The Orlando Pride strut to their first-ever win over the Washington Spirit behind three players' goals.

(Photo by Daniel Castrillon / New Day Review)

Match Recap

ORLANDO, Fla. – It was all Orlando Pride in the second half. After a first half that saw both teams record a total of two shots on goal (both by the Pride), it was the Pride’s stars that changed the tone of the game. Orlando (6-6-5, 23 points) defeated the Washington Spirit (4-9-3, 15 points) for the first time ever in front of 4,273 people at Orlando City Stadium Tuesday night.

“Obviously a terrific win for us and a rare clean sheet, which is fantastic,” Pride head coach Tom Sermanni said after the match. “Difficult in the first half because they really high-pressed us, and we kind of expected that. And I thought when they broke the press, we had opportunities…and we did it quite well a couple of times, but we could’ve done it a little bit better.

“But then we always felt the game would open up in the second half and when it did that we would create opportunities. And that’s exactly what happened. And I was really delighted with our second-half performance…”

Considering the way forward Marta Vieira da Silva played in the first half, she was bound to score. In the second half, she did that. After a six-shot first half, Marta tied Alex Morgan for most shots by a Pride player in a game with her seventh shot in the 51st minute. And it was Morgan who set her up, too.

With at least three defenders around her, Morgan slotted the ball to a cutting Marta. The five-time FIFA World Player of the Year dribbled around Washington goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé and scored as she tumbled to the ground.

“So, the first goal happened from a very fast play that we actually talked about it during the half because their defense line was very high,” Marta said, translated from Portuguese, after the match. “So we realized that during the half. So, instead of just playing the ball to one another, we talked about doing this fast play. Of course, she passed me a very good ball… And Alex, as we all know, is a very high-level athlete, not only individually, but she’s very good for the team as well.”

Just six minutes later, Camila Martins Pereira doubled the lead. In the 57th minute, Labbé came off her line to thwart a threat by Morgan. Coming out of her own 18-yard box, Labbé headed the ball away, leaving her net open. Camila, who earned Week 9 Goal of the Week honors with a long-range shot against the Houston Dash, then took one touch to chip it for the score and a 2-0 lead.

“I just think we knew that Washington couldn’t high press for the whole 90 minutes,” Sermanni said. “We also felt that if we kinda got things right, we could open ‘em up, and that happened at the start of the second half. And, as I say, our finishing in amongst that was really clinical. So, the combination of the fact that the game started opening up, clinical finishing and good decisions to get in behind them.”

Morgan capped her team’s scoring with a goal in the 65th minute. As she fell to the ground, left-back Steph Catley sent a long ball to an open Morgan down the middle of the field. After letting the ball bounce twice, Morgan struck home the third and final goal for the Pride.

“I’ve played with Alex for a little while now, and it doesn’t really take much for me to see when she’s making a darting run forward,” Catley said after the match. “I like hitting ‘em from that pocket, and she’s so fast off the shoulder, and she’s such a good finisher. So I knew if I just got it in behind, she’d get onto it somehow.”

Returning to her natural position after playing left-back last game, Chioma Ubogagu scored a would-be goal in the 23rd minute. An offside call, however, negated the score.

Marta started the effort near the right sideline with a spin move that staved off a defender before she perfectly crossing it to the left sideline to Catley. The Australian then found Ubogagu on a pass that looked like it would cross the left end-line, but the first-year Pride player kept the ball inbounds and put the ball in the top-right corner.

Ubogagu was called back for another offside call in the 42nd minute after she engaged in a one-on-one situation with Labbé.

“In my younger days, you’d have got frustrated with [a lack of first-half offensive production and offside calls],” Sermanni said. “But I kinda felt that if they tried to play second half like they did in the first half that we were going to get those chances in behind them.”

Morgan, who now has three goals on the season, was limited in the first half. She had both the fewest touches (14) and fewest passes (seven) of any Pride player. Camila had the best chance to get Morgan the ball in the 19th minute on a counterattack, but her hesitation ended the effort.

“I sensed that hesitancy with the team in the first half,” Sermanni said. “And that came about because more about Washington than about us because, as I said, they came out, they really pushed high, really pressed in our own half. We tried to persist and try to play out from the back, which we do, and we didn’t do it quite as well as perhaps I would’ve liked.

