Three days after its last match, Orlando Pride (6-4-4, 22 points) faces the league-leading North Carolina Courage (10-1-3, 33 points) in the Lifetime Game of the Week on Saturday, June 30. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium.
The match will be nationally broadcast on Lifetime. Tickets for Wednesday’s match can be purchased at orlando-pride.com/tickets or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
“The key thing is to make sure that we match [North Carolina’s] tempo, how they play and that we’re able to cope with their direct, very fast style of play. I think it was a good lesson for us the last time [we played them],” Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. “They’re still obviously playing with a lot of confidence. They’ve had a couple of blips along the way, but they bounced back strongly last week, so they will be as formidable tomorrow as they were in the last game.”
The Pride enter the match after falling 2-1 to the Houston Dash on Wednesday, the team’s first loss since the previous North Carolina match on May 23. Alex Morgan scored Orlando’s lone goal in the 22nd minute, assisted by defender Shelina Zadorsky. The goal marked Morgan’s third goal of the season and Zadorsky’s first assist with Orlando. The match was also Morgan’s 75th career regular-season appearance.
Rachel Hill, Sydney Leroux and Chioma Ubogagu share the lead for the Pride with four goals each in 2018. Christine Nairn’s four assists are tied for second in the league with North Carolina’s Jaelene Hinkle.
North Carolina is coming off a 4-1 victory over Seattle Reign FC on Saturday. Lynn Williams scored the Courage’s first goal in the 27th minute and Crystal Dunn followed in the 33rd. Merritt Mathias scored the third goal for the Courage in the 48th minute and Dunn secured a brace on the night with North Carolina’s final goal in the 70th minute.
Dunn leads the Courage and is tied for second in the NWSL with six goals in 2018. Hinkle leads the team with four assists. Denise O’Sullivan, Jessica McDonald and Williams follow with three apiece.
The Pride will look to avenge a 4-3 loss to the Courage on May 23 at Orlando City Stadium, a match that saw Alanna Kennedy, Rachel Hill and Chioma Ubogagu score for the Pride. The sides were level until McDonald scored the game-winner in the 90th minute.
Both Kennedy and defender Carson Pickett enter Saturday’s match on the verge of making their 50th NWSL regular-season appearances. Defender Ali Krieger has also been removed from the team’s injury report and could make her first appearance since suffering a right knee sprain in a 5-2 win over Chicago on May 26.
Following Saturday’s match, the Pride will finish out their three-game homestand against the Washington Spirit on July 7.
