ORLANDO, Fla. (Sept. 10, 2019) - Orlando Pride (4-13-2, 14 points) return home to face the Chicago Red Stars (10-8-2, 32 points) on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at Exploria Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET with the match set to be nationally televised on ESPNews and available internationally across ESPN’s platforms.
“Obviously we’ve played them recently so we kind of know what to expect. They’ve got one of the best forwards in the world and she’s right in form again so we need to make sure that we neutralize her. That will be a tough ask but I trust the players to be able to do that,” Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner said. “It’ll be a tough game but I think there’s something we learned from last time, if you can perform with style of play than you have a good chance of taking the result. I think that was probably our best performance and resilience of the season last time so I’m hoping for a similar kind of performance with maybe a bit more of an attacking threat.”
The Pride will look to bounce back from a 3-1 loss at Reign FC this past Saturday. The Reign jumped out to a 3-0 lead early with finishes in the third, 12th and 17th minutes respectively before the match was delayed for two hours due to inclement weather. Camila scored the lone goal for the Pride in the match in the 79th minute, converting from the penalty spot.
Marta leads the Pride with five finishes this season, while Rachel Hill and Joanna Boyles sit tied for the team lead in assists with two apiece.
Chicago enters Wednesday’s match following a 3-0 victory at home over the Houston Dash on Sunday. Sam Kerr secured a brace in the match, finding the back of the net in the seventh and 44th minutes, while Savannah McCaskill added to the Red Stars lead in the 65th minute to secure three points for the home side.
Kerr leads the Red Stars and all of NWSL with 15 finishes this season while teammate Yuki Nagasato holds the league-lead in assists with six in 2019.
Wednesday’s match will serve as the third and final between the two sides this season. The Red Stars took the first match with a 3-2 victory on June 30 at Exploria Stadium while the Pride earned a 2-1 victory in their last matchup on August 21 at SeatGeek Stadium.
The Pride face a quick turnaround following Wednesday’s match, traveling to face the North Carolina Courage on Saturday, Sept. 14 with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at WakeMed Soccer Park.
