April 16, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Orlando Pride News Release
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Pride (0-4-1, 1 point) fell by a score of 4-2 to the North Carolina Courage (3-0-2, 11 points) on Saturday night at Exploria Stadium in what served as the side’s last home match of the Challenge Cup.
Darian Jenkins netted both goals for the Pride, her first multi-goal performance since Sept. 7, 2019, when she scored two goals against Orlando as a member of the OL Reign. Leah Pruitt and Kerry Abello each tallied an assist in the match, the first for Pruitt as a member of the Pride and the first for Abello of her professional career.
Forward Julie Doyle also made her professional debut on the night, entering the match as a 70th minute substitute.
The Pride will close out the Challenge Cup next week at Red Bull Arena, traveling to take on NJ/NY Gotham FC.
Orlando Pride Head Coach Amanda Cromwell:
“A little disappointed because you see what we can do when we have a little urgency and confidence and are courageous on the ball, so coming out how we did, we looked a little bit scared. We looked a little bit timid, we weren’t communicating and putting enough pressure on the ball or shifting well. They [North Carolina] came out buzzing, that’s what they do, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise but as coaches we have to look at it and see how we could have prepared our team better. As players, we have to play 90 minutes. We’ve put together a lot of good parts of games, but that’s not going to win us games. We have to put together a complete 90 minutes.”
Scoring Recap:
3′ Megan Montefusco (OG) – NC 1, ORL 0
The Courage got on the board early, with a cross from Merritt Mathias from the left side bouncing into the area and deflecting off Pride defender Megan Montefusco into the back of the net.
6′ Jaelene Daniels (Taylor Smith) – NC 2, ORL 0
North Carolina doubled the advantage, this time with Jaelene Daniels getting on the end of a ball from Taylor Smith for the first time…