The Reign hosted the Pride at Lumen Field on Sunday May 19th. The game kicked off and both teams came out strong, Jess Fishlock sent an early shot wide of the goal, and it looked like Seattle was gonna put on a strong performance. Just nine minutes into the game Pride Defender Emily Sams took a shot from outside of the box and rocketed it into the net. The shot appeared to have taken Reign keeper Laurel Ivory off guard, and Orlando was up 1-0.
The match continued on and the Reign continued to put pressure and play without letting the early goal get to them. Orlando’s Banda and Reign’s Alana Cook began to show an interesting match up as Cook defended the forward. In the 18th minute Orlando’s Adriana sent in a cross arching over the goal. Ivory leapt to get a hand on it and tipped the ball up and behind her, where it found the head of Banda unguarded. Banda finished off the play with a strong header to give the Pride a 2-0 lead less than 20 minutes into the game.
The tempo stayed high from both teams as more attacks were made on all sides of the pitch. In the 32nd minute, it looked like the Pride was going to be up 3-0 but their goal decision was reversed after a clear offside and review by the ref. This gave the reign more momentum as they continued on with the first half.
The referees determined there would be 5 extra minutes of stoppage time for the first half. In the 5th minute Ji dribbled the ball into the box and passed the ball to James-Turner who was waiting at the top. She struck the ball which took a slight deflection and went straight over the Orlando keeper’s head. And just like that the Reign were back in it. This was James-Turner’s first goal for the Reign and the end of the first half.
Second Half
The start of the second half saw early attempts from the Reign as well as one switch in defense. Shae Holmes came on for Lauren Barnes. Holmes immediately got into the game proving she could go stride for stride with Banda.
This early second half pressure paid off for the Reign as Bethany Balcer scored in the 48th minute. Fishlock sent a long ball deep to meet Balcer’s run. Balcer outran the defense and took a shot with her right foot, the ball curved around the keeper and found a spot in the top corner. This goal tied it up for the Reign and now the game looked like it could go either way.
The Pride had a corner in the 59th minute, Marta sent the ball into the box where it was headed away. The ball landed at the feet of Banda who took no time in putting the ball past the keeper. This was the last goal of the game as the Pride proved to have the extra quality necessary for winning a game like this.
Upcoming
The Reign will face the Washington Spirit on Friday May 24th at 4:30pm PT. The Spirit will host the Reign at Audi Field.
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PHOTO CREDIT TO CHARIS WILSON PHOTOGRAPHY
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