ORLANDO, Fla. (March 29, 2018) - In its first road match of the season, Orlando Pride (0-0-1, 1 point) visits the Maryland SoccerPlex to take on the Washington Spirit (0-1-0, 0 points) on Saturday, March 31. The NWSL Game of the Week will be nationally televised on Lifetime at 3:30 p.m. ET.
“[Washington] presents us with a lot of pace and energy. They’re a young team so they have a lot of enthusiasm. They had a tough start in Seattle last week, they were very close to getting the result, so I think they will want to do well in their first game at home. It is like any game, particular in away games in this league, they are all tough,” Orlando Pride Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. “We’ve got an extremely experienced team going out this weekend and we’ve got a team with players who have been together all this time this offseason and some that have been together for years. We are confident in the players going out on the field.”
The Pride enter the match following last week’s Opening Day draw against Utah Royals FC. Utah opened the scoring in the third minute, but Dani Weatherholt drew a penalty later in the first half and Marta calmly finished from the spot to equalize.
The goal was Marta’s 14th with Orlando, putting her atop the Pride’s all-time scoring list. Newcomers Poliana, Shelina Zadorsky, Carson Pickett, Christine Nairn and Sydney Leroux all made their Pride debuts.
Joanna Lohman scored Washington’s only goal in their season-opening loss to Seattle Reign FC. Former Pride goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe, who was traded to Washington on Jan. 23 in exchange for Zadorsky, made 10 saves.
This is the sixth all-time meeting between these two teams. The Pride went 1-0-2 against Washington in 2017. Danica Evans scored her first career goal to equalize against the Spirit in the Pride’s first ever match at Orlando City Stadium on April 22. The teams split points in Maryland on July 8 before the Pride won 3-0 on Aug. 8.
Orlando will be without Marta, Monica and Poliana, who will be with the Brazil national team, as well as Alanna Kennedy and Emily van Egmond, who are away with the Australia national team. Both countries are beginning preparations for their respective 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.
Forward Alex Morgan is also questionable for the match after entering concussion protocol following a collision with Utah goalkeeper Abby Smith on Saturday.
