ORLANDO, FL – The undefeated Orlando Pride faced off against expansion team Bay FC for the first time on Saturday night. The Pride set a team record with it’s sixth straight win for the season.
The Pride, whose 6-0-3 record holds them in the number two spot in the NWSL standings, have had a strong showing this season, scoring 14 goals while giving up only seven thus far in this early season.
In the 28th minute of the match, new Pride striker Barbra Banda was tackled in the box by Dayna Castellanos for a penalty kick. After Banda recovered from the hard tackle and was tended off of the pitch, Adriana took the shot from the spot.
Adriana kicked it into the lower left corner for Orlando’s opening goal in the 32nd minute.
Orlando kept up the pressure, with another chance on the baseline when Katy Abello lifted one straight along the crossbar, but it never went in, and Banda battled for another chance inside the box off of that ball, but it was eventually collected by keeper Katelyn Rowland.
The Pride kept Rowland busy with attack after attack on the Bay side.
In the first half, the Pride stole balls with little trouble and managed to go on the attack again and again against this expansion team. All seemed to be due to the Pride’s concentration on defense.
“I think we all take a lot of pride in it,” said Pride Head Coach Seb Hines. “I do like goals as well. I do like us being up more than one goal in a game. I think early on in the game and in the first half, we could have scored a lot more goals and made it a lot more challenging for Bay FC to feel like they could get back into the game. It’s a collective effort. Everyone has to play their part.”
If defense was key, it totally shut down their opponents on Saturday night.
The first half ended with Banda kneeling in pain in the Bay FC box with seconds remaining. After she returned to her feet, the ref called it for halftime.
In the 66th minute, Bay’s Rachel Kundanasji was carded for a push that sent Kylie Strom crashing to the ground, almost landing on the ball.
Marta entered the game in the second half, which turned out to be a defensive battle.
Bay put forth more of a push in the second half of the game, but with no result, and Orlando’s defense had no problem holding them off.
With both teams relatively close in possession, the Pride took 25 shots with 18 on goal compared to six total shots for Bay, only two on goal.
Orlando won 56 duels compared to Bay’s 42, and had way more chances to score when it was all said and done.
The Pride put Katelyn Rowland to work, but she held on to make nine saves, only giving up a score on the penalty kick in the first half.
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