LAKE MARY, Fla. — It has been more than five weeks since the Orlando Pride last played at Inter&Co Stadium.
A month-long FIFA World Cup break followed by a road loss to Angel City FC means Friday night's home match against the Kansas City Current couldn't come soon enough.
"There's no better place to bounce back than at home, with our own fans," Head Coach Seb Hines said at Orlando Health Training Ground at Sylvan Lake Park. "Make it entertaining, make it a fortress, make it a hostile environment for the opponent and come away with three points."
Coming off the 2-0 loss in Los Angeles last week, the team enters this match with a hunger to get a result at home. The team will look to rectify the errors that led to the result as they return back to Orlando.
"Anytime you give teams an opportunity, they're going to capitalize," he said. "We gifted a couple of goals, and obviously when you go to environments like that with the fans and the crowd, they can get a foothold in the game. We had more possession but didn't create enough opportunities. That's been a real focal point going into this game against Kansas City."
Defender Nicole Payne echoed that message, feeling like the team just needs to clean up their play in order to show results.
"There was just a little bit of execution that maybe lacked in LA," she said. "This week we really just honed in on trying to complete passes and keep possession, and then transition to do what we do best. I think we'll be ready to bounce back."
Standing in the way is Kansas City, which enters the match sitting sixth in the league under new Head Coach Chris Armas. The Current will be led by reigning NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga, who scored seven goals in May alone, while Michelle Cooper is coming off a two-goal performance in the team's 3-0 win over Denver Summit FC last week.
"Two teams that have consistently been at the top of the table, last two Shield winners as well," Hines said. "Within their style and playing principles, it's very similar to what they've shown in the last couple of years."
Payne summed up the mindset going into Friday simply.
"It's our first time meeting this year, so it'll be good for us to set the tone at home," she said. "We're excited and we're ready to put on a performance."
Kickoff against the Current at Inter&Co Stadium is set for Friday night at 8 p.m. ET.
