WASHINGTON D.C. (July 1, 2023) – The Orlando Pride (5-8-1, 16 points) handed the Washington Spirit (6-3-5, 23 points) their first home loss of the 2023 regular season on Saturday night, taking a 3-0 victory in the nation’s capital. Forward Julie Doyle led the way for the Pride, recording her first professional brace just 16 minutes into the match, with Ally Watt forcing an own goal in the second half to take all three points.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Pride earned their third shutout of the season, with goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse needing to make only two saves in the match. With a start on the backline, defender Haley McCutcheon also recorded her 100th career regular-season appearance on Saturday night.
The win saw the Pride take the regular-season series against the Spirit, beating the side when they were undefeated back on May 20, a 2-1 win at Exploria Stadium.
Scoring Summary:
8’ Julie Doyle – ORL 1, WAS 0
The Pride jumped out to an early lead just eight minutes in after Haley McCutcheon battled around her defender to win a cross in the box, with her header being saved. The attempt led to a scramble in the box, however, with Julie Doyle getting her leg around on a bouncing ball for her first goal of the season.
16’ Julie Doyle (Erika Tymrak) – ORL 2, WAS 0
Doyle made it a two-goal game just over a quarter of an hour into match, carrying the ball down the left side before cutting it back to her right. The forward sliced a ball into the box, going untouched before finding the far-side netting for her second of the night.
61’ - Tara McKeown (Own Goal) – ORL 3, WAS 0
Three minutes into her appearance, forward Ally Watt forced an own goal by the Spirit’s Tara McKeown, sending a low cross into the box that was toed into the goal off the Washington defender.
Head Coach Seb Hines:
“[Tonight} was more about ourselves. We needed to have a reaction after the last two defeats. Recently, we haven't been ourselves and going to an environment like Washington, it’s difficult, of course. But, we wanted to come here with loads of energy, loads of desire, commitment, and put a real good performance together for our fans, because they deserve it. The players know it, as well, we haven't been ourselves. Go back to our identity and when we show what we're capable of doing, that's where you get your success. So I was really pleased with, the not just the goals, but their overall performance and their attitude leading into this game.”
Match Notes:
- Forward Julie Doyle recorded the first brace of her professional career on the night.
- The Pride forced their first own goal of the season, the team’s first since Aug. 7, 2022, against Angel City FC.
- Orlando’s victory secured the regular-season sweep of the Spirit, having also previously beaten Washington at Exploria Stadium on May 20 of this year.
- The win also marked the Spirit’s first loss handed to the home side at the confines of Audi Field this year.
- Wearing the captain’s armband on Saturday, defender Haley McCutcheon recorded her 100th career regular season appearance on the night.
- Seb Hines made two changes to his starting lineup on Saturday, with Erika Tymrak and Messiah Bright entering the mix.
- The Pride were without the services of Marta and Adriana who with Brazil for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
- Saturday’s match kicked off at 8:19 p.m. ET, seeing a 79-minute weather delay from the originally scheduled 7 p.m. kickoff.
Next Match: The Orlando Pride return to Exploria Stadium next week, hosting OL Reign on Friday, July 7 in a 7 p.m. ET kickoff.
