Orlando Pride find work to do after third 1-0 loss, this one to Kansas City Current | OneFootball

The Orlando Pride suffer their third 1-0 loss of the season. This one is to the Kansas City Current.

It’s a third frustrating 1-0 loss suffered by the Orlando Pride. The latest team to solve the Pride’s attack is the Kansas City Current.

The most frustrating thing about this third 1-0 loss is that by the second one, the team sincerely figured out how it could happen. Yet, the Kansas City Current found still another way to stop the Pride’s attack, while finding a way around the defense for one score.

That delivered the first win over the Pride for the Current in the past four matches across all competitions. The previous Current losses include the 2024 NWSL Championship.

The score by Current forward Temwa Chawinga came unassisted in the 52nd minute. That’s the 25th goal of her NWSL career. She’s the first Current player to reach that threshold. She did so in 34 appearances, making her the fastest to get to 25 in NWSL history, and the 18th player in the league to get there with one club.

The defense continued to hold firm and helped goalkeeper Lorena secure her fifth clean sheet of the season.

Kansas City now has 21 points and becomes the first team in NWSL history to collect at least 20 points through their first nine matches of the season.

By now, Pride players and coaches recognize they have targets on their backs each time they take the pitch. They are the reigning league champions. No other club will volunteer to award them any more points. Each match gets an extensive pre-game study.

They know they are vulnerable to going off-balance early and are working on methods to get back on.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said the Current showed speed from the match’s opening. While the players kept the game balanced throughout, the Kansas City Current created one chance they could bank on. The Pride did not.

He said they all took heart as Marta achieved her 10,000th minute with the Pride. She is the 16th player in the NWSL to reach this mark with one club. Also, midfielder Summer Yates came into the match as a substitute after missing four matches with an injury. She’ll increasingly work to help the Pride overcome in touch matches like these.

So in drills for the matches that follow, the Orlando Pride will prepare to bank on more chances than their opponents.