Pride lose at home to Gotham FC
A second-half stoppage-time penalty followed by another late concession gave Gotham FC (2-1-0, 6 points) a 2-0 NWSL victory over the host Orlando Pride (0-3-0, 0 points) on Saturday night.
Orlando looked the better of the two teams for much of the game, but a controversial handball call proved to be the Pride’s downfall. Both teams had several scoring opportunities but neither was able to score in open play.
It was a nervy moment in the 65th minute when Pride goalkeeper Kaylie Collins was caught outside the box. Lynn Williams forced the turnover that almost led to an easy goal for Yazmeen Ryan but Pride defenders Kylie Strom and Caitlin Cosme kept Gotham scoreless thanks to two blocks in quick succession.
Kerry Abello had the two best chances for the Pride but was unable to convert. The first in the 42nd minute was saved by Gotham goalkeeper Abby Smith. The second came in the 77th minute when her shot from distance just barely went over the crossbar.
Cosme was deemed to have handled the ball in the box after a minutes-long VAR review by referee Elvis Osmanovic. The penalty was scored by Midge Purce in the 10th minute of stoppage time. Lynn Williams finished putting away the Pride with a goal in the 17th minute of stoppage time
It was the second game in a row where goals conceded late into stoppage time undercut an otherwise improved Pride performance.
“It’s the PK again, which is a regular occurrence right now with us. We have to review it and, you know, it is what it is right now,” said coach Seb Hines about how his team handles these late-game disappointments. “It’s only development if you learn from it, right? So getting exposure to these scenarios in the game should only help them moving forward.”
The Pride play again Wednesday at home against the North Carolina Courage in the NWSL Challenge Cup.
