The Orlando Pride continued their winless streak with a 2-0 loss on Friday, and now they have a chance to get back on track as the CONCACAF W Champions Cup campaign begins.
Orlando hosts Costa Rican side Alajuelense in its opening match of the continental competition on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“It’s a historic day for Orlando pride. We’re hoping that a lot of fans come out and support us. It’s a big, big game for all of us,” Orlando coach Seb Hines said. “We want to bounce back from some disappointing results. It gives us a great opportunity to move on from last Friday’s game.”
Alajuelense played out a 0-0 draw against Club America in their opening fixture, holding their own against the Liga MX Femenil leaders. The defending champions of the Costa Rican Women’s Premier Division, Alajuelense is a club that knows how to win when it counts.
“They come into our home, and they’ll be looking for a positive result. We know some tendencies that they have, we obviously want to exploit them,” Hines added. “We want to be on the front foot. We want to set a tone early on in the game, which I feel that we have done in previous games, and it’s now using that momentum to put ourselves in a position to go on to win the game.”
The Pride enter the contest knowing they need to get back to playing their best soccer. Six games without a win is shocking for a club that ran away with the league title last season. They have so far been unable to cope with the loss of Barbra Banda, and players such as Marta have not looked their best in recent weeks.
Elyse Bennett signed with the club over the weekend to help fill that void up front. The former seventh overall pick in the NWSL draft brings experience from several NWSL clubs as well as time spent playing in Spain. She will have the chance to help lead the line against Alajuelense, and the Pride are hoping she can deliver goals.
