Orlando Pride Line Up:

4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. We have Anna Moorhouse in the goal. For defenders, Haley McCutcheon, Rafaelle, Emily Madril, and Kylie Strom. In the midfield we have Jordyn Listro, Mikayla Cluff, and Marta. And for forwards, Carrie Abello, Julie Doyle, and Messiah Bright.

Good line up for the Pride. Adriana is missing due to a thigh injury, but with Abello moving up to the attack, it allows for Cluff to play in the midfield. Cluff has great control in the midfield, but at the same time she can also provide great service in the attack. With Adriana missing from tonight’s line up, the Pride are most likely going to be missing her footwork, pace, and pressure on the wings. However, I think the Pride will still be able to control the midfield, move the ball around, and put pressure on the Reign backline.

The Pride has great movement and control in the midfield, and the team as a whole, is great with their recoveries, and transitions. As long as the Pride can be consistent with that control and movement in the midfield, the Pride will be able to out maneuver the Reign. What the Pride is needing to do in this match is put the Reign midfield and attack under pressure as much as possible. Force the Reign to make mistakes, and turnover possession, but also, try to intercept their passes, especially when it comes to the Reign’s long passes. If the Pride can read those long passes, see who and where they’re going to, they’ll have no problem recovering possession. Putting pressure on the Reign backline when the Reign are near their own penalty area will also be beneficial for the Pride attack.

As for the Pride backline, I’m looking forward to seeing more of that defending partnership with Rafaelle and Madril. Rafaelle has been fitting in really well with the Pride backline. Hopefully, we can see her grab a goal in this match. However, the Pride needs to do better at defending against corner kicks and set pieces, especially when it comes to the Reign. The Reign tends to get a lot of corner kicks and set pieces. In their last match against Angel City, the Reign were able to get seven corners. Even though the Reign weren’t able to convert any goals from those corners, that’s still not an area the Pride should underestimate. The Pride backline and defense has been good when it comes to recovering possession in and around the box, but they have to make sure they can do that when it comes to corner kicks and set pieces.

OL Reign Line Up:

4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. We have Claudia Dickey in the goal. For defenders Sofia Huerta, Alana Cook, Pheobe McClernon, and Lu Barnes. In the midfield we have Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett, and Quinn. And for forwards, Jess Fishlock, Megan Rapinoe, and Bethany Balcer.

So this looks like a good Reign line up. I’m a little surprised to see Dickey starting again, especially since she had two goalkeeping errors in the last game that lead to goals, but maybe Harvey is looking to get her some more minutes. When it comes to the rest of the line up, there’s going to be great drive and press in the Reign attack with Rapinoe, Fishlock, and Lavelle. I’m interested to see how Sonnett and Quinn will do in the midfield against the Pride, given how much the Pride likes to control the midfield.

The Pride are dangerous when it comes to moving the ball through the midfield, and getting it up to the attack. This could very well be a battle of midfields. If the Reign loses control of the midfield, then the Pride are going to have free-reign of the pitch. If the Reign wants to be successful in this match, that control and possession is going to be important. The Reign is also needing put pressure on the Pride midfield and attack. Yes, the Pride can move the ball around the midfield, but the Reign can counter it by closing down around the Pride’s passing targets, closing down around Marta, Abello, Cluff, Listro, and Doyle. The Pride still struggles when it comes to handling pressure, but if the Reign can put pressure on the Pride as much as possible, they’ll be able to shut down the Pride’s attack.

The Reign has great attacking players, and a great team overall, but after three regular season losses in a row, one challenge for the Reign is, how can they be consistent with their movement and control in the midfield? A second challenge is, how can Laura Harvey get her players to connect where it counts? How can this team start winning games again?

First Half Notes

First Half Score: OL Reign 0-0

Orlando Pride:

Well this match is turning out to be an exciting one. After Moorhouse was sent off with a direct red card for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity on Balcer, the Pride are down to ten players. Listro was subbed off and backup goalkeeper, Carly Nelson was subbed in.

