1. \Insert Spongebob gif here\ Finally! For the first time since June 13, the Orlando Pride got all three points in an NWSL match, winning 2-1 over the San Diego Wave out in California.
2. This Orlando team has been through a lot this year. Just in this game, the Pride did not have Barbra Banda and Marta, two players who made up over 50% of the team's goals from last year. But if we have learned anything about this team over the past two years, they are a resilient bunch. And tonight, they proved it.
3. Things started great for the Pride. Just seven minutes into the match, Orlando's record signing, Jacquie Ovalle, opened her NWSL account in style. On a counterattack that came through Oihane and Ally Watt, a ball from Watt was laid off to a trailing Ovalle, who took a dribble, settled the ball onto her magical left foot and curled the ball towards the far post, beating Didi Haračić for La Maga's first NWSL goal.
4. In a very wild stat for Orlando, scoring first in matches seems to be the winning formula. In their last 30 matches that they have scored first, the Pride have not lost those matches. You'd have to go back to almost two years ago, in October of 2023, to find this team's last loss after finding the back of the net first. Quite a run of form.
5. While the dust was still settling from Ovalle's opener, San Diego managed to get one back just two minutes later. A giveaway gave the ball right to Dudinha, who chipped it over Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse and in. It was a goal that Moorhouse will kick herself about for the night, but thankfully for Orlando, she was able to redeem herself later in the match with five massive saves to help see out the result.
6. As halftime came and went, Head Coach Seb Hines was forced into a sub heading into the second half as Julie Doyle picked up a knock late in the half. Carson Pickett would come in on the left side of the pitch, and as fate would have it, be the key piece to victory on the night. After Oihane was able to get herself free on the right wing, she played a perfectly weighted ball into the box, sitting perfectly for the run of Pickett. She stepped up and drilled the shot into the back of the net with her weaker right foot, regaining the lead back for Orlando.
7. While we're on the subject of Oihane, she has been an immense part of the offense for the Pride over the last two matches. A danger with her crosses on the right, she has been putting herself and others in positions to score. There's a big reason why she's played for the Spanish national team and her recent play is proof of that quality.
8. It was also a special night for defender Kerry Abello, who played in her 100th game for the Pride tonight. After being drafted by the Pride in 2021 and joining back in 2022, Abello has been one of the best and most versatile players for the Pride over the past four seasons, playing in every position on the pitch but goalkeeper. The Pride's very own swiss army knife, Abello was one of the first players to help revamp this Orlando team to what it is today, and her hitting the century mark for this team (just the third player to do it, by the way) is a tremendous accomplishment.
9. The Pride get set for a quick turnaround as they now head to Mexico for the first time ever to take on Club América Feminil in CONCACAF W Champions Cup play. That game will kick off at 9 p.m. and will stream on Paramount+.
