A 1-1 draw was the outcome of the match between Racing Louisville FC (6-6-3) and the Orlando Pride (8-4-3, 27 points) at Inter&Co Stadium. Two penalties were saved by each side. The visiting team took the lead just before halftime thanks to Marisa DiGrande, then Ary Borges scored an own goal off a late set piece by the Pride. In terms of possession and scoring chances, the Pride were unparalleled. Plus, after earning two penalties in the final minutes, they should have maintained their lead. The Pride lost a second straight game because they failed to capitalize on two more opportunities.
Doyle got the Pride’s first opportunity of the game after Chilufya sent a cross into the penalty area in the second minute. The ball was knocked out as Doyle was about to touch it, sending McCutcheon racing to the far corner of the penalty area. That strike, though, was wide of the mark for the midfielder. A hazardous pass was thrown into the penalty area in the third minute, giving Louisville its first serious opportunity to score. Due to Savannah DeMelo’s inability to maintain control, the ball was eventually knocked out for a corner kick. Despite DiGrande and DeMelo’s set piece, which Moorhouse had nothing to do with, the goal was eventually scored.
In the eleventh minute, the Pride had their second chance of the match when, after advancing the ball down the left side of the field, Dyke found Lemos in the center of the field. The attacker tried to shoot from outside the penalty area, but his shot missed the target.
Shortly thereafter, following a turnover near midfield, Banda was sent into the penalty area by Chilufya. When Banda tried to fire the ball towards the goal, a defender was on her hip. Despite everyone’s best efforts, the distant post remained unaffected.
A pass from Dyke to Chilufya on the right side of the penalty area could have given the Pride the lead in the 16th minute. Doyle was given a wide opening near the penalty area as a result of Banda’s dribbling, which was stealing defenders. Chilufya located her teammate and set Doyle up for a goal, but Doyle fouled her shot and missed the target. While a number of players were rushing towards the back post, DeMelo set up the following set piece. Taylor Flint was the first to get to the ball, but she headed it wide.
Banda crossed the ball to Janine Sonis in the 43rd minute from the left side just as Ellie Jean and Sonis were going to clash. Jean brought the striker down just as she was slipping past the defenders and into the box. The Pride were penalized when Petrunok gestured towards the penalty area.
Doyle calmly collected the penalty kick while Lemos remained positioned over the ball. The attacker diverted her attempt to the bottom right corner. The fact that Bloomer dove in that direction and failed to hit the mark proved his suspicion.
Clearing the second set piece put an end to the attack without giving the ball away. As an additional consequence of the Pride’s missed opportunities, Louisville made them pay. Once Sonis’s cross reached the far post, it struck every player save DiGrande. After showing excellent control of the ball, the midfielder placed the ball past Moorhouse to give the away team a 1-0 lead.
Louisville will probably play it easy when they’re on the road. But the away team went ahead in the first play after halftime.
A throw into the six-yard box went narrowly over Emma Sears’s head in the first two minutes of the game, nearly doubling Louisville’s lead. Fortunately, Moorhouse grabbed it and prevented any further damage.
Pride had their first opportunity of the half in the 53rd minute when striker Banda turned on the ball and sent it towards goal. But to come to a stop, Bloomer stayed the same as she had all night. Hines tried to get back into the game by making three substitutes in the 60th minute. The game was rescheduled to include Simone Jackson, Ally Watt, and Rafaelle instead of Doyle, Chilufya, and Dyke. Calmness returned to the game following replacements, and in the ten minutes that followed, Gautrat had the best opportunity, but he missed the target.
Hines made his final two substitutes in the 71st minute, replacing Gautrat and Lemos with Simone Charley and Angelina, respectively.
Both players were presented with chances to make a contribution in the 73rd minute. Angelina fired the shot that was blocked. Charley grabbed the block and unleashed her own barrage of shots. However, Bloomer easily came to a halt since she narrowly avoided it.
Charley dribbled the ball towards the Louisville box after recovering it from Flint in the 79th minute. The midfielder’s effort to pull her back was unsuccessful. Quickly catching up, Katie O’Kane laid her body on top of Charley after knocking the assailant to the ground.
The referee summoned Petrunok back to his seat to reevaluate the play after he had first indicated a foul beyond the penalty area. Following a comprehensive evaluation, the Pride were assessed with their second penalty of the evening.
Angelina took the penalty kick. It was the perfect height for Bloomer to divert the penalty, and it was also poorly placed.
In the 89th minute, the Pride were granted a second chance after Banda took control of the ball in Louisville’s side of the field. The youngster saw Jackson as she was going to step into the box. However, Jackson had a hard time aiming since the ball kept popping up on him. She failed to hit her mark as a result.
After O’Kane’s foul in the second minute of stoppage time, the Pride were given a second chance to score. They took advantage of it. After receiving the ball from Angelina, Pickett curled a cross into the box, which Pickett then headed on. Charley swung it forward with her head towards Nadaner, who was standing at the back post. When Borges headed the ball into her own net instead of the center back’s, the game was deadlocked at one goal each.
The Pride have now trailed at halftime in consecutive games and have had to come back to get a draw. They lost the advantage in the fourth minute on Sunday, despite scoring in the 72nd minute. Even though they let in a goal just before halftime, they found a way to score again in the dying minutes to salvage a draw.
After playing to a draw with lower-ranked opponents twice next Saturday, the Pride will go to Kansas City to take on the current leaders, the Current.
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