Pride looks to extend their unbeaten streak to four games
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Pride (2-1-1, 7 points) play its third game in eight days, taking on the Chicago Red Stars (1-1-0, 3 points) at Exploria Stadium on Sunday evening. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET with the match available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. and internationally on Twitch.
Sunday will mark the Pride’s Mission Planet Earth theme night, presented by OUC, kicking off the Club’s first-ever Sustainability Week.
“[Chicago is] a very organized team, there’s a lot of different ways they can play, different systems. We’re trying to figure out what their system might be but everyone is battling for points right now. I think it’s important that we protect our home field and get some points,” Orlando Pride Head Coach Amanda Cromwell said. “Winning is a habit and what we do on a daily basis, the little habits that we do, all the things add up to big moments. Scoring early, keeping the pedal down but we have to protect the lead better. We saw that [against Kansas City]…So we’re going to talk about little details with game management.”
The Pride are coming off a 2-1 road victory over the 2022 Challenge Cup Champion North Carolina Courage. Sydney Leroux opened the scoring early on as she put a rebound effort into the back of the net in the fourth minute, serving as her second goal of the year, both of which have come before the five-minute mark.
The game-winner came from Mikayla Cluff in the 44th minute when she slid the ball past the North Carolina goalkeeper for her first professional goal, capitalized on a blocked Leroux shot. The Pride have now won both their road games of the regular season after taking victories in North Carolina and in Los Angeles.
Saturday will be the first of two matchups against the Red Stars in the 2022 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) regular season. The two teams faced off three times in 2021 with the Pride taking away one victory thanks to goals from Leroux and former forward Jodie Taylor before dropping the other two games to Chicago.
The Red Stars fell to the San Diego Wave 2-1 in their last match. Chicago’s young players stepped up to play in big minutes for a Red Stars team depleted due to injury, including rookie Ava Cook who scored the club’s lone goal, making it her first goal as a professional.
Following Sunday’s match, Orlando will play the Washington Spirit at Exploria Stadium on Friday, May 27. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. Tickets to that match are available at Orlando-Pride.com.
