The Orlando Pride head to WakeMed Soccer Park this weekend looking to build on Friday's 1-0 win over Chicago Stars FC. The trip brings a different kind of challenge, though, because North Carolina has not been an easy place for Orlando to find results.
The Pride have only two NWSL wins at WakeMed Soccer Park, and last year they played well in Cary before a stoppage-time equalizer left them with a draw. That history is part of the backdrop here, especially with Orlando trying to follow up a match in which it created almost 20 shots but still only found one goal.
North Carolina's position and Orlando's task
North Carolina enters the match ninth in the NWSL with a 6-3-6 record and 21 points, and Ashley Sanchez leads the team with nine goals. Seb Hines said the Courage are always a tough opponent, pointing to their possession-based identity, the tight field and the hostile atmosphere at WakeMed Soccer Park.
“North Carolina is always a tough place to go and play,” Hines said. He added that the Courage will be eager to bounce back from a disappointing result against Utah and stressed that Orlando has to stay focused on itself and deliver a performance it knows it is capable of producing.
Hines also said the Pride's performance in Cary last year showed they can compete there. “Last year we had a really good performance. We were really aggressive in our press, really good in possession, but didn't manage to get the goal,” he said. “That gives us a platform to really think we're capable of doing something at their place.”
Missing Banda creates another test
Orlando will again have to adjust without Barbra Banda, who is away on international duty with Zambia. Haley McCutcheon said the team can view its missed chances as frustration or as confidence, since the Pride are still creating opportunities and now need the final piece.
“Especially without Barbra here, it gives other players an opportunity to step up and be the finisher,” McCutcheon said. That makes this road match another useful test for Orlando, which has to turn recent control and chance creation into goals against a North Carolina side that has often made life difficult at home.
For the Pride, the formula is straightforward: keep the pressure up, handle the environment and find a cleaner finish than they did in their last trip to Cary. If they do, Friday's win could become the start of a stronger stretch rather than just one good result.
