ORLANDO, Fla. (March 22, 2024) – The Orlando Pride (0-0-2, 2 points) rallied to a 1-1 draw in its home opener against Angel City FC thanks a Marta equalizer in the 88th minute on Friday night at INTER&Co Stadium. The draw marks the second-straight week that the Pride have rallied from behind to secure a point through a goal in the final 10 minutes of the match.
The home team looked to have cracked the scoreboard first after Julie Doyle placed a cross inside the box to Marta in the 23rd minute, but a foul called on Ally Watt negated the would-be go-ahead goal. Both squads had their chances, but the first half ended in a 0-0 draw.
Angel City was able to pull ahead for the first goal of the match after Meggie Dougherty Howard drew a penalty just inside the box. Claire Emslie stepped up and scored the ensuing penalty kick early in the second half.
The Pride found their equalizer late in stoppage time after being rewarded a corner kick. Angelina sent the ball to the far side of the box and found Marta for a volley, that was drilled past the goalkeeper.
The Pride will play their next match on Friday, March 29 when they welcome the Chicago Red Stars to INTER&Co Stadium. The match will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary:
53’ Claire Emslie (PK) – LA 1, ORL 0
After a scoreless first half, the visiting team struck first after a penalty was drawn by Meggie Dougherty Howard just inside the box. Claire Emslie stepped up to take the penalty kick and found the back of the net.
88’ Marta (Angelina) – ORL 1, LA 1
With time winding down in regular time, the Pride pushed forward to find the equalizer. After being rewarded with a corner kick, Angelina placed a perfect cross to the far side of the box that found Marta, whose volley flew past the Angel City goalkeeper.
Head Coach Seb Hines:
“I mean, it's an emotional game of course. You have the highs and lows but overall, I'm super proud of the team and the players to show that sort of resiliency to never give up. It’s difficult when everything is going against you, but you look at that group of players and they wear their hearts on their sleeves, and they give absolutely everything. I’m so proud of them to get something at the end of it because they fully deserved it.”
Match Notes:
- Marta earned her first goal of the season and extended her Club record for goals scored to 32.
- Marta's goal marked her first goal in the run of play since Sept. 11, 2021, missing the 2022 season due to injury and her next five goals all coming from the penalty spot.
- Angelina earned her first assist as a Pride player and her fourth of her career.
- Earning the start in between the sticks, goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse appeared in her 30th game across all competitions for the Pride.
- Defender Bri Martinez started in her first regular season game for the Pride.
- The Pride started a backline of Celia, Kerry Abello, Bri Martinez and Haley McCutcheon, with Rafaelle out with injury, Emily Sams out due to illness and Kylie Strom carrying a suspension.
- Head Coach Seb Hines made three changes to the Starting XI from last week’s draw at Louisville, with Celia, Bri Martinez and Ally Watt all entering the fold.
Next Match: The Pride will play their next match on Friday, March 29 when they welcome the Chicago Red Stars to INTER&Co Stadium. The match will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET. with the match available to stream on NWSL+.
