-
Word count: 707
ORLANDO, Fla. – From the 4,592 in attendance at Exploria Stadium to the ESPNews TV audience watching from home, everyone can agree that Orlando Pride (4-14-2, 14 points) goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris played a near-perfect game in a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Red Stars Wednesday night.
Chicago (11-8-2, 35 points) incessantly knocked on the goal-scoring door like a full line in a bar’s bathroom with one stall. The Red Stars unleashed 16 shots (seven on-goal) and eventually managed to break the seal in the literal last minute of the match.
Red Stars substitute Zoey Goralski, first, maneuvered down the middle-left side and into the box before centering it to defender Casey Short for a blocked shot. Chicago maintained the ricocheted ball and played it to open space to forward Sam Kerr in the right side of the box. She centrally crossed it to Short, who headed it past Harris in the 95th minute.
“She’s the best character I’ve seen in soccer in all of my time…” Pride Head Coach Mark Skinner said after the loss. “Her mentality is rock-solid. She didn’t deserve that tonight; she didn’t deserve mis-defending on the halfway line and mis-defending our central area of our box. She didn’t deserve that.”
.@ORLPRide Head Coach @MDSkinner83 on @Ashlyn_Harris after a 1-0, last-second loss to @chiredstarsPR: "She didn't deserve that tonight."#ORLvCHI #SKOPURP #VamosOrlando #NWSL pic.twitter.com/1IE4Zxka0m
— New Day Review (@NewDayReview) September 12, 2019
Among Harris’ six saves, her most impressive came in the 75th minute. With defender Ali Krieger trailing, Kerr broke free down the middle of the field, drawing Harris off her line. Kerr took a quick shot, and Harris responded by quickly dropping to her left for the save.
Harris also helped defend eight corners (five in the first half) and punched away several dangerous crosses. Her defense of the goal was visibly recognized by her teammates after one particular sequence early in the second half: A corner from the left bounced high near the goal line, as Harris deflected the ball at least twice before falling on it. All the Pride players subsequently huddled around Harris in encouragement.
What wasn’t encouraging, however, was the Pride’s lack of attack. Despite a 64th-minute red card for Chicago, Orlando held only 43.8% of possession for the entire game (36.4% in the first, 52.8% in the second), took 10 shots (one on-goal) and launched two second-half corners.
The Pride’s lone on-goal effort came in the sixth minute when attacker Claire Emslie received the ball in the middle of the box. She took a quick but threatening shot, and Chicago goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher pounced on it.
“Second half, we had more possession; first half, we were just breaking all the time,” Emslie said after the game. “But we still created some chances, got some shots on target. Second half, we definitely created a lot more. It’s just the final ball we need to work on to improve.”
Orlando’s second-most dangerous threat came from forward Camila Martins Pereira. The Brazilian opted for a long-range attempt and launched from near midfield. Her ball floated too high but was nearly reminiscent of her 2017 goal against the Houston Dash.
The Pride also had one final chance in the 81st minute. Emslie took the ball down the left sideline, as she and second-half sub Abby Elinsky worked a two-on-one opportunity. With Chicago’s defender cutting off a clean angle to Elinsky, Emslie’s pass didn’t lead her teammate but rather lagged behind. That gave time for Chicago’s defenders to get back and thwart the effort.
—
Skinner expressed understandable frustration with his younger players and perhaps some discontent with his veterans. Following the match, Skinner made several references to recruiting players that “will help our young players to become the team that we need to [be].”
In addition to third-year forward Rachel Hill (24), the Pride also started and played three rookies: defender Erin Greening (22) and midfielder Joanna Boyles (23) and Marisa Viggiano (22). Elinsky (23) and forward Danica Evans (24) also subbed into the game.
“Honestly, I’ve got more gray hairs this year than I’ll ever have,” Skinner said. “But it doesn’t dampen by spirit. Because I can see the vision. I can see what I’m doing; I can see what pieces I need; I can see the players in this league that I need; I can see the players from around the world that I need … and my aim is to get them here.”
—
Who’s Next?
Orlando has four games left in its season. The Pride start this final stretch with a two-game road trip, beginning with the No. 1 North Carolina Courage (11-4-4, 37 points) on Saturday at 7 p.m.
For more on the Pride, as they look for their fifth victory of 2019, 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.
