LAKE MARY, Fla. — Five days after a dominant 3-0 win over Kansas City Current, the Orlando Pride kick off from Inter&Co Stadium once again this Wednesday night to host Boston Legacy FC, looking to make it back-to-back home victories.
"After our last win, we're energetic and ready to go," defender Hannah Anderson said at Orlando Health Training Ground at Sylvan Lake Park. "Momentum-wise, I think we're in a good spot, and I feel like everyone's confident, so we just want to build on that and use that for the next game."
The Kansas City result was exactly what the team was looking for after a rough restart to the NWSL season at Angel City two weeks ago. The match featured three different goalscorers, a dominant second half, a clean sheet at home and the kind of controlled performance that Head Coach Seb Hines has been demanding from his team all season. Now, the key is to continue that momentum in a midweek matchup.
"We can't just be up for those types of games against KC," Hines said. "We have to treat every game the same. We have to go out there and give everything and walk off the field knowing that we have done everything in our power to win the game."
Wednesday's opponent will be very different from Kansas City. Boston is in its inaugural NWSL season, sitting 14th out of 16 teams under Head Coach Filipa Patão, who has instilled a high-pressing, aggressive identity that has made the Legacy the league leaders in fouls committed and cards received. They arrive off a 2-0 win over the Chicago Stars in Foxborough, but the expansion side has yet to win a match away from home.
Early in May, the start of a three-match road trip for the Pride, Orlando fell to Boston 2-1 on the road thanks to a last-second penalty. Hines and the team learned a lot in that match and are expecting a similar style of play to come to Orlando on Wednesday.
"Last time we played them, [they were] super aggressive, player for player at times, they like a high press, physical, front-foot defending, lots of transition," Hines said. "They've changed some of their strategies based upon the opponent, so we're kind of expecting that as well. How do they adjust to us? And yeah, we just have to be adaptable to that. You know we've got quality players here. If something's presented as a problem, we've got enough solutions that we can exploit them."
The summer heat will also play its part for the visiting Boston side. With Inter&Co Stadium staying warm, even when the sun goes down, the home advantage increases for Orlando, especially late in matches.
"We talk a lot about when teams hit that wall, can we go over it whilst they hit it?" Hines said. "You can see that in some of our performances here at Inter&Co Stadium. We build so much good momentum. The fans get behind us. It makes it a real hostile environment. It's important when we feel that way, that we punish teams. That's why over the years it's been so difficult for the teams to come here and get points."
Kickoff against Boston Legacy FC at Inter&Co Stadium is set for Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET.
