Kansas City NWSL Drops Close Decision in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. (May 30, 2021) - Kansas City NWSL concluded its stretch of three games in eight days as the expansion side battled against the league-leading Orlando Pride. Orlando took the early lead with a controversial goal that just barely crossed the goal line in the 16th minute. Kansas City played the Pride even in nearly every category the rest of the way, but was unable to find the equalizer as they fall 1-0 on the road.

Kansas City came out with six lineup changes from their recent match against Chicago on Wednesday. Head Coach Huw Williams remarked, “It's very important for us to be making sure that we give opportunities to everybody in a squad. This league is so competitive and has so many tough games that we have to give experiences to all the players.” 

Although Kansas City held the advantage in possession, a 16th-minute Orlando goal off a header from Alex Morgan, that the assistant referee judged to be tapped over the goal line by Marta, decided the game.

Kansas City goalkeeper Abby Smith talked about the controversial goal after the game and stated, “It’s just frustrating. But at the end of the day the referee is going to make the call and we don't have VAR (Video Assistant Referee) to go back and check so they stuck with their call and that's all we can do. We just go back home, keep training and look forward to next Sunday against Houston.”

Kansas City had its best chance in the 51st minute of the second half when defender Kristen Edmonds crossed a beautiful ball to forward Mallory Weber who headed it just wide of Orlando Pride’s net. 

An unfortunate error from Kansas City defender Katie Bowen in the penalty box gave the Pride and Morgan a penalty kick in the 66th minute. Morgan’s shot pinged off the left post of the goal keeping Kansas City within one score. 

Kansas City was dominant in the second half in maintaining possession over Orlando. The team continued to search for the equalizer even as the game went into added time. Midfielder Gaby Vincent nearly played the hero role for Kansas City with a breakaway that was just blocked at the last moment.

Kansas City returns home with a week to prepare for its next game on Sunday, June 6 against the Houston Dash. This will be the third matchup for the two teams since the Challenge Cup and the first since Kansas City scored in the final minutes to secure a draw on May 23.

The June 6 match against Houston at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas kicks off at 1 p.m. CT. Tickets and group packages are available at kansascitycurrent.com/tickets

NWSL Match Report

Match: Orlando Pride vs Kansas City NWSL

Date: May 30, 2021

Venue: Exploria Field, Orlando, Florida

Kickoff: 5:08 p.m. CT, 6:08 p.m. ET

Weather: 88 degrees, cloudy

Attendance: 4,044

Discipline

36’ ORL – Jonsdottir (Yellow)

37’ KC – McCain (Yellow)

45’ KC - Weber (Yellow)

62’ KC – Larroquette (Yellow)

Scoring

16’ ORL - Marta (Morgan)

Scoring Summary

Lineups:

Orlando: Harris, Riley, Krieger, McClernon, Peterson, Jónsdóttir, Viggano (90’+4 Dougherty Howard), Marta (82’ Washington), Korniek, Leroux (72’ Thomas), Morgan.

Substitutes Not Used: Haran, Kim, McLeod, Plummer, Pressley, Tymrak, Dougherty Howard..

Kansas City: Smith, Edmonds, Corsie, Ball, Bowen, Listro (68’ Pickett), Scott (87’ Vincent), McCain, Weber (57’ Johnson), Larroquette (69’ Rodriguez), Jenkins  

Substitutes Not Used: Barnhart, Del Fava, Maemone, Nolf, Vasconcelos.

ORLANDO, Fla. (May 30, 2021) - Kansas City NWSL concluded its stretch of three games in eight days as the expansion side battled against the league-leading Orlando Pride. Orlando took the early lead with a controversial goal that just barely crossed the goal line in the 16th minute. Kansas City played the Pride even in nearly every category the rest of the way, but was unable to find the equalizer as they fall 1-0 on the road.

Kansas City came out with six lineup changes from their recent match against Chicago on Wednesday. Head Coach Huw Williams remarked, “It's very important for us to be making sure that we give opportunities to everybody in a squad. This league is so competitive and has so many tough games that we have to give experiences to all the players.” 

Although Kansas City held the advantage in possession, a 16th-minute Orlando goal off a header from Alex Morgan, that the assistant referee judged to be tapped over the goal line by Marta, decided the game.

Kansas City goalkeeper Abby Smith talked about the controversial goal after the game and stated, “It’s just frustrating. But at the end of the day the referee is going to make the call and we don't have VAR (Video Assistant Referee) to go back and check so they stuck with their call and that's all we can do. We just go back home, keep training and look forward to next Sunday against Houston.”

Kansas City had its best chance in the 51st minute of the second half when defender Kristen Edmonds crossed a beautiful ball to forward Mallory Weber who headed it just wide of Orlando Pride’s net. 

An unfortunate error from Kansas City defender Katie Bowen in the penalty box gave the Pride and Morgan a penalty kick in the 66th minute. Morgan’s shot pinged off the left post of the goal keeping Kansas City within one score. 

Kansas City was dominant in the second half in maintaining possession over Orlando. The team continued to search for the equalizer even as the game went into added time. Midfielder Gaby Vincent nearly played the hero role for Kansas City with a breakaway that was just blocked at the last moment.

Kansas City returns home with a week to prepare for its next game on Sunday, June 6 against the Houston Dash. This will be the third matchup for the two teams since the Challenge Cup and the first since Kansas City scored in the final minutes to secure a draw on May 23.

The June 6 match against Houston at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas kicks off at 1 p.m. CT. Tickets and group packages are available at kansascitycurrent.com/tickets

NWSL Match Report

Match: Orlando Pride vs Kansas City NWSL

Date: May 30, 2021

Venue: Exploria Field, Orlando, Florida

Kickoff: 5:08 p.m. CT, 6:08 p.m. ET

Weather: 88 degrees, cloudy

Attendance: 4,044

Discipline

36’ ORL – Jonsdottir (Yellow)

37’ KC – McCain (Yellow)

45’ KC - Weber (Yellow)

62’ KC – Larroquette (Yellow)

Scoring

16’ ORL - Marta (Morgan)

Scoring Summary

Lineups:

Orlando: Harris, Riley, Krieger, McClernon, Peterson, Jónsdóttir, Viggano (90’+4 Dougherty Howard), Marta (82’ Washington), Korniek, Leroux (72’ Thomas), Morgan.

Substitutes Not Used: Haran, Kim, McLeod, Plummer, Pressley, Tymrak, Dougherty Howard..

Kansas City: Smith, Edmonds, Corsie, Ball, Bowen, Listro (68’ Pickett), Scott (87’ Vincent), McCain, Weber (57’ Johnson), Larroquette (69’ Rodriguez), Jenkins  

Substitutes Not Used: Barnhart, Del Fava, Maemone, Nolf, Vasconcelos.