With four games remaining, the Orlando Pride know it’s time to win. A golden opportunity awaits Saturday in Houston.
The Pride are a perfect 3-0-0 against the Dash this season, outscoring them 5-1. They beat the Dash 3-1 in front of a record-setting crowd in their first home game before Kristen Edmonds’ first career goal won the match BBVA Compass Stadium at the last minute. Ashlyn Harris made five saves and Jasmyne Spencer scored in stoppage time to steal the Pride’s 12th point against Houston.
Saturday, they came make it 15-of-15.
“We know them, we know they have speed,” Olympic medal-winning defender Joseé Bélanger said. “They have good players so we need to be focused.”
A win would go a long way. The Pride can pull to within striking distance of the fourth and final playoff spot in their inaugural NWSL season.
“We know we just have to look at our next game in Houston,” forward Sarah Hagen said. “When we play good soccer it’s because we’re playing as a team – as a unit. When we do that, we’re dangerous.”
Though the Pride are taking it slow going into Houston, they’ll have a quick turnaround before their next game. Just four days after playing in Texas, the Pride head to New Jersey to take on Sky Blue FC before facing them again in Orlando on Sept. 10.
It’s a short stretch to play three games with a few hundred miles of travel in between but it’s one of the more favorable remaining schedules in the league. With the Pride in need of points, they play a team they’ve only ever won against, the team directly ahead of them in the standings twice and the team directly below them to close out the season.
“[The playoffs] are still on everyone’s mind,” Bélanger said, “but it’s not worth it to put too much pressure because that’s where you get frustrated. I think it’s just living in the present moment and making sure we get prepared.”
“One game at a time. That’s the plan.”
