• FINAL STATS

Your #XmasInJuly Starting XI facing Seattle on Lifetime at 3:30! #ORLvSEA ⛄ pic.twitter.com/7ne3znCnsQ

— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) July 21, 2018

ORLANDO, Fla. – In both the National Women’s Soccer League standings and in their results, the Orlando Pride and Seattle Reign FC have shown that there isn’t much difference between the two sides.

It was no different in the two teams’ final regular-season matchup of 2018, as the third-place Pride (8-6-5, 29 points) and the second-place Reign (8-4-6, 30 points) drew for the third time this season, this time a 1-1 result at Orlando City Stadium on a hot Saturday afternoon in front of 5,074 fans.

“If you look on paper, we’re sort of similarly matched in many ways,” Pride head coach Tom Sermanni said after the draw. “I think in the games that we’ve played against Seattle, we just need to be a little bit more on the front foot. I just felt if there’s one difference between the teams that made it level is that we haven’t been on the front foot as much as we should have been against Seattle.

“And that’s something, if and when we play them again, that we really need to be on top of.”

The first goal came from one of Orlando’s most unlikely scorers: defender Toni Pressley.

Pride forward Marta Vieira da Silva initially drew a free kick from just outside the right part of Seattle’s box. Her initial ball was cleared, re-entered twice more before forward Chioma Ubogagu’s final cross was deflected to Pressley for a middle-of-the-box shot and a 1-0 lead.

For Pressley, she scored her first goal of 2018, her second goal in three seasons with Orlando.

“If I remember correctly, it started off a set piece and a few re-serves, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time on a bad clearance,” Pressley said after the match. “Just knew I could take a touch and put it in a good place, and [it] ended up in the back of the net.”

Seattle, however, leveled the match midway through the second half. Left back Steph Catley zoomed down the middle-left flank and sent in a cross that was misdirected to forward Nahomi Kawasumi. Kawasumi, then, crossed a short ball to forward Jodie Taylor in the middle of the box for a close-range tap-in to make it a 1-1 game.

Pressley’s impact carried over to the second half, too. This time, it was her defending that warranted the mention.

In the 57th minute, Seattle produced its most dangerous threat yet. A cross into the Pride’s box was headed out by defender Ali Krieger to Reign midfielder Jessica Fishlock. Fishlock’s ensuing pass led Taylor into the box where she, perhaps, erroneously took a touch to her left to avoid goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer off her line before shooting.

The extra touch gave Pressley enough time to step in front of the goal to block the ball with her back to keep Orlando’s advantage at 1-0.

“I think I just try always to put myself in a good position no matter where it is on the field,” Pressley said. “Fortunately, I was able to score a goal and, you know, make a save, as well, you know, along with many other players. And, you know, whatever I can do for this team, I will and happy to do so.”

While Orlando and Seattle were even in the scoreline, there was a significant discrepancy between the two teams’ foul totals. In total, the Pride out-fouled the Reign 17-3, including 12-2 in the second half.

Sermanni didn’t blame the refs for his team’s result, saying they aren’t responsible for how the Pride play. Though, he still questioned how the match with Seattle was called.

“I don’t see how a game can be as level as that game was, and one team can commit 17 fouls, if I’m being frank, and another team can commit three fouls…” Sermanni said. “To have a foul count of 17-3 is absurd, as well.

“Look, the referee’s not responsible for our performance, but they are responsible for their performance, and I think when you get two evenly matched teams, and you throw statistics — 17-3, which I didn’t know — it says there must be something wrong somewhere, and I don’t think it’s entirely down to my team.”

Kopmeyer was integral in the Pride’s second-straight result, posting a six-save performance in her second appearance of 2018. Kopmeyer’s first appearance of 2018 was also against the Reign, the side she played for from 2013 to 2017.

“Bizarre” was how Kopmeyer described the coincidence of facing her former team in her only two games this season.

“If anybody knows [Seattle], it’s probably me. So that’s a good thing, I think,” Kopmeyer said after the tie. “You know, it definitely kind of puts a little extra edge on the game for myself and, you know, probably some other players ’cause there’s been a lot of crossover between the two teams.

“So, you know, it’s an exciting matchup…and also the fact that we’re right neck-and-neck in the standings always makes, you know, a matchup against Seattle kind of a one you want to come out with points. So, the fact that we were able to get a point — you know, obviously, we’d love three, but a point keeps us moving in a playoff push.”

Who’s Next?

The Pride have two more games at home, starting with last-place Sky Blue FC (0-12-3, 3 points) on Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m.

For more on the Pride, as they look to solidify their spot in the four-team playoffs, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

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