PREVIEW: Orlando Pride Close Out Two-Game Home Stint Against Kansas City

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Pride (2-0-1, 7 points) look to earn their fourth-consecutive result to start the regular season, set to host Kansas City (0-1-2, 2 points) on Sunday, May 30. Kickoff for the match, presented by OUC, is set for 6 p.m. ET at Exploria Stadium.

The match will be available to stream on Paramount+, with international viewers able to tune in on Twitch. Tickets for Sunday’s match are available at Orlando-Pride.com or by calling (855) ORL-CITY. The fixture will serve as the Pride’s Mission Planet Earth match and the first chance for fans to purchase the Mission Planet Earth patch, coinciding with the Club’s recently announced sustainability efforts.

“There’s great energy, great commitment and the group has been wonderful. We have to take that energy into the next bout of games. It’s going to be a difficult match. [Kansas City] want to be in ball possession, they want to exploit you, they want to open up the width of the field,” Head Coach Marc Skinner said. “They’ve got some very good players and some standouts in midfield, so I think they’ll be expansive and want to dominate the ball to work on their identity, but it just depends on how they come out. It will be an interesting mix, but what we have to do is try and take control as much as we can, dictate the game as much as we can to them.”

The match will mark the first between the Pride and Kansas City in NWSL play, serving as the second match for Orlando against an expansion side across all competitions this season, after opening up Challenge Cup play at Racing Louisville on May 10.

The Pride come into the contest following a 2-1 victory over Portland Thorns FC on Wednesday night at Exploria Stadium, with Alex Morgan opening the scoring in the 22nd minute, getting on the end of a ball from Taylor Kornieck. Simone Charley would answer for the visitors just before the halftime break, but Sydney Leroux countered seconds into the second half, with a strong individual effort to net the eventual game-winner in the 46th minute.

Morgan leads the NWSL with three finishes in as many matches to start the season, marking her best start to a campaign in Orlando, while Leroux follows with two. Kornieck sits tied for the league-lead in assists with Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Pugh and Portland Thorns attacker Morgan Weaver, all with two in 2021.

Kansas City comes to Orlando looking to bounce back from a 2-0 loss at the hands of the Chicago Red Stars on Wednesday. The visitors from Chicago tallied both their finishes in the second half of play, first with Kealia Watt in the 67th minute before Makenzy Doniak doubled the advantage three minutes later.

Taylor Leach and Amy Rodriguez have both found the back of the net for Kansas City this season, with Rodriguez serving as the club’s leader across all competitions with three goals total including Challenge Cup play.

Following Sunday’s contest, the Pride will head back out on the road to face the Washington Spirit at Audi Field on Sunday, June 6 in a 2 p.m. ET. kickoff.