Orlando Pride Fall 1-0 to Chicago in Rain-Delayed Match
A rainy Saturday at Camping World Stadium saw Chicago Red Stars outplay Orlando Pride for a deserved 1-0 victory on a weather-delayed evening. For the second home game running the Pride were poor as they succumbed to their second home loss of the season.
Last week they got away with an under par performance as they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Boston Breakers but this week was a different story as Chicago really should have won by a larger scoreline.
The visitors netted the only goal of the match in the 23rd minute as Taylor Comeau scored her first goal of the season with a firm header from a pinpoint cross from Sofia Huerta that gave Kaitlyn Savage in the Pride goal no chance.
“It was a little bit disappointing in the end to be honest. I was happy with the effort of the team. I thought we put in a good effort tonight; we kept going to the end,” Pride Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. “The last 10 minutes we kept going and going and credit to Chicago who held out. I thought at times [our] execution wasn’t as good as it should have been. I thought at times the tempo of how we played could have been better. I thought we started okay, but it dropped off. Other than that it was a tight game.”
For the second straight week, inclement weather halted play when a brief storm hit Central Florida in the 74th minute. After nearly an hour delay, play resumed, and the Pride’s Rookie Christina Burkenroad had a goal disallowed in the 87th minute for offside.
In truth though, the Pride were always second best in a game where Savage pulled off seven saves and Chicago ballooned two other great chances over the bar. Misplaced passes were a feature of the home team’s performance and they rarely looked like threatening the goal. Jasmyne Spencer (pictured above), Pride’s best player of the evening, caused a few problems for Red Stars with a couple of mazey runs but there really was little end product threatening the visitors goal.
The Pride will begin a two game road swing next week before the NWSL takes nearly a month hiatus due to the Olympics. On June 23 the Pride travel to face Seattle Reign FC at 10 p.m. ET, then remain on the road for a 6 p.m. ET matchup at Boston on July 31.
Orlando returns to Camping World Stadium on Friday, August 26 to host the Washington Spirit at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Tickets to all home matches can be purchased at orlando-pride.com or by calling 855-ORL-CITY.
Lineups:
Orlando Pride: Kaitlyn Savage; Cami Levin, Kaylyn Kyle, Toni Pressley, Sam Witteman; Becky Edwards (Dani Weatherholt 59’), Kristen Edmonds, Maddy Evans; Jasmyne Spencer, Sarah Hagen (Christina Burkenroad 68’), Jamia Fields (Leah Fortune 69’)
Substitutes Not Used: Megan Dorsey; Kim Reynolds; Allie Wisner, Sierra Lelii
Chicago Red Stars: Michelle Dalton; Arin Gilliland, Katie Naughton, Samantha Johnson, Casey Short; Danielle Colaprico, Vanessa DiBernardo, Jen Hoy (Alyssa Mautz 72’), Taylor Comeau; Cara Walls (Courtney Raetzman 91+’), Sofia Huerta
Substitutes Not Used: Brianna Smallidge; Sarah Gordon; Rebekah Roller; Jannelle Flaws, Mary Luba
Attendance: 7,247
More photo’s at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
