Orlando

Orlando Pride Limit Number 2 Seattle Reign to 1-1 Draw at Home

Published

7 years ago

July 21, 2018

ORLANDO (FNN SPORTS) - Orlando's Toni Pressley scored and helped the Pride stand against Seattle Reign to get the draw Saturday. Photo: Willie David/Florida National News.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – The Orlando Pride returned home Saturday to battle the Seattle Reign in the absence of USWNT players Alex Morgan and Ashlyn Harris, who were called up to play for the national team for the Tournament of Nations. The Pride’s lineup made a slight shift in their absence, with Haley Kopmeyer as starting goalie Sydney Leroux as starting forward. Rapinoe and Allie Long were called up to the USWNT from Seattle.

FIRST HALF

In the 18th minute, Seattle attacked the Orlando goal with two close scores. The first involved a long range left cross to Seattle’s Jessica Fishlock, who attempted to head tip it into the goal, but Orlando’s Kopmeyer knocked the ball away in midair. Shortly thereafter, since Orlando couldn’t keep the ball on their side of the field, the Reign made their way back to the goal and repeated the same assist strategy, but Kopmeyer caught the ball and tossed it back.

Orlando made the game’s first goal in the 21st minute. Chioma Ubogagu ran the ball to the goal, but Seattle’s Therea Nielsen back-kicked the ball away from the goal, but Orlando’s Toni Pressley was right in the ball’s trajectory and made a shot on goal.

Seattle began their substitutions early, making two in the 27th minute: Morgan Andrews and Kristen McNabb were subbed in for Beverly Yanez and Rumi Utsugi respectively.

In the 36th minute, Seattle employed the back-kick strategy again, but to no avail. Chioma Ubogagu was running the ball back to Orlando goalie Kopmeyer when Seattle’s Jodie Taylor back kicked it to Fishlock, who made a shot, and Taylor attempted to tip it in, but Kopmeyer blocked it.

In the 38th minute Orlando’s Kopmeyer made another key save from the same threatening duo. Fishlock ran the ball to the goal and kicked while Taylor attempted to tip it in again, but Kopmeyer made the dive and catch to stop what would have been a left side goal.

In the 45th minute, Chioma Ubogagu had a close call of her own. As she ran the ball to goal, she made a shot on goal, but Seattle goalie Lydia Williams slid the ball to the left of the goal.

Orlando maintained their 1-0 lead at halftime.

SECOND HALF

In the 58th minute, Seattle’s Taylor made a daring dash for the goal and nearly had it, as Kopmeyer had come forward and was out of her way, however, Toni Pressley positioned herself in Kopmeyer’s box, using her back to block Taylor’s kick.

In the 60th minute, Orlando subbed in Camila for Toni Pressley. In the 67th minute, Orlando subbed in Emily van Egmond for Chioma Ubogagu.

Taylor’s efforts finally paid off in the 70th minute with the assist from Nahomi Kawasumi. Taylor made a quick left shot on goal and Kopmeyer tried to kick it out of the way, but missed, equalizing the score 1-1.

The Pride appeared to lose momentum for the remainder of the game, and the extra foul calls didn’t help. By games end, the Pride had 17 fouls conceded compared to Seattle’s mere three.

Pride head coach Tom Sermanni was slightly disappointed, despite getting the one point. “I thought we started okay. We had some decent passages of play, but we just didn’t seem to have the energy tonight to really threaten Seattle as much as we should have,” he said during the postgame press conference. “Really delighted that we hung in and got a point, and that keeps us right in the mix, but there’s some fundamental parts of our game that I think we need to do an awful lot better.”

The Pride next host Sky Blue FC on Sunday August 5 at 7:30pm.

