ORLANDO, Fla. (March 19, 2022) - Orlando Pride (0-0-1, 1 point) battled to a scoreless draw against the reigning NWSL Champion Washington Spirit (0-0-1, 1 point) on Saturday night at Exploria Stadium to kick off their respective Challenge Cup campaigns.
Goalkeeper Erin McLeod tallied four saves on the night to keep the Spirit scoreless, earning her first clean sheet for the Pride. On the other end, the Pride’s best chance came in the 65th minute, with Meggie Dougherty Howard hitting it off the woodwork, looking to finish a cross from Darian Jenkins on the left side of the area.
With the draw, Head Coach Amanda Cromwell becomes the first in Club history to earn a result in her coaching debut, while Dougherty Howard made her 100th NWSL appearance in all competitions, entering the match in the 62nd minute of play.
Orlando Pride Head Coach Amanda Cromwell:
“I’d say it was a roller coaster of a match, it didn’t start particularly well but we found our way into it. I think we ended the first half with some momentum and that kind of switched again to start the second half. Both teams you could see had tired legs early on. We’ve been training hard with high loads to build them up to 90 minutes, so we know because of that there were going to be some tired legs today, but then I think we got the momentum back with our substitutes. Our reserves came in and raised our level. We created some chances and I was really proud of the defensive effort. Erin [McLeod] came up with some saves when she needed to and it was interesting because I don’t think that game was necessarily a 0-0 game with the chances both teams created, but I always love getting the clean sheet.”
Scoring Recap:
None
Match Notes:
- Meggie Dougherty Howard tallied her 100th NWSL appearance in all competitions on Saturday night, entering the game in the 62nd minute for Mikayla Cluff.
- Goalkeeper Erin McLeod registered four saves en route to her first clean sheet as a member of the Pride.
- Four members of the side recorded their first starts for the Club in what also served as their respective Orlando Pride debuts on the night in Megan Montefusco, Angharad James, Mikayla Cluff and Darian Jenkins. The match also marked the professional debut for Cluff, a rookie out of BYU.
- Head Coach Amanda Cromwell made her debut at the helm for the Pride after being named the third head coach in Club history this past December, becoming the first in franchise history to earn a result in her coaching debut.
Next Match: The Pride make their first trip of 2022, traveling to take on the North Carolina Courage at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday, March 26. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.
