ORLANDO, Fla. (July 7, 2023) – Orlando Pride (6-8-1, 19 points) defeated the OL Reign (7-5-4, 24 points) 1-0 on Friday night at Exploria Stadium. The victory marks the second consecutive victory for the Club to go along with back-to-back clean sheets following the 3-0 win over the Washington Spirit last week. The victory also served as the Club’s first victory over the OL Reign since the 2016 season where they secured a 2-0 victory at Camping World Stadium.
The Pride were backed by a game-winning goal from forward Messiah Bright, which served as her fourth goal of the season across all competitions. Bright currently leads all rookies in the NWSL with four goals and also became the highest scoring rookie in Orlando Pride history with the finish. Fellow forward Julie Doyle earned the assist on the goal recording her first assist of the season and of her professional career. Doyle has now totaled two goals and one assist in the Club’s last two matches.
The backline of the Pride were strong all night long, holding the second-highest scoring team in the NWSL to only five shots. Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse only needed to make two saves on her way to earning the clean sheet, her fourth of the season. Moorhouse increased her saves total to 56 so far this year, which is second-best amongst all goalkeepers in the league.
Scoring Summary:
16’ Messiah Bright (Julie Doyle) - ORL 1, RGN 0
The Pride opened the scoring with Julie Doyle sprinting down the left flank and taking on her defender. Following a couple crossovers, Doyle whipped a ball into the box that found a pouncing Messiah Bright, who headed the ball into the back of the net.
Head Coach Seb Hines:
“It was exciting. The players put a lot of work into that performance today and they got the reward for it. They started the game really fast, on the front foot and put Seattle under pressure straight from kickoff. [We] got an early goal, probably could have scored a couple more if the ball just dropped inside the frame of the goal but they were brilliant from start to finish. That's what it takes to win a game of football in this league.”
Match Notes:
- Messiah Bright scored her fourth goal of the year for the Pride, now in sole possession of the team lead. With the finish, Bright became the highest scoring rookie in Orlando Pride history, passing former Pride forward Rachel Hill’s three goals in 2017.
- With the four finishes, Bright also now leads all NWSL rookies in goals scored.
- Julie Doyle notched her first assist of the campaign on Bright’s first half goal, which also served as the first helper of her professional career.
- Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse sits second in the NWSL in saves with 56, tallying her second-consecutive clean sheet to put her at four on the year.
- The victory is the Club’s second overall victory over the OL Reign with the last one coming on May 8, 2016.
- Head Coach Seb Hines made no changes to his starting XI, rolling out the same starters who earned a 3-0 victory over the Washington Spirit in the Club’s last match.
Next Match: The Pride will have a few weeks until their next match, which comes on Sunday, July 23 against NJ/NY Gotham FC at Exploria Stadium. The match is part of the UKG Challenge Cup and is set to kickoff at 7 p.m. ET with the game available to stream on Paramount+.
