In the final minutes of stoppage time against Racing Louisville on Friday night, the host Orlando Pride were looking for a last-ditch miracle.
The Pride had trailed Louisville since the 21st minute, struggling to find a single outlet to put the ball on frame. With seconds left on the clock, the team opted for a play of late-game desperation — pulling keeper Ashlyn Harris fully out of goal to attempt a long-range pass.
The keeper’s first pass was blocked, and for a moment the team seemed set to crumble into its third straight loss. But Harris tracked down the ball, sizing up the field before launching the ball up over the Louisville backline, through the box and right to the feet of striker Sydney Leroux.
Leroux — who leads the Pride and the league in scoring with five goals on the season — chipped the shot directly over the keeper, salvaging the game in a much-needed final jolt of energy. It was a drawn-up schoolyard play, something the Pride had never practiced before the match.
“To be honest, I have no idea what happened,” Leroux said. “I blacked out and the next thing you know the ball was in the back of the net.”
When the final whistle blew seconds later, Leroux collapsed to the pitch in exhaustion and relief, immediately smothered by celebrations from teammates Taylor Kornieck and Abi Kim.
The match was often listless and lackluster for the Pride, but it also broke a two-game losing skid to right the team’s recent form without its top international attackers. With the 1-1 draw, Orlando (4-2-4, 16) held its position as the second team in the NWSL league table.
The draw marked the fifth time in eight games the Pride have come back from a deficit for a win or draw this season.
“It’s not a lack of heart,” defender Ali Riley said. “Maybe sometimes a little lack of brains, but not a lack of heart. … From what I’ve heard from seasons past, this game would have been a throwaway. It could have been one, it could have been two, it could have been three. To come back like this is the new Orlando Pride. This is who we are and we’re never going to turn over. We’re never going to roll over and die and it’s never over.”
Despite an energetic start, the Pride quickly showed a familiar vulnerability — a lack of precision in defending in transition. Louisville peeled open this weak spot by threading the ball between centerbacks Ali Krieger and Toni Pressley, an area that’s often been open for opponents.
Louisville forward Ebony Salmon flew into the area, crashing through Krieger to knock her off balance before threading the ball through the legs of keeper Harris.
The goal flipped the momentum in the match and deflated the Pride’s early energy. Orlando quickly fell into a disjointed rhythm, settling to play balls over the top as Louisville continued to disrupt passing through the midfield.
“I think we had a very poor first half in terms of winning our individual battles,” Riley said. “It was too easy. Our organization was all over the place. They looked like a World Cup team and we looked like amateurs.”
The Pride struggled without star attackers Alex Morgan and Marta, both of whom reported to Tokyo for the Olympics this week.
With starting midfielder Marisa Viggiano also sidelined due to injury, Orlando completed just 73% of its passes.
Outside of the equalizing goal, the team managed only a single shot on frame on the night — a late-game attempt on the backside by Leroux, whose header was immediately gobbled up by the Louisville keeper.
For the rest of the night, the Pride’s attack mostly flitted around the box without producing a meaningful challenge. But Louisville was similarly stagnant on the attack, allowing Harris to finish the match without making a save.
“There’s no hiding that’s our worst performance as a team,” coach Marc Skinner said. “There were a few choice words at halftime, to be honest. … But it’s really easy tonight to focus on a lackluster performance where actually the biggest take home for us will be the attitude of players. I think it’s gratifying as a coach and it’s really uplifting to know that your players are fighting for each other.”
The Pride now will regroup before hitting the road for one of the toughest environments in the league as they face the Portland Thorns at Providence Park next Sunday.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Julia Poe at jpoe@orlandosentinel.com.
