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Angel City fell 0–3 tonight against the Orlando Pride following a brace by midfielder Adriana and one goal by forward Barbra Banda.
Angel City had a near miss in the seventh minute starting with a long diagonal ball from midfielder Madison Hammond to the feet of forward Alyssa Thompson. Thompson sprinted into the box past Orlando’s back line and sent a sharply angled shot towards the far post, but it went just wide.
The Pride had their first real chance in the 12th minute when midfielder Marta dribbled across Angel City’s back line at the top of the box and slipped a through ball in for forward Barbra Banda, who sent a one-touch shot straight to goalkeeper DiDi Haračić.
Banda had another chance five minutes later, when midfielder Summer Yates sent a pass to her feet at the top of the box; the Zambia international quickly turned her mark and fired off a shot, which hit the outside netting.
The visitors broke through in the 20th minute when Marta won the ball in the midfield, cut inside, and sent a lateral pass to midfielder Adriana. Adriana dribbled to the top of the box and sent her shot to the upper 90 and into the back of the net.
Orlando doubled their lead in the 26th minute. Banda fired off a low shot that deflected slightly off defender Sarah Gorden’s leg. The ball fell to the far post, where Adriana was making a run and tapped it into the net.
In the 35th minute, Yates took a hard shot from outside the penalty arc, which hit the crossbar; midfielder Julie Doyle got her head on the rebounded ball, but sent it high.
Thompson had another chance in stoppage time when she beat Yates inside the 18 and put an angled right-footed shot on frame, but keeper Anna Moorhouse made the save.
Early in the second half—the 53rd and 56th minutes—midfielder Kennedy Fuller had a couple of looks from distance, but Moorhouse stopped both.
Angel City continued to push going forward as the half went on, with Thompson putting another shot on target off a low cross by midfielder Rocky Rodríguez, with Moorhouse saving again.
ACFC’s best look of the game came in the 63rd minute when defender Merritt Mathias sent a long ball from deep on the right wing into the box for forward Sydney Leroux. She was one-on-one with Moorhouse and took a low angled shot to the far post, but it hit the post.
The hosts had another near miss in the 89th minute, with defender Megan Reid putting a looping header from the top of the six-yard box on target off a corner kick, but Moorhouse jumped to tip it over the bar.
Pride put the final nail in the coffin in the sixth minute of stoppage time when Banda won the ball near the top of the 18, quickly got one-on-one with Haračić, and cut past her to put away her shot.
This match saw Rodríguez, who began her NWSL career in 2016, pass the 10,000-minutes-played mark. It also marked Leroux's 150th NWSL game.
Angel City is at home again next week on Saturday, July 6, at 7:00 p.m. against NJ/NY Gotham FC. The game will stream on ION. Tickets are available here.
