The Orlando Pride host Boston Legacy FC on Wednesday, carrying four straight home wins into a rematch with the team that beat them in May.
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Orlando (6-6-2, 20 points) and Boston (3-7-4, 13 points) kick off at Inter&Co Stadium at 7 p.m.
The Pride are in eighth place, the final spot in the playoff race. Boston is 14th in its inaugural NWSL season. Both teams won last Friday, with Orlando shutting out Kansas City at home and Boston beating Chicago 2-0 to snap a four-game winless run.
“Last time we played them was a physical game. It came down to literally the last kick of the game as well,” Orlando head coach Seb Hines said. “So we’re looking to bounce back from that result.”
Boston beat the Pride 2-1 on May 12 at Gillette Stadium after Marta had given Orlando the lead from the penalty spot. Aleigh Gambone and Amanda Gutierres scored for the Legacy. Hines made four changes to his starting lineup for the Kansas City match, and whether he sticks with the lineup that produced Friday’s result or chooses to rotate is the most important tactical question on Wednesday.
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Filipa Patão’s Boston side presses high and commits numbers forward. Forward Aïssata Traoré sets the tone with her work rate off the ball. She forced two chances inside the first minute against Chicago and drew the penalty that led to Gutierres’ opener. Gutierres has four goals on the season, three from the spot, and Nichelle Prince has added pace on the wing with two goals of her own. Midfielder Alba Caño, a product of Barcelona’s academy, controls tempo from the middle of the park.
The Pride’s defense will need to handle that early pressure. Orlando has allowed 19 goals this season and has been vulnerable on the road, but at home, the numbers are different. The Pride have won four straight at Inter&Co Stadium and have not allowed a goal at home in their past two matches. Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse made nine saves in the Kansas City shutout and has been in fine form in recent games.
“We build so much good momentum. The fans get behind us. It makes it a real hostile environment,” Hines added. “It’s important, when we feel that way, that we punish teams. That’s why, over the years, it’s been so difficult for teams to come here and get points.”
Barbra Banda has 12 goals and an assist this season and leads the NWSL Golden Boot race. She scored off the bench on Friday. If Hines starts her, she gives the Pride an attacking threat that Boston’s back line will have to key in on. Banda scored in three straight matches before the summer break, and her return to full fitness after injury makes Orlando a different team.