• Final stats

How we’re lining up in Chicago! #CHIvORL | #VamosOrlando pic.twitter.com/rZY1Fd2LfR

— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) May 26, 2018

Ahead of the Orlando Pride’s two-game Week 10, the team said the focus needed to be on scoring goals. Before an unbeaten streak-ending loss to the North Carolina Courage on May 23, the Pride scored just eight goals in eight games.

Orlando has since scored three goals against the Courage, and, most recently, the Pride (4-3-3, 15 points) won 5-2 over the Chicago Red Stars (2-3-6, 12 points) Saturday afternoon at Toyota Park.

Chicago forward Sam Kerr erased an early 2-0 deficit with a brace by the 60th minute, as the Pride opened the scoring in the second and sixth minutes.

In the 21st minute, Kerr scored her first goal. It seemed she would score in the 20th minute, as she was played a long ball down the heart of the Pride defense, creating a one-on-one chance with Pride keeper Ashlyn Harris. As Kerr entered the box, she took a touch to her right and shot it. Harris read it perfectly and dove to her left to make the stop.

Center back Shelina Zadorsky, then, cleared it just outside the box, but Chicago recovered it. Red Stars midfielder Yuki Nagasato subsequently crossed it from inside the box back to Kerr, who headed it past a diving Harris to make it a 2-1 game.

In the 60th minute, Kerr scored off another Nagasato assist. Nagasato received the ball near the top of the box with space, turned and sent a through ball to Kerr for the equalizing goal to the far post.

The 2-2 tie didn’t last long, though, as second-half Pride substitute Sydney Leroux scored her first two goals in a Pride uniform. One minute after Kerr scored, Leroux scored her first off right back Ali Krieger’s first assist of 2018.

With space in the middle-right flank, Krieger crossed the ball into Leroux for falling header past Red Stars keeper Alyssa Naeher.

Two minutes later, another Pride attack resulted in Leroux’s second goal. Krieger started the effort with pace down the middle-right flank and gave it to midfielder Emily van Egmond along the right sideline. van Egmond, then, played forward Alex Morgan into the right part of the box.

Morgan centered the ball to Leroux, but the pass was behind Leroux. She stopped, turned, gathered and shot the ball to the top-right corner for the 4-2 lead.

Midfielder Dani Weatherholt put the finishing touches on the game with her first goal of the season, her second of her career. Midfielder Christine Nairn played Morgan down the left sideline. As the United States national-team player drew three defenders to the left corner, she centered the ball to Weatherholt alone in the middle for a one-timed shot past Naeher.

The Pride opened the scoring in exciting fashion, as forward Rachel Hill scored less than two minutes into the match.

Left back Poliana Barbosa Medeiros crossed the ball to the right part of the box from the left sideline. Hill and a Chicago defender leapt for the ball, as it fell behind both of them. Hill found the ball first and scored at the near post. Hill has now scored three goals this season, two in the past two games.

Morgan gave the Pride their 2-0 lead four minutes later off a deep header from the top of the box. Forward Marta Vieira da Silva tallied her third assist of the season, her third in two games, on Morgan’s goal.

In total, the Pride finished with 11 shots (six on-goal) and drew six corner kicks. The Red Stars owned more possession, as Orlando had the ball 48.7 percent of the time.

Who’s Next?

The Pride will play one more road game against Seattle Reign FC (4-2-2, 14 points) on June 3 at 9 p.m. before returning home.

For more on the Pride, as they look for another road result, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.