Orlando Pride Shut Out Washington Spirit 1-0 in NWSL Challenge Cup

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – The Orlando Pride had a new energy in their return home to face the fierce Washington Spirit at Exploria Stadium Wednesday: Alex Morgan is back.

Morgan returned to the Pride lineup for the first time since Aug. 21, 2019, making the start on the night in her return from international duty.

Gunny Jónsdóttir made her Orlando Pride debut in the match, earning the start after missing the prior two matches due to international duty.

Head Coach Marc Skinner made two changes to his starting lineup from a week ago, with Jónsdóttir and Morgan entering the XI.

First Half

Ali Riley and Phoebe McClernon each got 30 touches on the ball for Orlando while Sydney Leroux did her part as Orlando’s main attacker, making three shots and creating one chance.

The Pride scored in the 11th minute thanks to Morgan’s assist to Sydney Leroux, her first goal of the season in the match and her eighth since joining the Club ahead of the 2018 NWSL season. Tonight’s assist was Morgan’s eighth in total for Orlando.

Both teams were close in passing accuracy at the half: Orlando was at 76 percent in the first half compared to Washington’s 79 percent. Washington dominated in most other key areas, however: Washington made 177 passes to Orlando’s 158, and were at 52 percent in ball possession to Orlando’s 48 percent.

Orlando led the game 1-0 at halftime.

Second Half

Washington swarmed the net in the 58th minute, but thanks to Orlando’s quick reflexes, several shot attempts were blocked.

Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris made it two weeks in a row with a penalty save, denying Ashley Hatch from the spot in the 65th minute and keeping Washington from tying the game. Harris registered nine saves to earn the clean sheet, the first for the Pride since the team’s Fall Series opener at North Carolina on Sept. 19, 2020.

Kelly O’Hara took physicality to another level in the second half. In her effort to score and Courtney Petersen’s effort to protect the net, O’Hara jumped in the air to take possession of the ball and landed right on Petersen, laying her out flat. O’Hara earned a yellow card and an earful from Orlando Pride goalie Ashlyn Harris for it.

O’Hara got another yellow card for knocking down Ali Krieger in the first minute of stoppage time. Harris called for a sub, and Orlando subbed in Toni Pressley for Krieger. Because of the second yellow, O’Hara was also issued a red card.

Despite Washington’s speed and physicality, the team remained scoreless, even with stoppage time, giving Orlando Pride the 1-0 shutout victory.

“What we showed tonight was the resilience that we needed from this group to win ugly,” said Orlando Pride head coach Marc Skinner postgame. “That’s a clean sheet for the first time in a long, long time and that’s because our goalkeeper came up big, our defenders came up big, our midfield and our forwards. It was a whole team collective.”

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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com