PORTLAND, Ore. (June 19, 2022) — Orlando Pride (2-5-2, 8 points) fell on the road on Sunday afternoon, dropping a 6-0 decision to Portland Thorns FC at Providence Park. The Pride will now turn their attention to Racing Louisville FC, who they face on July 3 following a league break.
Goalkeeper Erin McLeod made six saves on the evening, including her 250th career NWSL save on a fifth minute stop. Meggie Dougherty Howard made her first start of the season, having the Pride’s best chance of the day in the 17th minute but the Thorns’ goalkeeper made a fingertip stop.
Orlando Pride Assistant Coach Seb Hines:
“Disappointing. I thought we got beat by a better team today and not only because they [Portland] were better in possession, but their fundamentals. Their ability to put us under pressure at the right moments, their willingness to run and battle and compete. And then [with] their creativity they create multiple chances. That’s something that, moving forward, we need to be better. We need to be better at the fundamentals. Tackling, competing, running, because we do have good players. We have players who like to get on the ball, like to turn, like to create. If we can work on the fundamentals in training, we can and will be in a better position.”
Scoring Recap:
21’ Hina Sugita (Janine Beckie) - POR 1, ORL 0
The home side struck first, with Janine Beckie sending a cross in from the right side that Hina Sugita netted off a volley on a run in the box.
25’ Becky Sauerbrunn - POR 2, ORL 0
Becky Sauerbrunn doubled the Thorns lead four minutes later, pouncing on a rebound after Erin McLeod made an initial save off a Portland free kick.
63’ Sophia Smith (Becky Sauerbrunn) - POR 3, ORL 0
Forward Sophia Smith made it 3-0 in the second half, with a shot from outside of the box.
79’ Natalia Kuikka (Olivia Moultrie) - POR 4, ORL 0
Natalia Kuikka made it a four-goal game after receiving a quick pass from Olivia Moultrie inside the box.
86’ Sophia Smith (Yazmeen Ryan) - POR 5, ORL 0
Smith earned her second of the game, another distance strike from outside of the area.
90+1’ Taylor Porter (Yazmeen Ryan) - POR 6, ORL 0
Porter scored the Thorns’ final goal of the evening in stoppage time, off a set piece pass from Yazmeen Ryan.
Match Notes:
- Goalkeeper Erin McLeod recorded her 250th career NWSL save in the fifth minute of the match.
- Midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howard made her first start of the regular season.
- Leaving the match in the 61st minute, Megan Montefusco’s regular season minutes streak with the Pride came to a close at 781 minutes. She was the only Pride field player to have played every possible minute up to that point.
Next Match: The Pride and the rest of the league will see a week off from play, with Orlando next returning to action on Sunday, July 3 in the first annual DAYTONA Soccer Fest. The Pride host Racing Louisville FC at 8 p.m. ET in the final match of the Fourth of July weekend event, with the game aired on CBS Sports Network.
