They might be new to the league, but they are not pushovers.
The Orlando Pride welcomed expansion side Denver Summit FC to town, fighting hard for a 1-1 draw.
Orlando went into halftime down a goal, but Barbra Banda scored her second in as many games in the second half to earn a positive result.
“Denver’s a great team, you know, it’s hard with an expansion team. We do a lot of scouting, we prepare for their personnel, but you never really know what you’re going to get,” Orlando defender Cori Dyke said. “But I’m really proud of the group for how we dealt with it. I thought we had a lot of energy tonight, created a lot of chances. Obviously, we really want the three points, so that’s always disappointing, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.”
Denver opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a goal from Melissa Kössler. Ayo Oke’s pass played Kössler through with an excellent chance on goal. Her shot slid right past Anna Moorhouse to put the Summit up 1-0.
The connection between Banda and Jacquie Ovalle finally made its mark in the 61st minute, levelling the score at 1-1. Ovalle’s cross was inch-perfect, allowing Banda to head it past Abby Smith to put the Pride back in the game.
Smith played a sensational game for Denver, making a career-high eight saves. Orlando peppered the goal with nine shots on target to Denver’s two, but they were unable to find a second thanks to Smith’s heroics.
“It’s not on any one player, and I think just continuing to get those reps in training and encouraging one another and believing that it’s going to click in these next few games,” Dyke added about the team’s struggles to score. “You just got to keep that momentum.”
Orlando has a quick turnaround with a match on the road against the Chicago Stars on Wednesday.