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Photo Copyright Nick Tre. Smith for USA TODAY Sports
When the Orlando Pride faced the Kansas City Current in July, the teams were tied in points and locked in a battle for the top of the National Women’s Soccer League table. They were also looking to head into the Olympic break with a decisive victory.
And, as Dan Lauletta wrote then, the match lived up to the hype.
“There was a ton of intensity in the game, and I think you’re going to get that with two really competitive teams. And no one wanted to leave anything on the field,” Kansas City defender Izzy Rodriguez said after that match.
Despite being down a player for the entire second half after defender Carrie Lawrence was shown a red card, Orlando emerged victorious with goals from Barbra Banda and Marta. The latter was the game-winner, on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute.
Now, with a spot in the NWSL playoffs already secured, the Pride will put their record-setting streak of 19 games without a loss on the line against the league’s most prolific offense.
Here are three storylines to watch in the highly anticipated rematch between the Pride and the Current on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Prime Video:
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1. The mystery of momentum
There is a lot of talk in sports about “momentum,” and Orlando definitely seems to have the advantage there. Picking up right where it left off at the break, it has shut out all three opponents in regular-season play to string together a six-game winning streak.
Kansas City has not been so lucky despite reaching the finals of the inaugural Summer Cup and winning The Women’s Cup during the break. The Current returned to NWSL play with a surprising 4-1 loss on the road to the Washington Spirit and a 2-1 loss to the North Carolina Courage. However, they bounced back on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over the Utah Royals at home.
“It’s probably the first game we’re going into with a mindset that we have nothing to lose,” Kansas City coach Vlatko Andonovski said about the Orlando matchup in a press conference on Thursday. “We are playing arguably one of the best teams the league has ever had, no question the best team in the league, so we go into it pretty relaxed, to be honest. We want to get a result and we want to be successful in this game, but we go into the game with almost no pressure at all.”
Does Orlando get a boost from its continued success? Or will Kansas City come in even more motivated to close the nine-point gap between them?
2. The Golden Boot leaders
The other big number going into the July match was the goal tally between forwards Banda and Temwa Chawinga. They were tied for the league lead, and both scored in that match. But Chawinga has since jumped ahead with 15 to Banda’s 12.
“She’s a great player and her stats back it up as well,” Orlando coach Seb Hines said about Chawinga during a press conference this week. “There’s not another player like her in the league, so we have to be concentrated at all time. We have to be proactive.”
Keep an eye on these two for highlight-reel runs and big breakaways. At 0.78 and 0.86 expected goals per 90 minutes, Chawinga and Banda have broken out as two of the most exciting players to watch, even though both are in their first NWSL season.
3. The emotions (and the cards)
In addition to Lawrence’s two yellow cards, there were seven more called in the July match and a total of 29 fouls. That included a collision between Kansas City keeper AD Franch and Orlando’s Adriana that led to the PK.
It was a hard-fought game, and it was quick, too, with 37 shots and 12 on goal between the two sides.
Although neither coach leaned into the “rematch” angle, you can expect this to be another physical, if not chippy, match as Orlando and Kansas City close in on the end of the regular season.
