Recap: Spirit falls to Orlando, 0-2

Orlando, Fla. (10/06/2024) – The Washington Sprit fell to the undefeated Orlando Pride, 0-2, on a rainy evening at Inter&Co Stadium. 

With multiple players out for this match, the Spirit Starting XI took on a brand new look today, including the first career regular season start for Heather Stainbrook. An undrafted rookie, Stainbrook has appeared in seven regular season matches this season. Esme Morgan shifted to right back, while Paige Metayer served as a forward and Ashley Hatch filled in the midfield role typically occupied by Leicy Santos. 

The Spirit played physically in the first half highlighted by a yellow card infraction on Annaïg Butel in the third minute. Her card was given when trying to stop Orlando’s scintillating forward Barbra Banda. In the first half, the Spirit picked up 11 fouls compared the Pride’s three. 

The Spirit’s first shot on target came in the 25th minute. Metayer found Rosemonde Kouassi in transition who then pelted a shot toward the top right corner of the frame, but it was stopped easily by Pride keeper Anna Moorhouse. 

The scoring dam broke in the 57th minute when Marta converted on a penalty kick. The penalty was earned by a streaking Banda who was taken down inside the Spirit box. Marta has converted eight straight regular season penalties dating back to 2018 and is now the all-time leading scorer in the Spirit-Pride all-time series (10). 

The Pride doubled its lead 15 minutes later when a shot from Adriana deflected off a Spirit player and into the Spirit net. 

Later, Jenna Butler made her NWSL regular season debut when replacing Andi Sullivan who left the match with an injury.   

Next up, the Spirit returns home to Audi Field to play Racing Louisville FC next Sunday, October 13 at 5 p.m. EDT. That match will be Hispanic Heritage Night, and fans can get their tickets here.  

-NWSL Match Report-  

Match: Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit 

Date: Sunday, October 6, 2024  

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando, Florida)  

Kickoff: 5 p.m. EDT  

Weather: Light rain, mid-70s 

Scoring Summary:   

ORL – Marta – 57’ (PK) 

ORL – Tara McKeown – 73’ (OG) 

Lineups:  

ORL: 1 – Anna Moorhouse; 25 – Kerry Abello; 3 – Kylie Strom; 6 – Emily Sams; 31 – Cori Dyke; 15 – Angelina; 9 – Adriana; 16 – Morgan Gautrat (28 – Summer Yates, 63’); 19 – Carson Pickett (20 – Julie Doyle, 70’); 22 – Barbra Banda; 10 – Marta 

Unused Substitutes: 13 – Celia; 40 – McKinley Crone; 17 – Evelina Duljan; 12 – Carrie Lawrence; 30 – Ally Lemos; 14 – Viviana Villacorta; 11 – Ally Watt 

WAS: 1 – Aubrey Kingsbury; 14 – Gabby Carle; 5 – Annaïg Butel (4 – Lena Silano, 58’); 9 – Tara McKeown; 24 – Esme Morgan; 22 – Heather Stainbrook (6 – Kate Wiesner, 73’); 33 – Ashley Hatch (13 – Brittany Ratcliffe, 73’); 12 – Andi Sullivan (32 – Jenna Butler, 90+2’); 16 – Courtney Brown (8 – Makenna Morris, 46’); 19 – Rosemonde Kouassi; 26 – Paige Metayer 

Unused Substitutes: 28 – Nicole Barnhart; 31 – Kaylie Collins 

Stats Summary: ORL / WAS 

Shots: 16 / 10 

Shots On Goal: 4 / 4 

Saves: 5 / 3 

Tackles Won: 15 / 13 

Fouls: 6 / 22 

Offsides: 2 / 3 

Misconduct Summary:  

WAS – Annaïg Butel – 3’ – Yellow Card 

WAS – Heather Stainbrook – 39’ – Yellow Card 

WAS – Tara McKeown – 54’ – Yellow Card 

The post Recap: Spirit falls to Orlando, 0-2 appeared first on Washington Spirit.