CARY, N.C. (July 20, 2024) – The Orlando Pride (0-0-1, 1 point) played to a 1-1 draw against the North Carolina Courage (0-0-1, 2 points) on Saturday night at WakeMed Soccer Park in the first match of the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup, with the Courage taking the extra point in the end-of-regulation shootout, 5-4.
The Pride went into halftime down a goal and battled hard to level the match in the 82nd minute. The goal was scored by defender Celia, which served as her first goal of the 2024 season and her fourth goal of her career, three of which have come with the Pride.
The match also saw goalkeeper McKinley Crone make her professional debut, as she made five saves on the night, as well as two in the end-of-regulation shootout. Two Pride players, Evelina Duljan and Claire Winter, also made their NWSL debuts as they came on as second-half substitutes.
Scoring Summary
44’ Manaka Matsukubo (Ryan Williams) – 1 NC, ORL 0
The home side opened up the scoring right before halftime with Ryan Williams sending a ball in from the right flank across the face of the goal that found the foot of Manaka Matsukubo at the back post for the tap in.
82’ Celia – ORL 1, NC 1
The Pride leveled the match late after Evelina Duljan found some space inside the box to get a shot off that was saved. The rebound fell to Celia, who blasted a shot into the roof of the net for the leveler.
Head Coach Seb Hines:
“I think the experience of a shootout was one we haven't experienced ever, so having gone through that, it gives the players that sort of experience going forward. You can't replicate a shootout, as much as you can practice that ‘putting the pressure on’, you just can't do that in training. I thought the players dealt with it well. You know, it didn't go our way, which is unfortunate, but overall in terms of the game, we're very pleased to come [out of] here with a point. There’s no hiding in it, we've got a lot of players away on international duty. North Carolina didn't have that case, so they were a little bit more fluid with how they played. You could see that, those connections, that team chemistry, which took us a bit. But fair play to the players to come here one-nil down and have the desire and the character to come back and score the goal, it's brilliant to see. And we continue that momentum that we had in the league into the tournament now.”
Match Notes:
- Celia scored her first goal of the season and her third while donning the Pride kit.
- Making the start in between the sticks, goalkeeper McKinley Crone made her professional debut.
- Coming on as second half substitutes, Evelina Duljan and Claire Winter made their NWSL debuts.
- The end-of-regulation shootout marked the first time the Pride have participated in penalty kicks in Club history.
- Head Coach Seb Hines made seven changes to his previous starting lineup that earned a 2-1 win over the Kansas City Current with McKinley Crone, Celia, Bri Martinez, Haley McCutcheon, Morgan Gautrat, Amanda Allen and Ally Watt earning spots in the Starting XI.
Next Match: The Pride continue their run in the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup as they welcome Mexican-based side C.F. Monterrey Femenil to INTER&Co Stadium on Saturday, July 27. The match is set to kick off at 7 p.m. ET and can be streamed on Paramount+.
