beat Chicago Stars FC 3-0<\/a> Wednesday night. Rafaelle re-entered the starting lineup after coming on as a sub in Chicago. She replaced Hannah Anderson.<\/p>\nAnna Moorhouse started in goal behind a back line of Cori Dyke, Rafaelle, Hailie Mace, and Oihane. Angelina and Ally Lemos were the defensive midfielders behind Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, and Solai Washington with Barbra Banda up top.<\/p>\n
Gotham controlled this game from start to finish, but was unable to create many chances. The hosts only attempted 10 shots and put two on target \u2014 fewer than the Pride \u2014\u00a0despite having far more possession. By late in the second half, the Pride were content to hang onto a point rather than going for all three, doing so by the skin of their teeth.<\/p>\n
After a quiet first few minutes, the Pride\u2019s first chance came in the seventh minute when McCutcheon played the ball to Angelina in the middle of the field. The defensive midfielder cut inside to lose Rose Lavelle before firing from distance. However, Ann-Katrin Berger made the easy stop.<\/p>\n
A poor pass from Jaelin Howell to Jess Carter in the 16th minute gave the Pride their first corner kick of the game. Berger\u2019s punch fell to Oihane at the top of the box, but the right back sent her weak shot well wide of the goal.<\/p>\n
Gotham played the ensuing goal kick short before sending a long ball to Lavelle behind the Pride\u2019s back line. The U.S. international was in on goal, but her touch was heavy, allowing Moorhouse to collect it.<\/p>\n
Ovalle created a chance for herself in the 26th minute. Angelina received a pass in the box and immediately lost possession, but Ovalle won it right back. She cut inside to lose her defender and fired to the near post, but Berger had it covered.<\/p>\n
On the other end, Lavelle tried to make something happen herself, eventually shooting from outside the box, but she didn\u2019t get much on it, sending her attempt well wide. In the 35th minute, Lavelle received a pass down the right and used a nice touch to get past Rafaelle. The Brazilian defender caught up, but Lavelle was still able to curl a cross to Savannah McCaskill at the top of the box. McCaskill attempted a volley and put it on target, but it was right at Moorhouse.<\/p>\n
Lavelle made a long run in the 39th minute from inside her own half to near the top of the Pride box. Without any teammates around her, the midfielder fired, sending her shot off target.<\/p>\n
It looked like the hosts would take the lead in the 41st minute when McCaskill lifted the ball down the left for Katie Lampson. The forward played it back for Esther at the top of the box. She had space for a shot, but the Spanish international sent it wide.<\/p>\n
That was the best chance for either team to score in the game.<\/p>\n
After 45 minutes of action, Gotham had the edge in possession (63%-47%), corner kicks (2-1), crosses (9-4), and passing accuracy (84%-66%). But those advantages didn\u2019t result in more opportunities. Both teams took five shots, and the Pride had one more on target (2-1).<\/p>\n
Gotham stayed on the front foot to start the second half. The hosts began creating set piece after set piece, putting pressure on the Pride\u2019s back line. Gotham won three corner kicks inside the first 10 minutes, but none resulted in clear chances.<\/p>\n
Lavelle sent Midge Purce down the right in the 58th minute as the substitute got behind Dyke. Purce tried to find Esther at the near post, but Mace got to it first to clear it over the end line. Moorhouse went up for the ensuing set piece, spilling it in her own six-yard box. Fortunately, it went to Angelina, who was able to clear the ball.<\/p>\n
The Pride finally created their first chances of the second half as the game reached the hour mark. In the 61st minute, Ovalle sent a long shot on goal that was blocked down and collected by Berger.\u00a0As Gotham tried to break the other way, Ovalle ran into McCaskill from behind, winning the ball back. Gotham wanted a free kick, but the referee decided it was a fair challenge. Ovalle played Banda into the right side of the box, and the striker fired at the near post but it was easily caught by Berger.<\/p>\n
Shortly after the save, Hines made his first two changes of the game, replacing Washington and Angelina with Julie Doyle and Luana.<\/p>\n
In the 63rd minute, Mace pushed Jordynn Dudley over from behind, giving Gotham a free kick in the Pride third of the field. The attack resulted in four consecutive corner kicks for the hosts as the Pride desperately attempted to keep the ball out of the net. Eventually, they were able to clear it, keeping the game scoreless.<\/p>\n
Kayla Duran ran into Doyle in the 69th minute, earning a yellow card. The ensuing set piece was headed back to the top of the box, where Luana volleyed it toward goal. There was a group of players near the top of the six-yard box, and the shot was off the arm of Emily Sonnett. However, the center back\u2019s arms were tucked tightly to her body, so the referee allowed play to continue.<\/p>\n
In the 79th minute, Banda made a run into the box from the right before finding Luana at the top of the six. The Brazilian got her foot to it, but sent the shot wide.<\/p>\n
Hines took the stoppage to make the Pride\u2019s third change of the game, replacing Ovalle with Marta.<\/p>\n
Banda won a free kick in the 82nd minute, tapping the ball between Carter\u2019s legs as the center back approached her. Banda went down under a late challenge and Carter was issued a yellow card. The ensuing set piece service into the box was cleared to the top of the 18, where Oihane attempted to volley it on goal. The right back got solid contact on the ball but sent it wide of the far post.<\/p>\n
Gotham continued to press in the dying minutes as the Pride desperately defended in their own third. In the 88th minute, Dudley made a run to the top of the box before Oihane blocked her shot. Gotham kept possession and Dudley played Lavelle into the box. However, Rafaelle stuck her foot in and cleared it.<\/p>\n
