ORLANDO, Fla. (June 30, 2018) – Orlando Pride (6-5-4, 22 points) fell 3-0 to the league-leading North Carolina Courage (11-1-3, 36 points) on Saturday at Orlando City Stadium.
"Frankly we’ve just been beaten by a team that was better than us, significantly better on the day. Probably in essentially all areas of the field. They were quicker to do things, they were dynamic, they were alert, they did soccer fundamental things better than we did,” Pride Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. " The thing about this league -- apart from North Carolina, who are running away with it -- there’s five or six teams right in the mix there. We need to ensure that we get back on an even keel, on a winning run, and put this game behind us.”
North Carolina started the scoring when Debinha fired a loose ball in the box on frame. Pride goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris cut back and got a hand on it, but the ball snuck under and rolled across the line.
Two minutes later, Merritt Mathias’ shot from distance took a big deflection on its way into the back of the net. Jessica McDonald’s in-stride finish made it 3-0 in the 40th minute.
The Pride fought back in the second half and nearly got on the board following a flurry of corner kicks when Alex Morgan ripped a shot from eight yards out that Courage goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland parried off the post and out. Rowland also made a big stop on Emily van Egmond in the first half, denying the midfielder at the near post.
The Pride return to action on Saturday, July 7, when they host the Washington Spirit at Orlando City Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets for the match are available at orlando-pride.com/tickets or by calling (855) ORL-CITY. The day will also mark an afternoon of soccer at Orlando City Stadium, with fans able to watch the 2 p.m. 2019 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal and Orlando City’s 4 p.m. match at LAFC on the big screen prior to the Pride’s evening match.
NWSL Match Report
Match: Orlando Pride vs. North Carolina Courage
Date: June 30, 2018
Venue: Orlando City Stadium
Kickoff: 3:50 p.m. ET
Attendance: 4,017
Weather: Overcast
Scoring Summary:
NC - Debinha 37’
NC - Merritt Mathias (Debinha) 39’
NC - Jessica McDonald (Crystal Dunn) 40’
Lineups:
Orlando Pride: Ashlyn Harris ©; Ali Krieger (Kristen Edmonds 75’), Monica, Shelina Zadorsky, Poliana; Rachel Hill (Dani Weatherholt 46’), Emily van Egmond (Christine Nairn 71’), Alanna Kennedy, Sydney Leroux; Marta, Alex Morgan
Substitutes Not Used: Haley Kopmeyer; Carson Pickett, Toni Pressley; Chioma Ubogagu
North Carolina Courage: Katelyn Rowland; © Abby Erceg, Merritt Mathias, Kaleigh Kurtz, Abby Dahlkemper; McCall Zerboni, Crystal Dunn, Debinha (Meredith Speck 80’), Denise O’Sullivan; Jessica McDonald (Darian Jenkins 84’), Lynn Williams (Kristen Hamilton 73’)
Substitutes Not Used: Sabrina D’Angelo; Samantha Mewis, Yuri Kawamura, Cari Roccaro
Stats Summary: ORL / NC
Possession: 55.2% / 44.8 %
Shots: 15 / 15
Shots on Goal: 5 / 7
Saves: 4 / 5
Corner Kicks: 10 / 3
Fouls: 4 / 8
Offside: 2 / 4
Misconduct Summary:
None.
Officials:
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
Assistant Referee 1: Maggie Short
Assistant Referee 2: Gjovalin Bori
Fourth Official: Erika Barahona
