Breaking the Deadlock...Round 7
The Pride and Reign have played to six consecutive draws dating back to May 21, 2017. The two sides drew 1-1 earlier this season on April 21, with Alanna Kennedy opening the scoring with a bicycle kick in the sixth minute only to be answered by a finish from Bethany Balcer in the 20th. The two drew twice in 2017 and three times last season, playing to two 1-1 results on both April 28 and July 21 with goals from Marta and Toni Pressley, respectively, and a scoreless draw on June 3. Prior to the beginning of this streak, the two split the series in 2016, both earning a victory at home. Overall, the Pride hold a 1-1-6 record against Saturday’s opposition.
Finding Her Groove
Forward Rachel Hill scored her second goal of the season while registering two assists over the Pride’s last two matches. Hill recorded the assist on Chioma Ubogagu’s eventual game-winner in the 61st minute on Wednesday, August 21 in Chicago before adding another in Washington on Saturday, August 24 on Marta’s first-half equalizer. Hill now sits tied with Joanna Boyles for the team lead in assists this season with two. The UConn product appeared to have scored the game-winner in that match against Washington, but her stoppage-time header was ruled to not have crossed the goal line.
Back to Match Play
The Pride will return to the field for the first time since August 24 on Saturday, with last week’s scheduled match against the Washington Spirit having been postponed due to Hurricane Dorian. With the postponement, both clubs joined the rest of NWSL in having a week off from match play due to last week’s FIFA international window. The Pride will now host the Spirit on Saturday, October 5 at 5 p.m. ET at Exploria Stadium.
Another Accolade
Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris earned her second Save of the Week honor of the 2019 season in NWSL’s most recent edition of the award. Harris was honored for her denial of Julie Ertz’s header in the 68th minute of the Pride’s match against Chicago on Wednesday, August 24 to keep the Red Stars scoreless heading late into the match. This serves as the first time Harris has been awarded Save of the Week since the first week of the season and the seventh time in 2019 that the award has gone to an Orlando Pride goalkeeper.
Best of Luck Chi!
Since their last match, the Pride announced that they have waived forward Chioma Ubogagu, as she will be pursuing an opportunity to play overseas. Ubogagu scored four goals for the Pride this season for a total of 12 since her arrival to the Club in 2017 with seven assists to add. Ubogagu made 57 appearances as a member of the Pride and departs tied for third in Club history for the statistic.