Again, the Pride were unable to get the ball over the halfway line. Duran played Lavelle forward and the midfielder tried to send Esther behind the back line, but Mace got there first. However, she wasn\u2019t able to clear it and Purce won possession. Purce tapped it to Esther, who dribbled inside before firing, but Rafaelle was there to block the attempt.<\/p>\n
Hines made his final change in the first minute of stoppage time and it was a defensive one. Center back Anderson came into the game for striker Banda as the Pride looked to see out a point away from home.<\/p>\n
Gotham had one last chance to claim all three points in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Lavelle found Sofia Cook at the top of the box, and the midfielder fired but sent the attempt right to Moorhouse.<\/p>\n
At full time, Gotham had the edge in possession (61%-39%), corner kicks (11-1), crosses (24-9), and passing accuracy (82%-72%). But the Pride created more shots (11-10) and put more on target (4-2).<\/p>\n
\u201cHard-fought point. We\u2019ll take it,\u201d Hines said after the game. \u201cObviously, every game we want to win, but considering we were just on the road in Chicago, quick turnaround, Gotham had the luxury of having two games at home, we\u2019ll take the clean sheet and we\u2019ll take the point. These are the current champions right now, and we know how talented they are and some of the players that they have. And for us to keep them quiet, we should take a lot of positives from that. So again, pleased with the point. Four points away from home\u2019s a good foundation to build on. And now looking forward to Friday\u2019s game.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the first game this season in which the Pride have failed to score. It also ends Banda\u2019s three-game goal streak to start the season. It\u2019s as quiet as Banda has been in 2026, as the Gotham defense was able to keep her from threatening the goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re top quality center backs, played at the highest level; international players who had a lot of success,\u201d Hines said. \u201cSo, I think for Barbra, and the evolution of their game is being a little bit more proactive, recognizing when they step up and play her offside, or when they\u2019re looking to bump her to get her off balance. But again, she\u2019s still a threat. She still picks up good spaces and has opportunities to get shots at goal. But this is the next level. And for her to keep progressing, these are the type of games that she needs to thrive in.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the positive side, it\u2019s the second consecutive clean sheet, with both occurring on the road. That\u2019s something the team can be proud of after conceding multiple goals due to defensive mistakes in the first two home games.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the team realized the most important thing is to have a clean sheet,\u201d Oihane said. \u201cApart from that, we\u2019ll keep going. And if we have a clean sheet, we have more chances to win. So, I think we\u2019re the right way, and we have to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had back-to-back clean sheets, which is great for us considering the first two games that we\u2019ve had,\u201d Hines added. \u201cAnd it\u2019s something to build on moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The biggest issue tonight for the Pride was conceding set pieces. Gotham had 11 corner kicks and multiple free kicks in the final third, with most coming in the first 30 minutes of the second half. Yet, the Pride were able to keep them from getting clean shots on goal, allowing Orlando to claim the clean sheet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can be organized, and you can know your roles and responsibilities, but a lot of it comes down to the mentality and what you\u2019re willing to do to not allow the team to get any clear-cut opportunities,\u201d Hines said. \u201cObviously, we learned the hard way in the first game, conceding the winning goal against Seattle. And then from there, we\u2019ve just got better and better. And it\u2019s a collective effort. Everyone knows what they need to do, whether you\u2019re a marker, a zonal player, or the goalkeeper. And I think when you\u2019ve got buy-in, when players are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the ball out of the net and thrive in those moments, I think you\u2019ve got a good group of players who want to win games.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think for us, it\u2019s really just taking pride in our defending,\u201d Lemos added. \u201cTaking pride in our set pieces. And Seb is really emphasizing all the little details, and I think that\u2019s really what helped us today to get a clean sheet. And at the end of the day, a clean sheet is a good performance defensively. So I think just taking pride in what we do, whether that be a clearance, whether it be a tackle, and just putting bodies on the line and doing whatever it takes to achieve that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pride remained away from home the whole trip, but they claim an important four points, which keeps them within touching distance of the league leaders as they return home.<\/p>\n
The Pride will play on short rest again as they\u2019ve yet to have more than five days between games. This time, they\u2019ll welcome league-leading Angel City FC to Inter&Co Stadium Friday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Orlando Pride (1-1-2, 5 points) took a point away from home against the defending NWSL champions tonight,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218349,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-218348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}