ORLANDO, Fla. (July 27, 2024) – The Orlando Pride (0-0-2, 3 points) scored two second-half goals to play to a 2-2 draw against C.F. Monterrey Femenil (0-1-1, 1 point) in the second leg of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup on Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. The Pride earned two points by winning the end-of-regulation shootout, 5-4, with Sofia Manner making a save and all five Pride players converting from the spot.
The Pride had to fight back from a goal down twice in the match with Alex Kerr leveling things at 1-1 early on in the second half, and Julie Doyle equalizing the match again at 2-2 late on in the second half. Kerr’s goal served as her first professional goal, while Doyle’s strike served as her third of the 2024 campaign and her first of the Summer Cup.
Kylie Strom tallied her first assist of the season and the second of her career on Kerr’s finish. Celia also recorded her first assist of the 2024 campaign, which also serves as her first assist of her Pride career.
The night also marked a night of firsts for a few other Pride players with Sofia Manner making her Pride and NWSL debut in the net. She made three saves on the night and one in the end-of-regulation shootout. Midfielder Evelina Duljan and forward Mariana Larroquette also earned their first starts in a Pride kit.
Scoring Summary
43’ Christina Burkenroad (Merel Van Dongen) – MTY 1, ORL 0
Just before the end of the half, visiting Rayadas took advantage of a free kick to take the early lead. Forward Nicole Perez took the long free kick and directed the ball into a crowd just inside the box. After a header from Merel Van Dongen, the ball landed at Christina Burkenroad’s foot in front of net, who was able to do just enough to get a shot into the goal.
50’ Alex Kerr (Kylie Strom) – ORL 1, MTY 1
The Pride leveled the match after Alex Kerr received the ball out wide from Kylie Strom on the right flank, dribbled in past a few defenders and got a shot off from the top of the box that was perfectly placed into the bottom corner of the net.
61’ Rebeca Bernal (Diana Evagelista) – MTY 2, ORL 1
Rayadas retook the lead after Diana Evagelista found an oncoming Rebeca Bernal at the top of the box who fired a shot into the upper corner of the net.
83’ Julie Doyle (Celia) – ORL 2, MTY 2
The Pride got a late-game equalizer thanks to second-half substitute Julie Doyle. Summer Yates gained control near midfield before finding Celia on the outside deep in Rayadas’ defensive zone. After dribbling into the box, Celia sent a low cross in front of the net and Doyle was able to redirect it to the back post.
Head Coach Seb Hines:
"Again, I keep talking about it, but character and character-building moments. It's been a while since we've gone a goal down [at home], especially in the regular season, but to be in that situation today at halftime, we talked about what type of team do we want to be when we're 1-0 down? I thought in the first half, we played a lot of direct play, and I wanted us to control the game, get a few more passes, use the middle, find the 10 in the middle and the first half we didn't do that. The [first Rayadas] goal is frustrating because what led to it, the free kick and we've been very good at defending set pieces this year. So that was disappointing. But again, the second half was a different team. We played a lot more through the middle. The second goal epitomizes what we're trying to do. A good pass out to Celia, a great 1v1, a great run from Jules [Julie Doyle] and an unbelievable finish to make it 2-2. So, that was the pleasing part.”
Match Notes:
- Alex Kerr scored her first goal of the 2024 season and her first goal as a professional.
- Julie Doyle recorded her third goal of the 2024 campaign, and her first in the Summer Cup.
- Kylie Strom earned her first assist of the year on the Kerr finish, also counting as her second assist of her NWSL career across all competitions.
- Celia recorded her first assist while donning the Pride kit on Doyle’s finish.
- Earning the start in the goal, Sofia Manner made her NWSL and Pride debut.
- Evelina Duljan, Alex Kerr and Mariana Larroquette all made their first NWSL and Pride starts in the match.
- Donning the captain's armband, Kylie Strom made her 80th appearance across all NWSL competitions.
- Head Coach Seb Hines made six changes to the Starting XI from the team’s last match against the North Carolina Courage with Sofia Manner, Cori Dyke, Evelina Duljan, Ally Lemos, Alex Kerr and Mariana Larroquette all getting the starting nod.
Next Match: The Pride will wrap up their Group Stage matches of the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup by welcoming Racing Louisville to Inter&Co Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 1. The match is set to kick off at 7 p.m. ET and will stream on Paramount+.
