The No. 1 Orlando Pride will welcome the Kansas City Current to Inter&Co Stadium on Sunday for the semifinal match of the 2024 NWSL Playoffs. The match is scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. and, for those unable to attend in person, will be broadcast on ABC.
Orlando defeated the No. 8 seeded Chicago Red Stars by a 4-1 scoreline on Friday night at Inter&Co Stadium. The win was the Pride’s first-ever NWSL playoff victory.
Scoring Summary:
* 26’ - Haley McCutcheon (Ally Watt) – ORL 1, CHI 0 _ The Pride struck first on a corner kick with Summer Yates driving the line and centering the ball into the box. After the ball was pinged around, Ally Watt got a foot to it which then found the head of Haley McCutcheon who made no mistake with the finish.
* 39’ - Barbra Banda (Emily Sams) – ORL 2, CHI 0 _ The Pride added another in the first half as defender Emily Sams one-timed a loose ball into space for Barbra Banda as she sprinted past the Chicago backline. Banda went one-on-one with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and calmly slotted the ball to the lower-right corner to extend the Orlando lead.
* 45+6’ - Barbra Banda (Ally Watt) – ORL 3, CHI 0 _ With just one minute of first-half stoppage time left, the Pride added a third to further increase their lead of the Red Stars. Ally Watt controlled the ball in Orlando’s defensive half and sent a lobbed through ball to Barbra Banda behind the Chicago line once again. Banda went head-on with Naeher again, this time taking a dribble around her that needed nothing more to bag her first-half brace.
* 57’ - Marta (Penalty Kick) – ORL 4, CHI 0 _ After going to video review, the Pride were awarded a penalty kick just over 10 minutes into the second half. Pride captain Marta stepped up to take on the opportunity and roofed it past Alyssa Naeher to the right corner for the Pride’s fourth of the night in Downtown Orlando.
* 60’ - Jameese Joseph – ORL 4, CHI 1 _ The Chicago Red Stars got one back just three minutes later as Jameese Joseph put goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse under pressure on a pass back from her defensive line. Joseph was able to get to the ball before Moorhouse and send it into the net to lessen the gap between the Pride and Red Stars.
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Meanwhile, No. 4 seeded Orlando City SC took down No. 5 Charlotte FC in penalty kicks in the third and final game of Round One of the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs on Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the second straight season and will host No. 9 Atlanta United FC, Sunday, November 24, at 3:30 p.m.
Luis Muriel, Kyle Smith, Torres and Rafael Santos all scored on the ensuing penalty kick shootout and Lion’s goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made two huge saves to give Orlando City the 4-1 penalty shootout win.
Scoring Summary:
* 81’ - Karol Swiderski (Liel Abada) – CLT 1, ORL 0 _ The visitors found the breakthrough late in the second half when Liel Abada was able to drive the ball to the endline a whip a ball into the box. The ball found the foot of Karol Swiderski who slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
* 90+12’ - Facundo Torres – ORL 1, CLT 1 _ City leveled the match deep into stoppage time after Duncan McGuire was taken down in the penalty box and Orlando were awarded a penalty after a Video Assistant Review. Facundo Torres stepped up the spot and had his initial penalty shot saved, but the rebound fell to him and Torres was there for the tap in to level the score and send the match into a penalty shootout.
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