SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Orlando Pride (1-4-0, 3 points) earned a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Wave (3-2-0, 9 points) on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium. The victory serves as the first of the 2023 campaign for the Pride across all competitions. The Pride are also the first visiting team to defeat the Wave at Snapdragon Stadium as well as the first visiting team to score three goals at the venue in the 2022 expansion side’s history.
Forward Adriana tallied a goal and an assist on the night to help earn the victory. Both goal contributions served as her firsts for the Club and in the NWSL for the Brazilian international who signed with the Pride during the offseason. It is the first time the Pride have had a player score a goal and assist on a goal since Darian Jenkins did so last season on July 3 against Racing Louisville at Daytona International Speedway.
The Pride were also backed by goals from Mikayla Cluff and Haley McCutcheon, which both served as the players' first goals of the season. Viviana Villacorta and Erika Tymrak also picked up their first assists of the year in the match, while Anna Moorhouse made three saves for the win.
With the victory the Pride have extended their unbeaten streak against the San Diego Wave to three games after earning a draw and a victory last season over the West Coast side. The Pride have also won every road match they have played against the Wave, picking up the victory this year at Snapdragon Stadium and last year at Torero Stadium.
Scoring Summary:
12’ Jaedyn Shaw (Makenzy Doniak) – SD 1, ORL 0
The home side opened the scoring with Makenzy Doniak getting the ball along the left flank and whipping the cross into the box, which found the foot of Jaedyn Shaw at the near post who was able to put it home.
26’ Mikayla Cluff (Adriana) – ORL 1, SD 1
The Pride answered with Adriana taking the corner kick and sending in an inswinging ball into a crowded box, which found the head of Mikayla Cluff who made no mistake with the finish and leveled the match.
43’ Haley McCutcheon (Viviana Villacorta) – ORL 2, SD 1
The Pride took the lead with Viviana Villacorta sending a looping ball into the box which found a sprinting Haley McCutcheon who headed the ball over Kailen Sheridan and into the back of the net.
69’ Adriana (Erika Tymrak) - ORL 3, SD 1
The Pride doubled their advantage in the second half with Erika Tymrak driving the midfield and passing the ball off to Adriana who made a double move and struck the ball of with her right foot, between the legs of the hitting the inside of the post and crossing the goal line.
Head Coach Seb Hines:
“Obviously delighted with the win. It was a great team performance, from all the players, the intensity of in possession and out possession was terrific and to come to a place like this and come away with three points is really impressive. [We’ve been] trusting in the players because we've had glimpses of what we can do in previous games, but today was probably the most overall, complete performance that we've put together. So I'm really happy for the players and all the staff to come away with three points.”
Match Notes:
- With the win, the Pride become the first team to defeat San Diego at Snapdragon Stadium and the first visiting team to score three goals at the home of the Wave.
- The Pride remain undefeated all-time against San Diego, after earning a road win in 2022 before drawing at Exploria Stadium in the second meeting of 2022.
- Mikayla Cluff recorded her first goal of the year with a header in the 26th minute. Cluff's last goal came last year on May 27th when she scored the first of two goals for the Pride in second-half stoppage time to come back and earn a draw against the Washington Spirit.
- Haley McCutcheon tallied her first goal of the 2023 campaign and her first goal while with Orlando. It is McCutcheon’s second career goal and first since the 2018 season while she was with the Houston Dash.
- Forward Adriana picked up her first goal and assist while donning the Pride kit, both of which served as her first in the NWSL as well after the Brazilian international signed with the Pride in the offseason.
- Viviana Villacorta also recorded her first assist of the year and her first goal contribution while with the Pride. Villacorta was originally selected by the Pride No. 9 overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft.
- Erika Tymrak earned her first assist of the year on the Adriana finish. The helper counts as Tymrak’s fifth assist of her career while with the Pride and her 19th in the NWSL.
- Head Coach Seb Hines made a total of four changes to his starting XI with Anna Moorehouse, Mikayla Cluff, Erika Tymrak and Messiah Bright all entering the lineup.
Next Match: The Orlando Pride will return home to Exploria Stadium to welcome Racing Louisville on Saturday, April 6. Kickoff for that match is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
