ORLANDO, Fla. (May 24, 2018) - Three days after its last match, Orlando Pride (3-3-3, 12 points) heads to Chicago for the second time this season to face the Red Stars (2-2-6, 12 points) at Toyota Park. The game will be nationally televised as the Lifetime Game of the Week with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET.
“We obviously picked up a big win the last time we were in Chicago but we are returning to face a team that has some key players back in the lineup since the last time we faced them,” Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. “Any team with Sam Kerr is dangerous and with a quick turnaround from Wednesday, it’ll be important that we get in proper recovery and do our best to create and execute the best game plan. No game in this league is easy but we know what our team is capable of and the skill we possess on our roster.”
Orlando will seek its second consecutive victory in Chicago after earning its first-ever win over the Red Stars on May 2. Chioma Ubogagu and Rachel Hill scored and Ashlyn Harris only needed to make one save to hand the Red Stars their first regular-season shutout at Toyota Park.
The Pride are coming off a 4-3 loss to the league-leading North Carolina Courage on Wednesday. North Carolina mounted a 3-1 lead in the second half but Alanna Kennedy scored and Marta picked up a second assist on Hill’s equalizer eight minutes after she came on. Jessica McDonald scored the game-winner in the 90th minute.
Ubogagu leads the team and is tied for second in the league with four goals this season. Christine Nairn is tied for the first in the league with three assists. Harris is tied for second in the NWSL with three clean sheets, which is one from tying the Club record for shutouts in a single season.
Chicago enters the match after a scoreless draw in Seattle on Saturday. The Red Stars have drawn all three games since losing to Orlando 2-0 on May 2.
Sofia Huerta and Alyssa Mautz lead Chicago with three goals each, while Huerta and Danielle Colaprico have two assists apiece.
This is the second of three meeting of 2018 between the two teams. The Red Stars visit Orlando City Stadium in the Pride’s regular-season home finale on Aug. 25.
