Orlando Pride (1-2-3, 6 points) closes out a two-game road swing on Saturday evening, traveling to face third-seeded Sky Blue FC at Yurcak Field. The Pride enter the match riding a three-game unbeaten streak, most recently seeing a 1-1 draw in Seattle.
Saturday’s7 p.m. ET match will be streamed live on go90.com and the go90 app as well as at NWSLsoccer.com.
“Sky Blue is a young, quick team with talented attackers like Sam Kerr, Raquel Rodriguez and Sarah Killion but are also anchored by a strong, veteran defender in the back in Christie Pearce,” Pride Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. “It’s been a busy start of the season with our travel, but we’re heading into Saturday looking to close out the game and come home with all three points.”
The Pride picked up a tough point on Sunday, traveling to Memorial Stadium to face a Seattle Reign team that rarely falters at home. Orlando took a blow early on, losing goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris to a quad injury. The Pride turned to goalkeeper Caroline Stanley, who was brought in as a goalkeeper replacement for Aubrey Bledsoe.
The Reign got on the board first, with Beverly Yanez redirecting a shot in the 42nd minute. However, the Pride kept pressure on and forced Seattle goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer into a mistake, with Camila picking off a pass and feeding Marta for her second goal of the season.
With Harris ruled out for approximately eight weeks, Bledsoe and Stanley will both have the opportunity to face their former team on Saturday. Bledsoe played for the New Jersey side in 2015 before being picked up in the Pride’s Expansion Draft, while Stanley started in 11 games for Sky Blue last season.
Saturday will mark three games in a week for Sky Blue FC, playing matches on May 20 and May 24 before this weekend’s tilt with the Pride. On Wednesday night, Sky Blue traveled to face the North Carolina Courage where they fell 2-0 after goals from Lynn Williams and Samantha Mewis. Four days prior, Sky Blue defeated the Houston Dash 2-1 on goals from Sarah Killion and Raquel Rodriguez.
Orlando returns to Orlando City Stadium next Saturday, hosting the rebuilt Boston Breakers at 4 p.m. ET on June 3.
Tickets for all Orlando Pride home matches can be purchased at orlando-pride.com/tickets or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
