ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 5, 2019) - Orlando Pride (4-16-3, 15 points) fell 3-0 to the Washington Sport (9-8-6, 33 points) on Saturday night at Exploria Stadium. The match served as the first professional appearance for goalkeeper Lainey Burdett and the home debut for forward Sydney Leroux on the season. Kristen Edmonds captained the Pride for the first time in her career in the match, fresh off her 100th NWSL appearance in New Jersey last Sunday.
Orlando Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner:
“Last but one game, it’s just a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I’m not going to sit in front of you guys and say anything that I haven’t said all season, you all watch the game you see it for yourself...It’s not acceptable and the good thing is now we get an opportunity to reassess the goals of the Club. We know where we want to be, we know what we have to do and that we have to make sure we select the correct and right players in the draft system and in trades to make sure we’re an effective team.”
Scoring Recap:
5’ Ashley Hatch (Crystal Thomas) - WAS 1, ORL 0
The visitors took an early lead off the foot of forward Ashley Hatch, who collected the ball at the top of the box before sending a curling left-footed strike into the far side of the goal.
62’ Crystal Thomas - WAS 2, ORL 0
The Spirit doubled their lead after picking off a mishit back pass that eventually found the foot of Crystal Thomas, who took one touch into the area before sending in a shot from the right side into the opposite netting.
85’ Tiffany McCarty - WAS 3, ORL 0
Washington added an insurance goal late, with Tiffany McCarty chipping one from the edge of the area.
Match Notes:
- Goalkeeper Lainey Burdett made her professional debut in the match, earning the start in goal for the first time.
- Defender Kristen Edmonds wore the captain’s armband for the Pride for the first time since joining the Club ahead of its inaugural season in 2016. Edmonds recorded her 100th NWSL appearance last weekend at Sky Blue and was honored pregame on Saturday for reaching the century mark in league play.
- The Pride were without five marquee international players on Saturday, with goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger on international duty with the U.S. Women’s National Team for their 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup victory tour. Alanna Kennedy, Marta and Shelina Zadorsky also missed the match, as each were away with their respective national teams.
- Sydney Leroux made her home debut for the Pride on the season, entering the match for Claire Emslie in the 75th minute.
Next Match: Orlando Pride close out the 2019 NWSL season when it hosts Reign FC on Saturday, Oct. 12 at Exploria Stadium. The match will serve as the first-ever Breast Cancer Awareness game in Club history, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
