ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 19, 2022) - Orlando Pride (4-5-6, 18 points) is set to travel to Philadelphia to face off against NJ/NY Gotham FC ( 4-10-0, 12 points) at Subaru Park. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET with the match available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. and internationally on Twitch.
“[NJ/NY Gotham] are a good team. They have some good players and we have to be aware of that,” said Pride acting head coach Seb Hines. “Every week there are so many problems that teams can cause us and we have to prepare as best as we can to get a performance away from home.”
The two sides are fairly familiar with one another having played three matches across all competitions this season, but all of them coming early on in the year. Two of the games came in the NWSL Challenge Cup and the third one served as both team’s regular season opener on May 1. That match saw Gotham walk out of Exploria Stadium with three goals and three points winning the match, 3-0. Both teams have changed drastically since then and are aimed at making a playoff push late in the season.
The Pride are coming off a massive 1-0 road victory over 2022 expansion side San Diego Wave. The victory extended the Pride’s unbeaten streak six games, dating back to July 3. The Pride were backed by a first half penalty goal from Meggie Dougherty Howard, the lone goal of the game. Goalkeeper Erin McLeod made six saves in the match to preserve the clean sheet, her fourth of the regular season and fifth across all competitions.
The Pride are riding a season-high six-straight games unbeaten. During their run, they have collected two wins to go with four draws and have shut teams out three times out of the six matches. Orlando is currently just five points outside of a top-six spot to make the playoffs.
Gotham traveled to Houston to take on the Dash on Wednesday night and dropped a 2-1 decision. NJ/NY had to play with 10 players after forward Midge Purce received a second yellow card in the 58th minute. After that, Gotham would give up two goals within three minutes of one another. They were able to pull one back courtesy of McCall Zerboni but they were not able to find the equalizer.
This week, the Pride acquired forward Ally Watt from OL Reign as well as defender Haley Hanson from the Houston Dash. Both players will provide depth to the squad as they look to make a push for the playoffs. Watt has appeared in all but one of Reign’s 22 total matches across all competitions this season. Hanson has played in 15 matches this season for the Dash and also played a pivotal role in helping lead the Dash to becoming the first-ever NWSL Challenge Cup champions in 2020.
Following Saturday’s match, the Pride will return home to Exploria Stadium to go up against OL Reign on Friday, August 26. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. Tickets for the game are available at Orlando-Pride.com.
