Angel City takes on the Orlando Pride at 5:00 p.m. PST on Sunday, May 8 at Banc of California Stadium. The match will stream live on Paramount+.
Last week, Angel City won their inaugural home opener, defeating the North Carolina Courage 2–1. Defender Vanessa Gilles scored the club's historic first regular-season goal in the third minute, a header off an assist by forward Jun Endo. Endo then notched one of her own in the 13th minute, running onto a long diagonal ball by midfielder Savannah McCaskill and sending it to the far post with her left foot. Courage midfielder Debinha got one back for the visitors in the 51st minute.
Orlando's most recent result was a 0–3 loss at home to Gotham FC. First-half goals by McCall Zerboni, Midge Purce, and Kristie Mewis made the difference in that contest. This Sunday's match will be the first ever between ACFC and Orlando, which joined the league as an expansion side in 2016.
The Pride have a high concentration of veteran players—both in terms of the league and the sport as a whole. Defender Toni Pressley, forward Sydney Leroux, and midfielder Erika Tymrak fall into the latter category, having all played in the NWSL since its inception in 2013. Pressley has also been with Orlando since its first season in the league, while Leroux is an Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion with the United States.
Goalkeeper Erin McLeod, meanwile, is a legend of the sport. With Canada, McLeod has appeared in four World Cups and two Olympics, winning bronze at the 2012 games in London. Marta—widely recognized as one of the best to ever step on the field—is on Orlando's roster but suffered a season-ending injury during the Challenge Cup.
Orlando's co-leading goalscorers in the Challenge Cup were forward Darian Jenkins and midfielder Gunny Jónsdóttir. Jenkins scored twice in the team's April 16 match against North Carolina, while Jónsdóttir found the back of the net against Washington on April 3 and again against Gotham on the 23rd.