BOYDS, Md. (June 23, 2018) – Orlando Pride (6-3-4, 22 points) earned its first ever win at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday night, shutting out the Washington Spirit (2-8-4, 10 points) 1-0 behind Alanna Kennedy’s goal of the year nominee strike.
With the three points, the Pride are now unbeaten in their last six away matches, dating back to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars on May 2. During that span, Orlando has gone 4-0-2, outscored opponents 10-3 and earned four shutouts.
“Pleased with a lot of things we did, particularly in the first half. I thought the first half performance was one of our better performances we’ve had away from home, we probably just didn’t finish things off as well as I thought we could have and the second half we had to really battle,” Pride Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. “The Spirit came back really strongly in the second half, really fought hard to get back in the game and made life difficult for us But. to our credit, I think our players dug in and worked really hard to get the win. All in all, delighted to get a win here for the first time.”
Eleven minutes into the match, Kennedy scored what would be the only goal needed for the Pride to walk away with all three points. Just past the midfield mark, the Australian midfielder intercepted a pass from Washington’s Joanna Lohman and took one touch into the Pride’s offensive half. Kennedy caught Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe off her line, firing a 50-yard shot over Bledsoe and into the back of the net. It was Kennedy’s second goal of the season.
The Pride defense picked up their fifth clean sheet of the season as well, as Ashlyn Harris made three saves in the win.
Just before the half, fellow Aussie Emily van Egmond came inches from putting the Pride ahead by two goals, but her shot whistled just wide of the far post.
The Pride return home for two matches next week, first facing the Houston Dash at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday night and then hosting league-leading North Carolina Courage on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Tickets for all Pride home games can be purchased at orlando-pride.com/tickets or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
NWSL Match Report
Match: Washington Spirit vs. Orlando Pride
Date: June 23, 2018
Venue: Maryland SoccerPlex
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Attendance: 4,005
Weather: Clear
Scoring Summary:
ORL - Alanna Kennedy 11’
Lineups:
Orlando Pride: Ashlyn Harris ©; Poliana, Monica, Shelina Zadorsky, Carson Pickett; Alanna Kennedy, Emily van Egmond (Marta 71’), Christine Nairn (Toni Pressley 77’); Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, Chioma Ubogagu (Rachel Hill 63’)
Substitutes Not Used: Haley Kopmeyer; Camila; Kristen Edmonds; Danica Evans
Washington Spirit: Aubrey Bledsoe; Taylor Smith, Whitney Church, Estelle Johnson ©, Caprice Dydasco; Rebecca Quinn (Tiffany Weimer 83’), Andi Sullivan, Tori Huster; Francisca Ordega, Ashley Hatch, Joanna Lohman (Meggie Dougherty Howard 57’)
Substitutes Not Used: DiDi Haracic, Kelsey Wys; Rose Lavelle; Estefania Banini
Stats Summary: WAS / ORL
Possession: 50.5% / 49.5%
Shots: 17 / 7
Shots on Goal: 3 / 2
Saves: 1 / 3
Corner Kicks: 0 / 2
Fouls: 10 / 5
Offside: 1 / 7
Misconduct Summary:
WAS - Caprice Dydasco (Yellow Card) 18’
WAS - Meggie Dougherty Howard (Yellow Card) 92’
Officials:
Referee: Eric Tattersall
Assistant Referee 1: Ian McKay
Assistant Referee 2: Amilcar Sicaju
Fourth Official: Jasmine Peralta