The Pride attack in this first half was non-existent. Marta and Bright have been getting forward here and there, but they haven’t been able to create anything in the attack. The midfield is also non-existent. They haven’t been able to keep possession, or maintain control of this match so far, which is kind of disappointing because I was hoping to see this battle of midfields between the Pride and the Reign. So far it’s been OL Reign controlling the midfield.

The Pride were also sitting back deeper in this half, and having to play defensively, mainly because the Reign attack has been hounding the Pride pretty heavily. The Pride backline is hanging in there. Madril has been doing well, Nelson has also been making some really important saves too. I think the Pride still has a chance to create something in the second half, but they’re needing to be more patient on the ball and not try to rush their press and attack. The Pride is needing to keep possession and get back in control of this match. When it comes to the backline and defense, they have to keep hanging in there. The Reign is going to be on them more in the second half.

OL Reign:

The Reign team is doing really well. They were completely dominating the first half. Their control, possession, and movement in the midfield have been great. However, the connection in the attack and in the box isn’t there yet. The Reign are struggling to connect in the attack and finish. The thing is, the Pride are down to ten players. With the players the Reign have on the field now and considering how much they’ve been in control and on the attack, how have they not scored a goal yet? Overall, the Reign are doing great in this match, but they have to connect where it matters – in the attack and in the box. Most importantly, the Reign have to score goals. For the second half, the Reign needs to keep up this control, maintain their attack, and keep putting pressure on the Pride backline.

Second Half/Closing Notes

Final Score: OL Reign Wins 1-0.

The goal scorer in this match was:

OL Reign: Jordyn Huitema (49′)

Orlando Pride:

This was a tough and frustrating game for the Pride. Things started to go downhill for the Pride after Moorhouse was sent off, and the team was down to ten players. The Pride just couldn’t get settled in this match. It did get somewhat better in the second half. The Pride were able to get some corner kicks and set pieces, but they still couldn’t create anything from them. Watt coming in, helped the Pride attack, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough.

It’s disappointing that we didn’t see much of the Pride’s midfield and attack in this game. We know the Pride can control the midfield and play beautiful soccer, with quick touches and movement in the midfield and attack. We’ve seen them do it against the Chicago Red Stars and the San Diego Wave, but after going down to ten players, the Pride just couldn’t find a rhythm in this game. On the upside, the Pride backline and defense still played really well. They did make some mistakes at the start of the second half, one of them leading to a Reign goal, but overall, they hung in there and kept this match from getting worse.

It’s a tough and disappointing loss for the Pride team and Seb Hines. Even though this isn’t the result the team wanted, the Pride is going to remain resilient and determined to persevere. Despite this setback, the Pride will regroup and continue to strive towards their goals.

OL Reign:

This was a great win for Reign. The Reign put on a very dominant performance. In the first half, they came out with a very strong and overwhelming attack, and they continued that going into the second half. There was great control, possession and movement in the midfield.

Earlier, I was expecting this match to be a battle of midfields, but due to circumstances– the Pride losing their starting goalkeeper, and going down to ten players– the midfield battle, and the match as a whole was a one-sided affair, in favor of the Reign. There’s good connection in the attack and between the attacking players, but it still needs to be refined and improved. The connection in the box also needs to be better, but it’s getting there, though.

It also seems like the Reign are starting to find their chemistry and rhythm again, but the biggest question I have still remains. Yes, this was a dominant performance and showing by the Reign, and yes, they were in full control of this match, but can they be consistent? In the past, I’ve talked about the Pride needing to be consistent with their midfield and attack, but that situation can be applied here. Can the Reign keep up this level of control, movement, and possession in the midfield in their upcoming games? Can they maintain their strong attacking prowess? That’s going to be very important for the Reign moving forward as the team starts nearing the Challenge Cup, the end of the season, and hopefully the playoffs. For now though, this is a good and significant win for the Reign, and hopefully, there will be more goals and wins to come.