HOUSTON – Orlando Pride (3-6-1, 10 points) dropped a 2-0 decision on the road to the Houston Dash (4-4-2, 14 points) on Saturday night. The visitors went down by two goals in the first 45 minutes and attempted to turn things around in the second half, totaling nine shots in the frame, but were unable to find a breakthrough.
Entering as a second-half substitute, Marta became the Club’s all-time regular season appearance leader with her 82nd appearance, passing both Ashlyn Harris and Toni Pressley.
The Pride will now see a quick turnaround to UKG Challenge Cup play, traveling to face NJ/NY Gotham FC on Wednesday night.
6’ Sophie Hirst – HOU 1, ORL 0
The home side took the lead off a corner kick, with goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse unable to secure the cross and Hirst poking home the loose ball in the box.
41’ Michelle Alozie – HOU 2, ORL 0
The home side doubled their lead just before the halftime break on an individual effort from Michelle Alozie, driving in from the right side for the goal.
Head Coach Seb Hines:
“I've sung a lot of praise this season even when it hasn't gone our way, results haven't gone our way. But today, we weren't the better team, Houston were the better team. They made it difficult for us and they pressed us really hard. We looked like we weren't prepared for that. That's the most disappointing thing. If you want to play the way that we want to play, we have to dictate the game, we have to control the tempo of the game and we didn't do that. Even though we know we didn't do the fundamentals or the basics right, we still created chances to score and we've gone two games now without scoring. That has to change. We'll do our best to make a difference going into the next game next week.”
Match Notes:
- Entering as a second-half substitute, Marta became the Club’s all-time regular season appearance leader with her 82nd appearance, passing both Ashlyn Harris and Toni Pressley.
- Defender Celia made her first appearance of the 2023 regular season on Saturday, entering the match in the 67th minute of play.
- The match served as a homecoming for Haley McCutcheon, who was acquired by the Pride from the Dash last season. It was McCutcheon’s first appearance against her former team in Houston.
- Saturday’s match marked the second-straight year the Pride traveled to face the Dash on June 3.
Next Match:
The Pride remain on the road, wrapping up a three-game road swing on Wednesday night in New Jersey. Orlando will take on NJ/NY Gotham FC for the third time this season, the first time the two sides will meet in the UKG Challenge Cup. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with the game available nationally on CBS Sports Network.