_________________________________________

Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com

Up Next

Pair of Late Goals Sink Lions in Columbus

Don't Miss

Gov. Scott Reappoints Two to Greater Orlando Aviation Authority

Click to comment

Golf

Russell Henley Wins Red Cardigan at 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Published

2 months ago

March 9, 2025

Mike Brodsky

Russell Henley wins the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN Sports) – Russell Henley wins his first red cardigan at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, today, along with $4 million of the $20 million prize pool. The red cardigan was first awarded in 2017, in memory of Arnold Palmer who passed the year before. This is Henley’s fifth win on the PGA Tour.

Russell Henley is greeted by his family on the 18th green after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

Henley finished at 11 under par for the four day tournament, carding a 70 today. Collin Morikawa finished in second place at 10 under par. API defending champion, Scottie Scheffler, finished today at 4 under par, tied for 11th place.

Scottie Scheffler tees off at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo Credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

This coming week, the top golfers head to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, for The Players Championship. The winner will walk away with $4.5 million of the $25 million up for grabs. This is the PGA Tour’s largest regular season purse. Stay tuned to www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.

NFL

UCF Hall of Fame Inductee Shaquem Griffin Launches Search For Greatness Combine With Joey Grant and GMTM

Published

6 months ago

October 30, 2024

Mike Brodsky

UCF Hall of Fame Inductee Shaquem Griffin Launches Search For Greatness Combine With Joey Grant and GMTM

Former UCF football players Shaquem Griffin and Joey Grant have partnered with GMTM to launch their Search for Greatness Combine at UCF on Saturday, November 9th. They’re giving local athletes a chance to showcase their talents and explore new sports opportunities. Griffin will be inducted into the UCF Hall of Fame on Saturday, November 2nd, during halftime of the Arizona vs. UCF football game. He is remembered for his tenacity, setting an NFL Combine record with the fastest 40-yard dash by a linebacker, and playing four seasons in the NFL, overcoming the challenge of only having one hand. He is now training to make the USA Paralympic Track and Field Team and hopes to compete in the 2028 Olympics. Joey Grant, the co-founder and CEO of GMTM, is a former UCF team captain, playing mostly Center for the Knights from 2011-2015.

Participation at the upcoming combine is free and invite-only, targeting athletes over the age of 18. To be considered, athletes must submit a highlight video via GMTM’s platform, showcasing their athleticism. GMTM will evaluate submissions and invite the most promising athletes to participate in the combine. The goal for this year’s event is to get 1,000 athletes to submit videos and be part of the combine process. Athletes chosen will receive personalized invites with further instructions, including event time slots and details. The athletes will be evaluated for their key athletic traits, to identify opportunities for them across multiple Olympic sports or professional sports programs. To learn more, or to apply for the combine, visit: https://gmtm.com/articles/the-search-for-greatness-at-ucf-with-shaquem-griffin-what-you-need-to-know.

Florida National News spoke with Shaquem and Joey about the combine, college football in the era of NIL and the transfer portal, and Griffin’s hall of fame induction. You can watch the full interview here:

Shaquem Griffin and Joey Grant interview

Stay tuned to www.FloridaNationalNews.com and www.FloridaSportsChannel.com for more.

Florida

Scottie Scheffler Wins Second Red Cardigan at 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Published

1 year ago

March 10, 2024

Mike Brodsky

Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN Sports) – Scottie Scheffler wins his second red cardigan at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, today, along with $4 million of the $20 million prize pool. The red cardigan was first awarded in 2017, in memory of Arnold Palmer who passed the year before. Scheffler first won the API in 2022.

Scottie Scheffler wins the Arnold Palmer Invitational. (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

The number one ranked golfer in the world, Scheffler finished at 15 under par for the four day tournament, carding a 66 today. Wyndham Clark finished in second place at 10 under par. API defending champion, Kurt Kitayama, did not make the cut, this weekend, finishing 7 over par after the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday.

This coming week, the top golfers head to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, for the 50th anniversary of The Players Championship. The winner will walk away with $4.5 million of the $25 million up for grabs. This is the PGA Tour’s largest regular season purse. Stay tuned to www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.