Orlando Pride (8-0-4, 28 points) at North Carolina Courage (5-7-0, 15 points)
When: Saturday, June 15, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, NC
TV: NWSL + (National), Bally Sports Florida (Local)
As the Pride head up to North Carolina to battle the Courage, here are five things to watch for on Saturday night
Trying to Build
In the last match against the Courage, the Pride earned a 4-1 win in front of their home fans on the backs of a Barbra Banda brace as well as goals from Ally Watt and Julie Doyle. The Pride are headed to WakeMed Soccer Park, a place that has seen them hold a 1-1-1 record over the last three regular season matches. The Courage have yet to lose a game at home this season and have only conceded one goal during that time.
Goals Galore
Orlando is just one of two teams that remain unbeaten so far this NWSL season along with Kansas City Current. They are also just one of five teams to go unbeaten through the first 12 matches of a season in NWSL history. Of those five teams, the Pride are just the third to also score at least one goal in all 12 matches. The only other two teams to do that were OL Reign in 2014 and the Courage in 2018.
O’Doyle Rules
Forward Julie Doyle found the back of the net for the Pride’s lone goal in their last match against the San Diego Wave. It was an acrobatic finish that was nominated for NWSL Goal of the Week and also made an appearance on SportsCenter’s Top 10 list coming in at number four. It served as Doyle’s second goal of the season, with her first coming in the Pride’s last match against the Courage on May during first half stoppage time.
Banda, Banda, Banda
Fellow forward Barbra Banda had the assist on the Doyle goal in the Pride’s last match against the Wave. She now has five goal contributions in three career away matches, netting three goals and recording two assists. She is just the second player in NWSL history to notch five goal contributions in her first three career road games, joining the likes of Nadia Nadim who had seven contributions back in 2014.
Connecting the Pieces
There are five NWSL players that average six or more shot involvements per 90 minutes (minimum 540 minutes) this NWSL season and three of the five play for the Pride. The three players are Barbra Banda (6.9) and Brazilian internationals Marta (6.2) and Adriana (6.2). The three combined for 15 goal contributions on the 21 goals scored so far this season for the Pride.
Milestone Tracker
- Marta is two assists away from 20 in her NWSL career.
- Julie Doyle is one appearance away from 50 appearances across all competitions, all of which have come while donning the Pride kit.
