A National Women’s Soccer League record of 23,403 fans were in attendance to see the Orlando Pride take on the Houston Dash and secure the first win of the season. Fans were treated to a show, as the Pride was aggressive on both ends of the pitch with exciting goals from team captain Alex Morgan and Liann Sanderson. But as has been common of late, the roaring fans once again stole the show.
Unmatched in their intensity and support, Pride fans were out in full force setting new records. On its way to earning the nickname as the 'Soccer Capital of the South, it has been the fans that have set the Orlando Citrus Bowl apart from other venues. The home field advantage is becoming quite obvious as Orlando City and the Orlando Pride become more and more dominant on their home pitch. In Saturday night's game the fans stayed engaged throughout the game, chanting and clapping at every opportunity.
On the fans in attendance, Orlando Pride head coach Tom Sermanni had a glowing response. “I think the crowd we had has taken the league to a new level, it just wasn’t about the number in the crowd but the passion of the crowd and how they supported the team. Hopefully we did enough tonight to encourage them to come back for the rest of the season.”
Team captain Alex Morgan echoes her head coach. "I think we put a good show on for the crowd and I think they’re going to keep showing up," said Morgan after the match. "I want fans of Orlando Pride that are here because we make a good environment for them, we put on a good show for them, we put a good product out on the field and I think we showed a little bit of that tonight and I think that we’re going to continue to show that and draw a lot more fans come the rest of this season.”
