MATCH RECAP: Pride Mount Second-Half Comeback to Draw Louisville in Historic Daytona Match

ORLANDO, Fla. (July 3, 2022) - Orlando Pride (2-5-3, 9 points) overcame a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw in the inaugural DAYTONA SoccerFest against Racing Louisville FC (2-4-4, 10 points) on Sunday night at the iconic Daytona International Speedway.

The match saw Kylie Strom score her first-career NWSL goal, while Darian Jenkins notched a goal and an assist to lead the Pride comeback. Erika Tymrak also added an assist on the night, while Thais Reiss recorded her first NWSL start.

The Pride face a quick turnaround, set to host the Houston Dash on Friday, July 8 at Exploria Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET with tickets available here or by calling (855) ORL-CITY. 

Orlando Pride Assistant Coach Seb Hines:
“I think the team showed a lot of courage to come back from 2-0 down, you know, we’ve been in this position too often. But I felt that we didn’t deserve to lose that game today. I think the players played terrific, they played how we wanted to play. We wanted to control the game with our passing and moving, create goal-scoring opportunities. Obviously we need to work on the last part of that but I can’t fault their attitude. Their attitude this week from Monday to the game day has been first class.”

Scoring Recap:

34’ Emina Ekic - LOU 1, ORL 0
The visitors got on the board thanks to a cross from Nealy Martin finding Emina Ekic at the back post, who was able to control it before slotting the ball into the back of the net.

51’ Savannah DeMelo - LOU 2, ORL 0
Racing Louisville doubled its advantage shortly after the halftime break thanks to a free kick effort from the left edge of the box by Savannah DeMelo, who was able to curl her finish through the Pride wall and into the top right corner of the net.

59’ Kylie Strom (Darian Jenkins) - LOU 2, ORL 1
The Pride answered with Kylie Strom finding Kerry Abello on the left flank, who sent a cross into the area. Following a poor clearance by the Louisville defense, Darian Jenkins was able to find Strom inside the edge of the area, who took one touch before curling her finish into the right side netting to halve the deficit.

69’ Darian Jenkins (Erika Tymrak) - ORL 2, LOU 2
Orlando leveled with Celia driving up the right flank, finding Erika Tymrak at the edge of the area, who was able to feed a ball in behind the Racing defense for Darian Jenkins, who hit it first time into the right corner to tie the game. 

Match Notes:

• For the second time this season, the Pride rallied from 0-2 down to draw the match 2-2. The first a come back on May 27 against visiting Washington Spirit behind goals from Mikayla Cluff and Darian Jenkins. 
• Kylie Strom scored her first goal as a member of the Pride in the match.
• Darian Jenkins netted her second goal of the regular season in the match, while notching her second assist in all competitions on Strom’s second half finish.
• Erika Tymrak tallied her first assist of the year.
• The match served as part of the inaugural DAYTONA SoccerFest at the iconic International Daytona Speedway and the first NWSL match to take place at an American racetrack.
• Thais Reiss recorded her first NWSL start on the night.
• Carrie Lawrence returned to the field for the first time since suffering an injury on May 27 against the Washington Spirit. 
• Assistant Coach Seb Hines made six changes to his starting lineup from the side’s last outing at Portland, with Reiss, along with Celia, Kylie Strom, Jordyn Listro, Viviana Villacorta and Erika Tymrak all reentering the fold. 

Next Match: The Pride return to Exploria Stadium on Friday, July 8, taking on the Houston Dash in a 7 p.m. ET kickoff. 

Teams 1   2 F

Orlando Pride 0 2 2

Racing Louisville FC 1 1 2
 

Scoring Summary:
LOU - Emina Ekic 34’
LOU - Savannah DeMelo 51’
ORL - Kylie Strom (Darian Jenkins) 59’
ORL - Darian Jenkins (Erika Tymrak) 69’

Misconduct Summary:
LOU - Freja Olofsson (Yellow Card) 16’
ORL - Celia (Yellow Card) 45’
ORL - Meggie Dougherty Howard (Yellow Card) 48’
ORL - Megan Montefusco (Yellow Card) 50’
LOU - Nealy Martin (Yellow Card) 61’
ORL - Erika Tymrak (Yellow Card) 77’

Lineups/Substitutions:

Orlando Pride - GK Erin McLeod; D Celia (Carrie Lawrence 90+3’), Megan Montefusco, Toni Pressley ©, Kylie Strom (Courtney Petersen 79’); M Jordyn Listro, Meggie Dougherty Howard (Mikayla Cluff 58’), Viviana Villacorta; F Erika Tymrak (Abi Kim 90+3’), Thais Reiss (Kerry Abello 58’), Darian Jenkins

Substitutes Not Used: GK Anna Moorhouse; D Caitlin Cosme; M Parker Roberts, Chelsee Washington

Racing Louisville FC - GK Katie Lund; D Nealy Martin (Taylor Malham 74’), Julia Lester, Gemma Bonner ©, Lauren Milliet; M Jaelin Howell, Freja Olofsson (Alex Chidiac 65’), Emina Ekic, Savannah DeMelo, Kirsten Davis (Parker Goins 65’); F Jessica McDonald

Substitutes Not Used: GK Hillary Beal, Jordyn Bloomer; F Allison Whitfield

Details of the Game:
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Weather: Cloudy
Date: July 3, 2022
Attendance: 7,573

Stats Summary: ORL / LOU
Possession: 54.4% / 45.6%
Shots: 13 / 15
Shots on Goal: 8 / 8
Saves: 6 / 6
Corner Kicks: 4 / 4
Fouls: 15 / 13
Offside: 1 / 4

Officials: 
REF: Alexandra Billeter
AR1: Ashlee Varnson
AR2: Miguel Martes
4TH: Shawn Tehini

Heineken Star of the Match: Darian Jenkins

 
 About Orlando Pride:

With two major professional teams, Orlando City Soccer Club (OCSC) has established itself as one of the preeminent Clubs in professional soccer. The Orlando Pride, OCSC’s National Women’s Soccer League franchise, began play in 2016 – bringing professional women’s soccer to Orlando for the first time. 

The Pride play at Exploria Stadium, a 25,500 seat soccer-specific stadium located in the heart of Downtown Orlando that is also home to Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer.

For more information on the Orlando Pride, visit Orlando-Pride.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.