KANSAS CITY, Ks. (July 31, 2022) - Orlando Pride (3-5-5, 14 points) mounted a two-goal lead but settled for a share of the points on Sunday night, after the Kansas City Current (5-4-4, 19 points) scored two of their own in the second half for a 2-2 final at Children’s Mercy Park. With the draw, the Pride extended their unbeaten run to four-straight games, going 1-0-3 over the last four matches to compile an unbeaten month of July, the first in Club history.
The Pride were led by goals from Celia and Julie Doyle, both their first in a Pride kit, while Doyle’s goal marked the first of her professional career.
Erika Tymrak and Meggie Dougherty Howard picked up assists on the goals, respectively. It was the second of the year for Tymrak and the first of the regular season for Dougherty Howard.
Acting Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines:
“Disappointed because we put ourselves in a great position to win the game. We knew how important this game was as Kansas are in playoff position and we’re chasing to get into a playoff position. We said before the game that we wanted to walk away from here with three points. I can’t fault the players, they put everything into it. They’re disappointed as well. So, overall, really pleased with the first half. We took it to Kansas, who are in good form right now, I think now they are unbeaten in eight. We got our goal, started the second half extremely well and got another goal. I think the evolution of us would be to, when we are up in games, weather storms and, when the opponent starts punching more players forward, can we get ourselves out of those situations? [To] where we can defend effectively and attack with penetration passes and play our style of play, even though the emphasis is on them to try to get an equalizer and get back into the game.”
Scoring Recap:
25’ Celia (Erika Tymrak) - ORL 1, KC 0
The visitors took the lead off the head of defender Celia, who made a run through the box and beat her defender to a perfectly-placed cross from Erika Tymrak.
46’ Julie Doyle (Meggie Dougherty Howard) - ORL 2, KC 0
Off the second half kickoff, Kerry Abello caused a turnover at midfield that led to a break for the Pride. Abello was eventually played a through ball, with KC’s goalkeeper coming off her line but unable to hold possession. Meggie Dougherty Howard picked up the loose ball and found Julie Doyle streaking through the middle, winning a cross between two defenders to make it a two-goal lead.
57’ Elyse Bennett (Hallie Mace) - ORL 2, KC 1
The home side pulled one back off the foot of Elyse Bennett, with the rookie driving into the box on the right side before driving a low shot into the far side for the Current’s first goal of the night.
82’ Cece Kizer (Lo’eau LaBonta) - ORL 2, KC 2
The Current found an equalizer late in the match after Cece Kizer was played in over the top. The forward was able to get a toe on the ball to beat Erin McLeod who came off her line before hitting it home to level things up.
Match Notes:
- With the draw, Orlando earned points in four-straight games, going 1-0-3 over their last four matches.
- The Pride finished the month of July unbeaten, the first time in Club history the team did not record a loss during the month.
- The 25th-minute goal by Celia marked the second of her career and first in a Pride uniform, with her last coming on July 5, 2019 in a 1-0 win for the then-Reign FC.
- Julie Doyle’s 46th-minute score marked the first of her professional career, coming in her fourth career start.
- Erika Tymrak earned her second assist of the season on Celia’s goal. Tymrak, who played the first five seasons of her career for the former FC Kansas City, recorded her 160th appearance across all competitions.
- Meggie Dougherty Howard recorded her first assist of the year with the helper on Doyle’s goal.
- Megan Montefusco picked up her fifth yellow card of the season and will be suspended for the Pride’s next match on Aug. 7 against Angel City FC.
- Seb Hines made two changes to his starting lineup, with Carrie Lawrence returning to the backline and Julie Doyle getting the nod up top.
Next Match: The Pride return home to Exploria Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 7, set to host 2022 expansion side Angel City FC. The match is scheduled to kickoff at 7 p.m. ET.
