About Last Time
The Pride earned its first win of the 2021 regular season in its last matchup with the Courage, a 2-1 victory at WakeMed Soccer Park on May 22. The loss served as the first at home for the Courage since June 16, 2018, a span of 23 undefeated games over 1,071 days. Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan each found the back of the net in the match, the latter scoring the game-winner following a flick from Taylor Kornieck.
A Potential Pride Debut
The Pride’s latest signee Amy Turner could make her NWSL debut on Sunday, also the defender’s 30th birthday, after being signed by the Club on June 25 when the team takes on the North Carolina Courage. Turner comes to Orlando after nearly three years at Manchester United, appearing in 67 contests across all competitions and scoring four goals since joining the FA WSL side in July of 2018.
A First in Purple
Gunny Jónsdóttir scored her first goal as a member of the Pride this past weekend against the Houston Dash in the 49th minute. The finish came after a stretch of three-consecutive corner kicks for Orlando, the third and final coming off the foot of Marta before finding the head of Jónsdóttir at the near post. The goal served as her third in her NWSL career, the other two coming as a member of Utah Royals FC.
4 for 4
Marta now has assisted or scored in the last four games for the Pride, the streak beginning on June 6 against the Washington Spirit. The six-time FIFA World Player of the Year provided the assist for Taylor Kornieck’s first regular season goal, before doing the same for Courtney Petersen against Gotham FC. Marta then got one herself when she scored a golazo at Kansas City, catching goalkeeper Abby Smith off her line off a strike from just past midfield. This past weekend against Houston, Marta assisted on the Pride’s only goal when she sent in a corner kick towards the near post, finding the head of Gunny Jónsdóttir for the finish.
Scoring Streak
A streak kept alive at the weekend thanks to the head of Gunny Jónsdóttir, the Orlando Pride remain the only team in the NWSL yet to be shut out on the year. Sitting tied with the Portland Thorns and North Carolina at 12 goals scored this season, two-thirds of those have come from forwards Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux, both tied for second in the league at four finishes each. Taylor Kornieck, Courtney Petersen, Gunny Jónsdóttir and Marta account for the Pride’s other four goals this campaign.
Draw 3
Before the start of the 2021 regular season, Orlando and North Carolina had played to three straight draws. Dating back to the 2020 Fall Series, the Pride opened that very competition with a scoreless draw at WakeMed Soccer Park on Sept. 19 before coming from behind to post a 3-3 draw at Exploria Stadium just under a month later. The two teams then met in the 2021 Challenge Cup, playing to another scoreless draw on May 1.
Captain’s Appearances
If Ashlyn Harris makes an appearance in the match against North Carolina, she will be tied with former Pride defender Kristen Edmonds for second most appearances all-time for the Club. This would bring her to 69 regular-season matches for Orlando, all of which have been starts. Harris sits only four appearances behind former Pride midfielder Dani Weatherholt, with 73 for the Club-record.
