The Orlando Pride lost to the Portland Thorns 4-1 on Saturday in front of 7,602 fans at Inter.co Stadium.
Portland took an early lead, but the Pride showed fight and kept it close before collapsing in the last 20 minutes. Orlando fell to 9-13-3 and remains at 30 points in the NWSL standings with five matches left in the season. The Pride sit 11th in the table. The top eight teams in the standings advance to the playoffs.
Portland improved to 12-7-6 and has 42 points.
“That’s a tough result,” said Orlando interim head coach Yolanda Thomas, who is now 1-1-1 since taking over after Seb Hines was fired Aug. 31. “In the end, we made some decisions to kind of go and try to get a win because we need three points, so we weren’t too worried about risking potentially getting scored on.
“Obviously, that didn’t work out for us, but I think probably the biggest disappointment is we have momentum and we don’t take advantage of those times in the game, and then it punishes us.”
Portland opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Sophia Wilson took the ball out wide and crossed it in from the left side of the field. Her pass found Nina Nijstad, who fired off a curling shot past Cosette Morché to put the visitors up 1-0.
The Pride gave away a penalty when Oihane brought down Caiya Hanks in the box. Wilson took the kick, rocketing her shot to Morché’s left to give Portland a 2-0 lead in the 28th minute.
Orlando pulled one back to make it 2-1 in the 31st minute thanks to Ally Lemos. Solai Washington had the assist, setting up Lemos for a first-touch shot that goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold could not keep out. The goal was Lemos’ first career NWSL goal and Washington recorded her second assist of the season.
“We were able to find ourselves in very dangerous spots pretty consistently throughout the game,” Washington said. “So the next step is just finishing those chances and being able to get the final result out of all of those good plays.”
Portland made it 3-1 in the 74th minute off a world-class shot from outside the box. Morgan Weaver received the ball in the attacking third and, with two Orlando defenders around her, took a shot from long-range that Morché had no chance of saving.
The final tally came in the 88th minute when Renee Lyles made it 4-1. Orlando gave away possession off a throw-in, allowing Portland to put the game to bed.
One bright spot for Orlando was another encouraging performance from Morché. She saved nine of Portland’s 13 shots on target. She has firmly cemented herself as the starting goalkeeper, and she can give the Pride a solid foundation to build on at the back in the offseason.
“Cozy has been fantastic for us with limited league experience; she’s come in and changed games for us, even before I took over,” Thomas added. “It adds confidence to have her back there. She showed up in some good moments, and it’s our job to support her on the other end.”
Next up for Orlando is a trip to the west coast take on Bay FC on Sept. 27.
Pride, forward part ways
The Orlando Pride and forward Gabi Nunes have mutually agreed to terminate Nunes’ contract, the club announced.
Nunes, 29, made two appearances for the Pride after joining the team Aug. 4.