ORLANDO, Fla. (July 8, 2021) - Orlando Pride (4-2-3, 15 points) welcomes Racing Louisville FC (3-4-1, 10 points) to Exploria Stadium for the first time on Friday, July 9. Kickoff for the match is set for 7 p.m. ET, with the contest available to stream exclusively on Twitch.
Friday’s match, presented by OUC, will serve as the Club’s Mission Equality match as part of the Pride’s Mission Program announced earlier this year. With that, fans will have the opportunity to purchase the Mission Equality patch for the first time, as well as a Mission Equality t-shirt, with proceeds benefiting the Mission Fund. Tickets can be found at Orlando-Pride.com or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
“We want to continue that kind of vein of form, we want to continue in being aggressive at home, we want to continue trying to take the game to the opponent. Louisville, although being a new team, literally have strengthened and don’t lose anybody from their team really, they've got that consistent message,” Orlando Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner said. “They are going to come here with just that freedom to play. It’s always going to be a difficult task, and we are not taking anything easily, we’re preparing as we always would and preparing to perform really well and see where we’re at for the game from there.”
Friday will serve as the first regular season matchup between the Pride and Racing Louisville. The two sides met in April in what served as the Challenge Cup opener for both sides, playing to a 2-2 draw. Both Taylor Kornieck and Abi Kim scored their first professional goals in the competition.
The Pride look to bounce back on Friday after the team dropped its first home loss of the season on July 4th against the North Carolina Courage. The 2-0 defeat was highlighted by an Ashlyn Harris penalty kick save, her first of the regular season and third in all competitions this year. Harris is one of two keepers to record a penalty save this season.
Ashlyn Harris saved her first penalty kick of the season against North Carolina and third across all competitions this year. Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan sit tied for the team lead in goals scored this season, each with four. Gunny Jónsdóttir and Kornieck sit in second in assists on the side, each with two to trail only Marta.
Racing Louisville enter Friday’s matchup after a 2-0 defeat against the Portland Thorns in their last outing. In the team’s contest against the Red Stars on June 26th, Louisville scored its most goals in a contest with three and also held Chicago scoreless. Louisville saw one of its newest signings, Ebony Salmon, find the back of the net, as well as former Red Star teammates Savannah McCaskill and Yuki Nagasato also each tally a goal for Louisville.
Salmon currently has two goals in just four games since she signed with Louisville. Her two goals are good enough to lead the team in scoring. Other goal scorers are McCaskill, Nagasato, Cece Kizer and Emina Erik each at one goal apiece. Erik, Kizer and McCaskill also account for Louisville’s three assists on the season.
Following Friday’s match, the Pride travel to Portland to take on the Thorns on Saturday, July 18. Kickoff is slated for 10:30 p.m. ET.
