ORLANDO, Fla. – It's two wins in two games for the Orlando Pride, following up their massive away win over San Diego Wave last weekend with a 1-0 win at home Saturday against Racing Louisville.
A 21st-minute goal from Messiah Bright got the Pride on the board, while the team's defensive work, along with Anna Moorhouse's seven saves, held onto the first shutout of the season.
Orlando are beginning to find themselves as the season has progressed. Especially for one of the youngest teams in the league, the rapid growth just six games in has been exciting to watch.
A factor that has played into the latest results, at least for the player's perspective, is their mentality heading into games. The idea of playing as the underdogs in every game has helped fuel their competitive fire.
"We know who we are. We know what we can do. The desire and the motivation is there," defender Megan Montefusco said, "We like being the underdogs. I think that's something that we don't talk about, but it's fun. People don't think that we can beat them and we come out and we just show them what we can do.
"I love being in the backline and just watching players like Marta and Adriana just go off on teams and they just don't see it coming. It's so fun and I'm just excited for the rest of the season."
The mentality ingrained within the Pride has taken shape ever since Seb Hines took over as head coach in the middle of last season and has progressively built up through the last few months.
"In this league, anyone can beat anyone on a day, so it's just putting belief in the players," he said. "It's not even thinking about the underdog mentality. I know a lot of people have opinions about us. You look at where the rankings before the season and they look at the roster, they put us bottom of the table and that is what it is.
"The only way to earn respect is by putting performances together like we have done in the last two and then people are more curious about your performances moving forward. So it's more like, 'Oh, watch out for Orlando now. This is what they do.' Instead of being, 'Ah, it's only Orlando.' It's just grit, determination, attitude, hard work and pretty much just relating the basics to the players."
Those simple principles have spoken volumes within the locker room over the course of the season and have finally started paying dividends. For the players, it's a battle to try and change the narrative around the Orlando Pride and write their own story as the season progresses.
"We know what everybody says about the Orlando Pride, and honestly, I think it's good," defender Kylie Strom said, "We play with a chip on our shoulder, and we have to start changing the narrative. Every game, we have to earn respect it's not going to be handed to us. We have to earn the right to play.
"Seb talks about it all the time, and I think game by game, we're doing the right things and continuing to earn respect, and I think it's really exciting and we're going to be a team that people are going to have to look out for."
