Courage fall in midweek road tilt in Orlando

The North Carolina Courage fell to the Orlando Pride, 4-1, Wednesday night at Inter&Co Stadium. The Courage remain on 12 points through seven matches with a 4-3-0 record.

Fresh off a seven-save performance over the weekend, Casey Murphy stood tall in the first minute, diving to punch away an early shot attempt from the Pride. The ensuing build led to North Carolina’s first chance of the night, with Narumi whipping a shot wide from the middle of the box.

Ryan Williams made a crucial block on a one-timer chance a few minutes later, as the Courage fought off some dangerous early looks from the hosts. After the Courage dictated tempo for the next several minutes, Murphy made another massive stop at point-blank range to deny Barbra Banda in the 16’. Murphy would make a total of five saves for the evening.

The Courage got a big chance in the 23’ when a nice up build found Tyler Lussi at the top of the box but her rocket glanced off the crossbar and stayed out, inches from a fourth goal in as many contests. The Pride countered on a Courage build in the 30’ as Banda intercepted a pass and streaked up the left side then rolled a perfect through ball for Ally Watt to finish off behind the defense.

The duo combined again 10 minutes later, with Watt this time lofting a cross from the left wing for Banda to poke home. The Pride got another just before halftime when Murphy stopped a Banda shot, but couldn’t cling onto the rebound and Julie Doyle was able to follow up and finish to put the Courage in their largest hole of the season.

The Courage got one back early in the second half when Haley Hopkins forced an own-goal in the 52’, drawing a deflection off the Pride defender. Banda restored the three-goal lead in the 77’ when she slid across the top of the box then found far netting for her fifth goal contribution in her last two matches.