1. It came down to the end for the second straight Summer Cup game, but the Orlando Pride do not know what it means to quit. Despite missing players and having depleted depth, the home side found a way to get an equalizing goal against C.F. Monterrey Femenil to send the match to a penalty shootout, where the Pride would win 5-4.
2. After a back-and-forth first half, former Pride player Christina Burkenroad found the back of the net two minutes before halftime. The striker was one of the first draft picks by the Pride back in 2016, appearing in seven matches for Orlando in the team's first two seasons.
3. As they've done all season, the Pride found a response. Rookie Alex Kerr, who was drafted 50th overall by the Pride broke off a mazy run from the wing, beating three defenders and smashing a shot low into the left corner for her first professional goal. A memorable moment for the rookie out of Texas Tech, for sure, but not the most memorable in the match for her.
4. Rayadas would take the lead again 11 minutes later, and the Pride looked to be out of ideas for a good 15 minutes after that. It was tasked to the youngest players on the Pride roster up front to help try and create something, but the Monterrey defense shut them down fairly well.
5. At least until the 82nd minute. Summer Yates pinged a ball over to Celia on the wing, where after beating her defender into the box, she put in a low cross for Julie Doyle to redirect home. It was a big moment for both Doyle and Celia, with Julie getting her first goal in a while and Celia following up her game-tying goal last week with a game-tying assist this week. An important moment for both of them and the team's momentum.
6. The game would head to penalties for the second straight match, this time with a different goalkeeper in net for the Pride. Sofia Manner got her debut in purple (well, teal technically) and did well throughout the game, commanding her box and being aggressive off her line. In the penalty shootout, however, it was her poise in the third round of PKs that helped her save a Panenka penalty attempt from Merel van Dongen — the only save of the shootout.
7. Kerr's most memorable moment of the match was the last kick of the game, as she was able to bury the game-winning penalty in the final round of the shootout to get the Pride the extra point in the Summer Cup. With this being her first start, the ability to translate what she's been practicing to the pitch can be difficult, but she was able to do it seamlessly. After the game, she said, "I've just been watching my teammates and just learning from them in practice and in games and just seeing how they've been playing and helping translate that into a game. So, I think I did that today."
8. The Pride will now look to finish out the Summer Cup group stage strong next Thursday against Racing Louisville at Inter&Co Stadium. That match will kick off on Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. ET.