“Players are then constantly under pressure, and it’s really tight, and that, I think, contributed to us turning the ball over a little bit in the first half. And that was probably all of our players, to be honest. I wouldn’t have picked Camila out especially for that. I think, just generally, Washington pressed us really well in the first half.”

Woman of the Match: Marta Vieira da Silva

Marta finished the game with a club, single-game record eight shots (two on goal). One of her on-target shots was a goal off an assist by Morgan. She also created one chance, completed 93.1 percent of her 29 passes, recorded a team-high four tackles and drew one foul.

What’s next?

The Pride conclude their three-game home stand with a matchup against Sky Blue FC on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Monica Hickmann Alves Returns to Lineup as Toni Pressley Rests

Center-back Toni Pressley has started 13 of her 14 appearances, but in Tuesday’s win over Washington, she was absent from the strating lineup. In her stead, Brazilian center-back and second-year Pride player Monica Hickmann Alves played.

“She’s had a terrific season. We’ve had three games in seven days, so we had to manage the squad,” Sermanni said. “Monica—you know, I’ve been a little bit behind the eight ball because she was injured at the start of the season, never quite got on a roll. But then she went into camp, played three games for Brazil. So, her match-fitness level stepped up a gear. So, it was an easy thing to put her in there—give Toni a break—and, you know, put a very good player in for a very good player.”

Monica’s insertion into the starting 11 also moved team captain and fellow center-back Ali Krieger. The first-year Pride player moved to left center-back and played alongside Catley for the first time this season.

“Monica’s a world-class center-back. She plays there for Brazil and plays pretty much every game for them,” Catley said. “She’s very solid and very calm on the ball and reads the play really well. So we had Ali over at left center-back. So it’s the first time I’ve played next to her there. And she was incredible, again…

“We had a really good communication going there throughout the entire game [on the] back-line, so I thought we were really strong tonight, and we were able to get that clean sheet, which is what we’ve been after for a while now.”

Highlights

3′ – An early opportunity for Marta nearly gave the @ORLPride an early advantage. #ORLvWAS pic.twitter.com/dysZ7V3s2y — NWSL (@NWSL) August 8, 2017

9′ | Marta almost pulling magic out of a 🎩 on this effort. 0-0 | #ORLvWAS pic.twitter.com/0SKofYgznx — Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) August 8, 2017

13′ – @WashSpirit‘s @EstelleJohnson with a chance up the wing but her cross goes wide of the goal. #ORLvWAS pic.twitter.com/KQo9W9ZZev — NWSL (@NWSL) August 8, 2017

A legend and a boss linking up. That’s just too good. 1-0 | #ORLvWAS pic.twitter.com/SQsv30pYDH — Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) August 9, 2017

The pass from Steph, the goal from Alex… Total footy there. 👏 3-0 | #ORLvWAS pic.twitter.com/VMXrmtktmU — Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) August 9, 2017

NDR Notes

The Pride earned their first-ever win over Washington. Orlando was previously 0-2-2 all time against the Spirit, losing both matchups in 2016 and drawing twice in 2017.

Monica started her first match since playing a full game in a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Red Stars on July 1.

Morgan has scored in three consecutive home matches.

Marta recorded her team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Camila scored her fourth goal of the season.

With her eighth shot of the match, Marta took the Pride’s single-game shots record.

Orlando recorded its first shutout since a 2-0 win over the Boston Breakers on June 3.

Scoring

Time Team Goal-scorer Assisted by 52’ Orlando Pride Marta Vieira da Silva Alex Morgan 57’ Orlando Pride Camila Martins Pereira n/a 64’ Orlando Pride Alex Morgan Steph Catley

Statistics and Starting Lineups

Goals Assists Shots Shots on Goal Possession % Orlando Pride 3 2 17 6 50.8% Washington Spirit 0 0 8 0 49.2%

Orlando Pride starting XI (4-3-3): Aubrey Bledsoe (GK); Steph Catley, Monica Hickmann Alves, Ali Krieger (C), Kristen Edmonds; Alanna Kennedy, Maddy Evans, Marta Vieira da Silva; Chioma Ubogagu, Alex Morgan, Camila Martins Pereira

Washington Spirit starting XI (4-4-2): Stephanie Labbé (GK); Caprice Dydasco, Kassey Kallman, Whitney Church, Estelle Johnson (C); Havana Solaun, Meggie Dougherty Howard, Tori Huster, Cheyna Williams; Arielle Ship, Mallory Pugh

For more on the Pride, as they continue their playoff push, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.