1 - Bouncing Back At Home
Orlando Pride returns to Orlando City Stadium on Saturday evening and will look to get its home record in sync with the team’s recent performances on the road.
Over their last three road matches, the Pride have scored nine total goals and picked up seven points with a 2-0- 1 record. The run started with a 4-2 win at Houston, followed by a thrilling 3-2 win at Sky Blue FC and a 2-2 draw at Washington.
However, Orlando has been shutout in its last two games at home - a 2-0 loss to Houston and a 1-0 loss to Chicago.
Marta will be looking to bring her goal scoring dominance to Central Florida, as seven of the forward’s eight goals have come on the road. Forward Jasmyne Spencer is the only Pride player to have scored multiple goals at Orlando City Stadium this season.
2 - Shortening The Road
The Pride, however, will have a number of opportunities to find their footing at home as the back half of the 2017 season features a majority of matches from Central Florida.
After going on the road for eight of their first 13 matches, the Pride will play just four remaining games on the road with seven home matches to play.
3 - Marta Stays In The Mix
Marta continued her goal-scoring form last week, totaling two goals in the Pride’s match at the Washington Spirit.
With eight goals on the year, the 31-year-old forward remains in the mix for the 2017 NWSL Golden Boot race. Marta is currently second in the league in goals scored - only one goal behind league-leaders Samantha Kerr and Megan Rapinoe.
Marta leads the Pride in a number of offensive categories including assists (3), shots on target (16) and chances created (34) - which is the highest total throughout the league.
4 - Views From The Spot
Through 12 weeks of NWSL play, penalty kicks have been one of the most buzzworthy storylines, especially for the Pride.
In their first 13 games, the Pride have allowed six penalty kicks with three in the last three matches. On the offensive end, the Pride have earned two penalty kicks this season - with Marta scoring on both opportunities.
Aubrey Bledsoe has faced four of the shots, making a spot on Sarah Killion’s attempt on June 28. Ashlyn Harris faced two prior to being sidelined with a quad injury.
The Boston Breakers allowed nine penalty kicks during the 2014 season, the most through the league’s history thus far.
5 - Another For Aubrey
Goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe picked up her second Save of the Week win last week, after a sprawling one-on- one save against Tori Huster in Washington. In the 29th minute, Bledsoe came off her line, using her left mitt to swat down the mid elder’s close-range chip attempt.
Bledsoe previously won Save of the Week in Week 9 for her save on Carli Lloyd.
6 - Without Groom
FC Kansas City will be without one of its biggest presences on the field on Saturday evening, as forward Shea Groom is suspended from the match due to a straight red card received last week in New Jersey.
Groom, who currently has one goal and two assists on the year, received the card after contact to the face of Sky Blue FC defender Erica Skroski.
Groom finished last season with eight goals and currently has 13 goals and four assists through her three seasons with the Blues.
