainly in its own half most of the match. But the Pride didn’t play to their strengths in the second half.
Gotham had the upperhand in terms of fresh legs. Wednesday was their first game of the season, while the Pride played a grueling road match in Louisville four days prior.
Captain Ashlyn Harris noted the team’s “heavy legs” during a halftime interview, and the team saw a steep drop in energy by the 75th minute. During transition play leading to the game-winning goal, all four of the Pride’s defenders lagged a step behind the Gotham attackers.
Gotham used a steady wave of substitutes to stave off second-half exhaustion — one sub at halftime, two in the 67th minute and two more in the 77th minute.
But the Pride only made two changes in the final 15 minutes of the match, bringing on Erika Tymrak in the 73rd minute and Abi Kim in the 84th. The two players who left the field — Courtney Petersen and Marisa Viggiano — were two of the youngest players on the pitch who appeared least worn out.
The Pride’s depth substantially improved this year, and young additions like Kim and Carrie Lawrence have the ability to impact lategame situations. Although the team was slightly shorthanded Wednesday — Meggie Dougherty Howard and Crystal Thomas were injured; Alex Morgan, Gunny Jónsdóttir and Erin McLeod were on international duty — the team didn’t suffer from a lack of bench options.
Skinner said he felt confident in the team’s energy and didn’t feel the need to utilize extra substitutions.
“We felt comfortable at that point [in the 75th minute], and we had game-changers ready to come in,” Skinner said. “We were just waiting for the moment for that to happen, and then when they score we have to adapt and we have to evolve, so then that’s when we introduced fresh legs.
“I actually feel that we had good control considering they haven’t played, so they should be super fresh. We were a fresher team than them.”
The Pride will take a week to recover from the loss before facing off against the Washington Spirit at Exploria Stadium on April 21.