In the first half, Orlando Pride started the game pretty much dominating all attacking chances. The intensity of Orlando Pride’s defensive midfielders was too much to handle for Bay FC, forcing them to make mistakes and turnover the ball constantly. Barbra Banda muscled up Bay FC’s defense and almost had two close chances at the dawn of the game. Emily Sams, again solid on defense, and Kerry Abello, super influential marking up Zambian international Rachal Kundananji. One important player that did not go unnoticed in this first half was Summer Yates, who took it upon herself to be the creator of most opportunities in attack for the Pride. Summer linked up perfectly in transition with Adriana. In 20 minutes, the Pride was the team that owned most attacking chances. In the 32nd minute, Adriana scored the first count for the Pride through an awarded PK. Immediately following that play, Kerry Abello connected a shross that almost became the second goal for Orlando. The Pride, before the half ended, dominated all chances and was the better team on the pitch. There was no doubt about that. At the death of the first half, Banda had a great shot from distance and Rowland came up big time with the save. Rowland was a lifesaver for Bay FC. Orlando Pride could’ve been up by 2 or 3 goals, but the goalkeeper had a great overall performance putting out fires and saving her squad.
In the second half, Orlando came close to scoring the second one with another drive from Zambian International, Barbra Banda. Throughout the second half, the Pride overpowered their opponent. Bay FC made some substitutions and they improved their momentum slightly. In the 57th minute, Kunananji tried to pull a “Banda” and attempted to dribble past Orlando’s backline, but this totally backfired on her. Orlando’s solid backline neutralized her promptly. Again, the Pride went on the attacking onslaught. This time it was Adriana, who shot the ball to the near post, but Rowland again came up big for Bay FC. In the final 15 minutes, Bay FC started to gain some momentum and create some chances. Bay started to hold onto possession in Orlando’s box. Seb realized that and subbed in Bri Martinez and Cori Dyke for attacking-minded players Adriana and Summer Yates. In the 84th minute, Haley McCutcheon won the ball and passed it to Marta. The Brazilian legend spotted Banda wide open and provided a wonderful pass. The striker took a shot from a distance, but Rowland got the ball quite easily. Another big chance was at the death of the game, Watt carried the ball to the top of Bay FC’s box. Ally attempted a shot towards the far post, but Rowland had another huge save.
The Orlando Pride have now won six straight games and extended their unbeaten run to nine games to start the season. This streak ties the team record in 2017.
Until next match, Vamos Pride!
