Match Preview: Orlando Pride vs. North Carolina Courage
Exploria Stadium | Orlando, Florida – Wednesday, September 21 at 7:00 PM ET
Players to watch:
The Pride have failed to score in their last two matches, but in the prior three midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howard scored twice including once from the spot to help Orlando win two of those matches. Unfortunately, the club has lost its last three matches with Dougherty Howard’s goal three weeks ago the lone tally. Orlando joins Gotham FC as the only clubs to not have a player score four goals or more this season, but the Pride are the only squad to not have a player score three or more goals in a season with Gotham’s Midge Purce and Paige Monaghan scoring three.
In North Carolina’s most recent outing, their lone goal in a loss against the Reign occurred when the side forced an Alana Cook own goal. The Courage had not forced an own goal in a regular season game since September of 2019 (vs. Orlando) but had done so in three Challenge Cup games and one NWSL playoff game since then. However, forward Kerolin has scored three times in the last three matches and five times in the last five, with midfielder Debinha being heavily involved in the attacking play as well.
Match facts: The Orlando Pride host the North Carolina Courage at Exploria Stadium to jointly kick off the league’s midweek action. The match pits the Pride, who looking to end the season on a high note, against North Carolina, who is still holding onto hope though they would need help from others around the league.
The Pride have followed a seven-game unbeaten streak (W3 D4) with three straight losses—the most recent of which came in a 2-0 shutout against Louisville on Friday. In the match, Orlando had seven shots on target which was its most in a loss this season.
North Carolina, meanwhile, dropped a 2-1 result at home against OL Reign which ended a three-game winning streak of their own. It was also the Courage’s sixth loss this season in a match in which the team scored a goal, the most such losses in NWSL in 2022.
North Carolina has won four consecutive regular season road games against the Pride with the last three games all being multi-goal, shutout wins. It is the only time in NWSL history that a team has had three consecutive road shutouts against a single opponent while also scoring multiple goals in each game.
