The Orlando Pride will host San Diego Wave FC on Friday, Oct. 2, at 8 p.m. ET in an NWSL regular-season match at Inter.co Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Prime Video will broadcast the match.
Orlando is unbeaten in its last five NWSL meetings with San Diego and has outscored the Wave 7-3 during that stretch. The Pride won the teams’ previous meeting 1-0 on May 24 at Snapdragon Stadium, where Nicole Payne scored the first professional goal of her career.
McCutcheon Enters Match After Two-Goal Performance
Haley McCutcheon scored twice in Orlando’s 3-1 victory over Bay FC on Sept. 27 at PayPal Park. The performance raised her season total to six goals and extended her career-high mark for goals in a single campaign.
McCutcheon also became the first player in NWSL history to score within the opening two minutes of both halves of a regular-season match. Jacquie Ovalle also scored for Orlando in the victory, while Racheal Kundanaji scored for Bay FC.
San Diego Comes Off Victory Over Racing Louisville FC
San Diego Wave FC defeated Racing Louisville FC 2-0 on Sept. 25 at Lynn Family Stadium. Gia Corley and Ludmila Da Silva scored for San Diego in the NWSL regular-season victory.
Orlando leads the all-competitions series 6-1-2, including a 2-1-1 home record and a 4-0-1 away record. Friday’s match will be the latest meeting between the teams as the Pride seek to extend their five-match unbeaten run against the Wave.
Abello Reaches 100 Regular-Season Appearances
Kerry Abello made her 100th regular-season appearance for the Orlando Pride when she entered the match against Bay FC. She became the third player in club history to reach 100 regular-season appearances for the Pride.
Abello joined Marta and Haley McCutcheon among the Orlando players who have reached that milestone. The appearance came during Orlando’s most recent match before Friday’s home meeting with San Diego.
Yolanda Thomas Expects Difficult Match
Interim head coach Yolanda Thomas said the Pride recognize the challenge presented by San Diego.
“It’s a tall task for us, they are a really good team and they are in form. They are on a hunt for the shield and we are on a hunt to shut down their shield hunt. So, we are looking forward to a good game and I expect it to be a difficult match. But, we are excited for the challenge.”
After Friday’s match, the Orlando Pride are scheduled to visit Houston Dash on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 1 p.m. ET. The NWSL regular-season match will be played at Shell Energy Stadium and broadcast on CBS Sports.
FSB Take
Orlando enters the match with a strong recent record against San Diego and a 3-1 road victory over Bay FC in its last outing. McCutcheon’s six goals and Abello’s 100th regular-season appearance provide significant individual milestones from that win.
San Diego also arrives after a victory, making the Pride’s recent success against the Wave the central storyline heading into Friday’s match at Inter.co Stadium.
Source: Original report