The Orlando Pride have not been themselves lately, going winless in their past five matches.
Now Orlando (8-5-4, 28 points) hosts NJ/NY Gotham FC (5-6-6, 21 points) on Friday at 8 p.m. as the team tries to get back to its winning ways.
“It’s two competitive teams looking to rekindle their form. Starting with us, we want to put on a show for our fans,” Orlando coach Seb Hines said. “It’s been a while since we played in front of them. It’s been a while since we got three points, and we’re looking to change that this Friday against Gotham.”
Orlando has struggled mightily in front of goal, only netting three in its last five matches. The loss of Barbra Banda to a season-ending injury certainly doesn’t help matters either, as she leads the team with eight goals. The Pride have a host of players to choose from in attack, but until new record signing Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle arrives, the team is sorely lacking a main creator to lead the attack.
Despite the loss of Banda and the team’s scoring woes, Hines is confident that his team can turn things around. The next player up mentality has been an important mantra throughout his tenure, and the Pride are hoping to show they can live up to those words against Gotham.
“A player goes down, someone’s got to step up, and we might have to shuffle a few things around, but it’s been really encouraging to see that there’s a real togetherness. Everyone’s encouraging each other to play their best game,” Hines added. “And yeah, it’s coming down to fine margins, but we’re in a really good position right now. We want to continue that moving forward.”
Gotham is in a slump of its own, going winless in its past four games. They will be just as desperate as the Pride to earn a much-needed victory. However, the combination of playing at home and having capable leaders like Marta should give Orlando the upper hand.
