The Orlando Pride prepare for their first-ever home playoff. It’s against the Chicago Red Stars.
The Orlando Pride bring their greatest season ever – one of the greatest seasons in NWSL history – to their practices to defeat the Chicago Red Stars.
The NWSL Shield-bearing Pride and Red Stars each have a top goalkeeper on the pitch. The Chicago side brings Alyssa Nahaer, who just won her third League Impact Save of the Week honors. The Pride’s Anna Moorhouse helmed West Ham when they were Women’s FA Cup runner-ups.
She was in the net for Arsenal when they were also runner-ups for the Women’s FA Cup, but then went on to win the Women’s League Cup.
Now she was netminder for Orlando as they won the NWSL Shield.
That means the winning team between these sides will be the squad that brings the most skillful and creative attack to the pitch.
Chicago finished the regular season with a record of 10-14-2 compared to Orlando’s 18-2-6. That’s a significant difference in records that is dramatic. However, the vast difference in the two teams’ records for the regular season is in the Goal Differential.
The first-place Orlando Pride finished the season with a Goal Differential of 26. The Chicago Red Stars have a differential that is negative. This eighth-place squad scored 31 goals, suffered 38, for a differential of -7.
During October through the last regular-season game in nearly November, The Chicago Red Stars went 1-3-0. In their final match against the Kansas City Current, a 3-1 loss, the opposing players consistently attacked from the left side.
As they distracted the Red Stars defenders, this condition drew Chicago’s talented keeper away from the net. Skillful, planned crosses caught well-positioned Kansas City attackers, who delivered the ball home.
That worked for Chicago opponents and a well-practiced attack like this will move the Orlando Pride through the NWSL quarterfinals.
Count on it.