A strong start by the Orlando Pride incited an electric Reign comeback halfway through the match, but the Pride ultimately came out on top. Both sides came into Sunday afternoon’s game with two vastly different starts to the season, with the Reign second-to-bottom and the Pride undefeated.
“I thought we played well today; I thought we did good stuff today,” said Reign Head Coach Laura Harvey, preferring to consider the positive factors of the result. Harvey felt the missing link to Reign victories involves one word: Quality. Harvey elaborated on her thoughts on what it means for the team to show quality: “We conceded goals again that we gave them and I think that’s the key piece—we have to show that mentality earlier and we have to show quality. I’ve probably said that word four million times this season and when we have quality, we score goals, we defend well, we limit the opponent. When we lack quality, we concede and we don’t score goals.”
Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network
The first goal came as early as the ninth minute, where Pride defender Emily Sams beat Ivory at her near post with a first touch finish from outside the box. The Reign knew the Pride were not going to be easy to beat, and considering the contrast between the both teams’ forms, trailing the Pride could be fatal.
Another nine minutes passed, and the Pride found their second, with forward Barbara Banda heading the ball into the net at close range. Immediately, the Reign squad gathered for a brief team talk as the goal celebration took place, making sure everyone kept their heads up and continued to fight.
The deficit almost turned to three after an Orlando Pride cross off a freekick caught Laurel Ivory out as it bounced over the foot of Barbara Banda, who tried to get a touch, and found the head of defender Kylie Strom. Though Storm was onside, VAR intervened and found a clear offside on Banda, who clearly attempted to play the ball.
The Reign remained resolute, and despite the challenge of breaking down the well-organized Orlando Pride squad, they managed to generate numerous on-target shots, with some of them coming close to the goal. Unfortunately for Seattle, none were able to beat Anna Moorhouse.
Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network
Just before halftime, Angharad James-Turner's square ball from Ji So-Yun restored Reign's spirits by cutting the team's deficit in half. The shot from James-Turner took a deflection off Strom to reach the Orlando goal's top right-hand corner. Going into the second half meant game on. James-Turner described the first goal’s effect on the team: “It lifted us a little bit and gave us the shock we needed. It’s a shame because we should be starting games in the way that we perform when we go behind.”
The next major event quickly followed the restart, and of course, Bethany Balcer was involved. Three minutes into the second half, the Reign finished the game's quick turnaround. Balcer found herself on the break from a Fishlock through ball and managed to shoot the ball off the goalkeeper as she netted her fourth goal of the season, extending her lead as the team’s current top goal scorer.
Orlando, in an effort to respond to losing a two-goal lead, pressed the Reign defense more frequently, hitting the crossbar off a cross. A corner from Marta followed, and after hitting Sophia Huerta's shoulder, the ball fell gently for Banda as she locked in her second of the day. The Reign found themselves trailing the Pride for the second time of the afternoon, despite completing the two-goal comeback.
Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network
Circumstances turned from bad to worse for the Reign when goal-scorer Bethany Balcer was sent off at the 84th minute for dissent towards the referee. The referee called an earlier foul on Alana Cook, which Balcer disagreed with, resulting in her receiving a second yellow card and the marching order.
Orlando went on to win to secure the one-goal road victory, extending their win run to seven matches, and remaining undefeated in the first ten games of the season. While the result could have turned much worse for the Reign, the grit Seattle showed to make the two-goal comeback is a significant positive to take from the negative result. The Orlando Pride top of the NWSL standings, while the Reign remains second-from-bottom.
Cover Photo: Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network
