Road Wins
The Pride look to extend their road winning streak to three games after beating North Carolina 2-1 at WakeMed Soccer Park. Their first road win came in Los Angeles at Banc of California Stadium in a 1-0 victory over Angel City FC thanks to a goal from Sydney Leroux. A win would mark the second time in Club history the Pride would have won three straight road games. The first time came in the 2017 season when the Pride beat the Boston Breakers 2-1 on August 19 at Jordan Field, FC Kansas City 2-1 on August 26 at Mercy Victory Field and the North Carolina Courage 3-2 on September 30 at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Better Late Than Never
In the last game against the Washington Spirit, Pride forward Darian Jenkins scored a late equalizer in the 98th minute. Julie Doyle collected the ball and sent it across the box. After taking a slight deflection, the ball fell to the feet of Jenkins who calmly passed it past the sprawling Spirit goalkeeper and into the back of the net. With the goal, Jenkins recorded the latest goal in NWSL regular-season history with the ball crossing the line at 97:25.
Not Once, but Twice
The Pride have now scored multiple goals in four-consecutive games after earning a 2-2 draw in their most recent matchup against the Washington Spirit on May 27. The streak started on May 14 in a 2-2 draw with Kansas City and has extended through a 2-1 victory at North Carolina on May 18 and a 4-2 defeat to the Chicago Red Stars on May 22. This is the first time the Pride have hit the streak since the summer of 2019 when Orlando compiled a five-game streak of multiple goals.
Down, but Never Out
For the second time this season the Pride managed to fight back at home and score in second-half stoppage time to earn a point. The first time this year came on May 14 when defender Toni Pressley stepped up to the penalty spot and fired a missile into the roof of the net to level the score in the 96th minute. The second time, the heroics came from Mikayla Cluff and Darian Jenkins who both tallied to level late in the match.
Clutch Cluff
Pride midfielder Mikayla Cluff’s first professional goal served as a game winner against North Carolina earlier in the year. In the Club’s last game against the Spirit, Cluff bagged her second goal of her career and season in the 95th minute, sparking the comeback for the Pride. Jordyn Listro floated the ball into the box where it found Cluff crashing towards goal. Cluff rose above the backline and headed it home for the Pride.
Milestone Tracker
- Sydney Leroux is one goal away from recording her 40th career regular season goal. She would become the ninth player in league history to reach the mark.
- Erin McLeod’s next shutout will be the 10th of her NWSL career. McLeod is five saves away from 250 across all NWSL competitions.
- Erika Tymrak is eight appearances away from 150 across NWSL regular season competitions.
- Megan Montefusco is five appearances away from 150 across all NWSL competitions.
