BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (Aug. 8, 2021) - Orlando Pride (5-4-5, 20 points) earned an important 2-0 victory on the road on Sunday night, defeating host Chicago Red Stars (6-6-2, 20 points) at SeatGeek Stadium. The Pride were driven by a goal on each side of the half, with Jodie Taylor capitalizing first for her first goal as a member of the Pride, while Sydney Leroux scored her seventh of the year to close out the match. With the goal, Leroux has now taken sole possession of the league-lead in that category.
Ashlyn Harris earned her second shutout of the regular season, making a big stop in the 29th minute to preserve the win. The clean sheet also came on a historic night for the Pride captain as she earned her 74th regular season appearance with Orlando to become the Club’s all-time leader.
Ali Krieger and Erika Tymrak earned assists on the goals, the second in as many games for Krieger and the first as a member of the Pride for Tymrak.
The victory also marked the first for interim Head Coach Becky Burleigh, who just last week also earned her first NWSL point in a 1-1 draw at the North Carolina Courage. The Pride now sit in fourth place in the NWSL, tied with both NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Red Stars with 20 points.
Orlando Pride Interim Head Coach Becky Burleigh:
“We knew we had our hands full [tonight]. Chicago has been playing really, really well. They’ve been on quite a tear lately and they brought it to us, especially early we were under the gun. But I think we weathered that initial pressure from them and got a little more into our game plan. We’re fortunate to score two really nice goals and have a really great defensive team effort.”
Scoring Recap:
15’ Jodie Taylor (Ali Krieger) - ORL 1, CHI 0
The Pride got on the board early into the match, with Ali Krieger notching her second assist in as many games with a long ball over the top to Jodie Taylor. Taylor collected the ball inside the box before cutting to her right foot for her first goal as a member of the Pride.
89’ Sydney Leroux (Erika Tymrak) - ORL 2, CHI 0
Sydney Leroux put the game away with her second goal in as many games, this time sliding home a shot following a tremendous individual effort from Erika Tymrak who earned the assist on the play.
Match Notes:
- With the start on Sunday, goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris recorded her 74 all-time regular season appearance with the Pride, passing former midfielder Dani Weatherholt to become the Club’s all-time appearance leader.
- With her 89th minute goal, Sydney Leroux took sole possession of the league lead for goals scored, now holding seven to her name through 14 matches.
- Interim Head Coach Becky Burleigh earned her first NWSL win and recorded her second-consecutive result to start her tenure in Orlando.
- Harris earned her second shutout of the regular season, and fourth across all competitions, with the win.
- Ali Krieger recorded her second assist of the season, and second in as many matches, on her 15th minute helper to Jodie Taylor. Krieger picked up her first assist of the year last week, assisting Sydney Leroux in a 1-1 draw at North Carolina.
- Forward Jodie Taylor recorded her first goal as a member of the Pride on Sunday, which coincidentally came on the one-month anniversary of her signing with Orlando. With the goal, Taylor now holds 29 NWSL goals to her name.
- Erika Tymrak earned her first assist as a member of the Pride with her 89th minute contribution, the midfielder’s first NWSL assist since Sept. 14, 2019 when she was a member of the Utah Royals.
- Forward Marta and defender Ali Riley made their return to the lineup in the match, earning their first minutes since July 4 and July 9, respectively, after participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
- Phoebe McClernon played her first minutes of the season at right back, entering the match at the start of the second half for Ali Riley.
Next Match: The Pride welcome home their Olympians and return to the comforts of Exploria Stadium next week, set to host league-leading Portland Thorns FC on Saturday evening. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET with tickets available at Orlando-Pride.com.
Scoring Summary:
ORL - Jodie Taylor (Ali Krieger) 15’
ORL - Sydney Leroux (Erika Tymrak) 89’
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Jodie Taylor (Yellow Card) 43’
ORL - Amy Turner (Yellow Card) 45+2’
ORL - Taylor Kornieck (Yellow Card) 69’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando Pride - GK Ashlyn Harris ©; D Ali Riley (Phoebe McClernon 46’), Ali Krieger, Amy Turner, Courtney Petersen (Kylie Strom 90+1’); Gunny Jónsdóttir, Meggie Dougherty Howard (Erika Tymrak 63’), Marisa Viggiano; F Marta (Chelsee Washington 90+3’), Jodie Taylor (Taylor Kornieck 63’), Sydney Leroux
Substitutes Not Used: GK Brittany Wilson; D Ally Haran, Toni Pressley; F Crystal Thomas
Chicago Red Stars - GK Cassie Miller; D Sarah Gorden, Kayla Sharples, Alyssa Mautz (Makenzy Doniak 73’), Tatumn Milazzo; M Morgan Gautrat (Katie Johnson 62’), Sarah Woldmoe, Danielle Colaprico (Ella Stevens 72’); F Kealia Watt, Rachel Hill (Sarah Luebbert 73’), Mallory Pugh
Substitutes Not Used: GK Emily Boyd; D Zoe Morse, Bianca St. Georges, Zoey Goralski; M Nikki Stanton
Details of the Game:
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Weather: Windy
Date: Aug. 8, 2021
Attendance: 3,298
Stats Summary: ORL / CHI
Possession: 53.7% / 46.3%
Shots: 8 / 14
Shots on Goal: 5 / 4
Saves: 3 / 3
Corner Kicks: 3 / 12
Fouls: 12 / 9
Offside: 2 / 1
Officials:
REF: Luis Guardia
AR1: Meghan Mullen
AR2: Tiffini Turpin
4TH: Erin Patterson
