April 23, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Orlando Pride News Release
HARRISON, N.J. – Orlando Pride (0-4-2, 2 points) wrapped up play in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup on Saturday night, drawing host NJ/NY Gotham FC (1-2-3, 6 points) 1-1 at Red Bull Arena. The match marked the final game of the preseason tournament for both teams, as they will each look ahead to the May 1 season opener where they meet again, this time at Exploria Stadium in a 7 p.m. ET kickoff.
Midfielder Gunny Jónsdóttir scored the Pride’s lone goal in the match, opening the scoring in the 10th minute with a header on Angharad James’ service. With the goal, Jónsdóttir finishes the Challenge Cup tied with Darian Jenkins for the team lead in goals with two each.
Second-year goalkeeper Kaylie Collins made her professional debut in the match, picking up four saves including two big stops – a 65th-minute breakaway save on Ifeoma Onumonu followed by a 78th-minute point blank save on a Kristie Mewis redirect.
Orlando Pride Head Coach Amanda Cromwell:
“I thought we started really well, getting the ball early. We’ve been working a lot on set plays and being more dangerous, especially on corner kicks, so that [goal] was really encouraging. I thought our possession was really good and we had a lot of confidence. This game is funny, you need to follow that up with getting a second one to continue the confidence building. We gave up the penalty right before half so that set the stage for the second half, not being able to keep it like we were but we were really shorthanded today. We were dealing with some injuries during the game, as well, so I was really proud of the effort. I thought Kaylie [Collins] in goal was spectacular so I’m really proud of some of the bright spots tonight. And we got a point so you have to celebrate the little wins, even the ties.”
Scoring Recap:
10′ Gunny Jónsdóttir (Angharad James) – ORL 1, NJ/NY 0
The Pride picked up the first goal of the match, with Gunny…