WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 6, 2021) - Orlando Pride (3-0-2, 11 points)
earned a hard fought point on the road on Sunday afternoon, drawing the Washington Spirit (2-1-2, 8 points) 1-1 in a hot afternoon match at Audi Field. With the draw, the Pride remain unbeaten to start the 2021 NWSL regular season, with three wins and two draws in their first five matches, and have gone without a loss over their last seven games, with the team’s last defeat coming on April 14 in the Challenge Cup.
The Spirit scored the game’s opening goal in the 64th minute but the Pride responded quickly away from home, with Taylor Kornieck leveling things in the 67th minute after a steal by Marta deep in the Washington zone. The goal marked Kornieck’s first regular-season goal, her second across all competitions, and Marta’s first assist of 2021.
Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris had another strong showing for her hometown side, coming up with five saves in the game including a couple big stops to keep the Spirit off the board for a second time.
The Pride will head into a one-week break due to the FIFA international window sitting at the top of the NWSL standings with 11 points over their opening five matches.
Orlando Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner:
“Really hard earned draw in a tough place. Of course you can’t see, we’re used to heat, but the intensity of the heat on the players, to come through that...We got to a point in the game where, even when we conceded, we felt that we were comfortable and that we could get back into the game and obviously contested from there. So what that’s shown is the players’ mentality, their togetherness, their spirit and it’s resonating through the group. It was a really good mental point for us today and again, on the road, when you come to these places if you can pick up points that’s what we’re going to aim to do.”
Scoring Recap:
64’ Ashley Hatch (Kelley O’Hara) - WAS 1, ORL 0
The home side took the lead midway through the second half off the head of Ashley Hatch, who nodded home a cross from Kelley O’Hara in the 64th minute.
67’ Taylor Kornieck (Marta) - ORL 1, WAS 1
Just minutes later, the Pride tied things up off the foot of Taylor Kornieck. The play started with Marta intercepting a throw from Aubrey Bledsoe, with her one-touch falling to Kornieck. The forward took one touch before hitting a low, driven shot to the opposite side for her first goal of the regular season.
Match Notes:
- With her tying goal in the 67th minute, forward Taylor Kornieck registered her first goal of the regular season and second across all competitions. The University of Colorado product scored the Pride’s first goal of 2021, a header in the team’s Challenge Cup opener at Louisville on April 10.
- Kornieck has now had a hand in three of the Pride’s last five goals of the regular season and has contributed to four across all competitions, with two goals and two assists.
- After picking off Aubrey Bledsoe’s outlet throw and sending the ball to the goalscorer Kornieck, Marta earned her first assist of the 2021 season. The Brazilian forward leads the Pride in all-time assists, with 11 to her name.
- Coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute, Erika Tymrak made her first appearance of the regular season and first since April 14 after picking up an injury.
- Sunday’s draw marked the second time the Pride have rallied from a 1-0 deficit to split points with the Spirit, doing the same thing in the regular season opener for both sides on May 16. Hatch again scored in that one, with Alex Morgan leveling things less than 10 minutes later for the 1-1 final.
- With another point, the Pride have extended their regular season unbeaten run to five straight games and seven across all competitions. The Pride have just one loss in their nine games this year, a 1-0 defeat to Gotham FC in the Challenge Cup on April 14.
- Heading into the FIFA break, Orlando remains atop the NWSL table with 11 points over their first five matches of the season.
Next Match:
The Pride will take a week off for the FIFA window, next returning to play on Sunday, June 20, when the team hosts NJ/NY Gotham FC at Exploria Stadium. That match will kickoff at 6 p.m. ET and will mark the Club’s Mission Rainbow match, honoring the five-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Tickets to that match can be purchased at Orlando-Pride.com or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
Scoring Summary:
WAS - Ashley Hatch (Kelley O’Hara) 64’
ORL - Taylor Kornieck (Marta) 67’
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Courtney Petersen (Yellow Card) 39’
ORL - Alex Morgan (Yellow Card) 45+2’
WAS - Anna Heilferty (Yellow Card) 90+1’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando Pride
- GK Ashlyn Harris ©; D Ali Riley, Phoebe McClernon, Ali Krieger, Courtney Petersen; M Gunny Jónsdóttir, Meggie Dougherty Howard (Erika Tymrak 63’), Taylor Kornieck (Chelsee Washington 88’); F Marta, Alex Morgan, Marisa Viggiano
Substitutes Not Used: GK Brittany Wilson; D Ally Haran, Konya Plummer, Toni Pressley; F Abi Kim, Crystal Thomas
Washington Spirit
- GK Aubrey Bledsoe; D Tori Huster, Emily Sonnett, Sam Staab, Kelley O’Hara; M Julia Roddar (Dorian Bailey 61’), Andi Sullivan ©, Ashley Sanchez; F Ashley Hatch (Anna Heilferty 87’), Trinity Rodman, Tara McKeown (Jordan DiBiasi 61’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Devon Kerr; D Natalie Jacobs, Tegan McGrady, Camryn Biegalski; M F Kumi Yokoyama, Mariana Speckmaier
Details of the Game:
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Weather: Sunny
Date: June 6, 2021
Attendance: 5,199
Stats Summary: ORL / WAS
Possession: 53.2% / 46.8%
Shots: 9 / 21
Shots on Goal: 2 / 6
Saves: 5 / 1
Corner Kicks: 4 / 3
Fouls: 8 / 10
Offside: 3 / 2
Officials:
REF: Adorae Monroy
AR1: Ben Pilgrim
AR2: Max Smith
4TH: Nickrod Fateh
