With every victory down the stretch vital to keeping their playoff hopes alive, the Orlando Pride host one of the top teams in the NWSL, but also a team Orlando has had success against historically.
The Pride (10-13-3, 33 points) kick off against the San Diego Wave on Friday at 8 p.m. at Inter.co Stadium. Fresh off a 3-1 victory on the road over Bay FC in their previous outing, the Pride need to continue winning with just three matches left after Friday.
San Diego is second in the NWSL standings with 48 points and a 15-8-3 record. The Wave are chasing Gotham FC (16-4-6, 54 points) for the NWSL Shield, awarded to the team with the most points in the regular season.
“Tall task for us. Really good team. They’re in form,” Orlando interim head coach Yolanda Thomas said. “They’re on a hunt for the Shield, and we’re on the hunt to shut down their Shield hunt. We’re looking forward to a good game, but we expect it to be a difficult match. But we’re excited for the challenge.”
Orlando is unbeaten in its last five matches against San Diego, going 6-1-2 all-time against the visitors. The Pride won on the road in May 1-0 thanks to Nicole Payne’s first professional goal. The Pride have outscored San Diego 7-3 during that stretch.
San Diego is led by forward Trinity Byars (10 goals and two assists), and the Wave have scored nine goals in the last five games. They have kept two clean sheets in a row and come into Orlando having won four of their last five.
“They’re a fun team to watch play football,” Thomas added. “They play with a lot of energy. They play with a lot of bravery in possession. They want to get between your lines. They want to use their 1-v-1 skills.
“They press with energy, and it’s just a matter of being ready for that and hopefully causing them some problems with how we set up.”
Orlando has been searching for wins under Thomas. The Pride are 2-1-1 since Thomas took over for the fired Seb Hines. The 3-1 victory over Bay FC followed a 4-1 loss to Portland in which the Pride purposefully left their defense exposed in search of a win.
San Diego has the talent to make them pay if they take that approach again here, but the Pride need a win as they sit seven points out of the final playoff spot with only four games to go.
“It’s playoffs for us, so we need a win no matter what,” Pride defender Oihane said. “So it’s whatever it takes. We just need to get there, do our best, and win because it’s like a playoff (game).”
Haley McCutcheon scored twice in the win over Bay FC, with Jacquie Ovalle adding the third. Barbra Banda (16 goals, four assists) has not scored in the last two matches, but she had an assist against Bay FC that shows she can be just as helpful setting up chances as she is converting them.
It was the second brace of McCutcheon’s career and she became the first player in NWSL history to score within the opening two minutes of both halves of a regular-season match. The two-goal performance pushed her season total to six, extending her career-high mark for goals in a single campaign.
The Pride will need Banda to be at her best against a San Diego team that has only conceded 27 goals in 26 games. Goalkeeper Sandra Paños has found better form in recent games, but has conceded 10 goals in her 10 appearances this season while keeping only three clean sheets.
After hosting San Diego, Orlando’s next match is on the road against the Houston Dash on Oct. 18.