ORLANDO, Fla. (July 16, 2021) - Orlando Pride (4-2-4, 16 points) travels to Providence Park to take on Portland Thorns FC (5-3-1, 16 points) on Sunday, July 18. Kickoff for the match is set for 10:30 p.m. ET, with the contest available to stream exclusively on Twitch.
“[Portland has] phenomenal threats. They have so much quality and they play slightly different when they’re in front of their home fans. We’re going to have to be very disciplined when we’re away from the ball and then, when we get it, we have to express ourselves like they do,” Orlando Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner said. “We feel really good; it’s been a while since we went to Portland. It’s a beautiful place to be, it’s a real footballing challenge because they have a great fan base over there as we do here...We’re really looking forward to going over there, because we’re a different team than when we first approached that [May 26] game. I think there’s an excitement, there’s a verve, there’s an energy. We want to go out there and show who we are now.”
Sunday will serve as the second regular season matchup between the Orlando Pride and Portland. The two sides met in May where the Pride secured its first victory over the Thorns since May 12, 2018 and the Club’s first-ever home win over the Thorns. Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux scored in the affair, with Portland’s lone goal coming from Simone Charley.
The Pride look to continue building off the team’s come-from-behind result against Racing Louisville this past Friday. Louisville struck first when the team scored in the 21st minute. The Pride would go on to find an equalizer in the 94th minute when Sydney Leroux managed to score on a Taylor Kornieck assist. The game-tying goal would go down as the latest goal scored in Orlando Pride history.
Taylor Kornieck tallied her third assist of the season, tying her with Marta in the category. Both Kornieck and Marta have each contributed a goal on the season as well. Leroux’s late goal propelled her to five on the season, a team best. Alex Morgan follows closely behind with four.
The Thorns enter Sunday’s matchup after a scoreless draw with NJ/NY Gotham FC in their last outing. This was the second time this season that the Thorns were held scoreless. In the team’s contest against Racing Louisville on July 3, Portland won 2-0 with help from Simone Charley and Rocky Rodriguez, who both netted goals in the matchup.
The Thorns currently have eight goal scorers on the season, a league high. Charley currently leads Portland in goals at three on the season and teammates Rodriguez, Christine Sinclair, and Sophie Smith both have two apiece. Morgan Weaver leads the club with two assists on the season.
Following Sunday’s match, the Pride host OL Reign in Orlando on Saturday, July 24. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET at Exploria Stadium.
