After no games last week, the Western New York Flash hosts the Orlando Pride this weekend in week eight. The Flash are coming off of two dominant home wins against Sky Blue FC and the Boston Breakers while the Pride is coming off of a loss to an FC Kansas City team that finally got their first win.
The Flash won 5-2 three weeks ago against Sky Blue looking very dominant offensively. Week seven was played without the United States international players and although there was a question on whether the team would still do well, they dominated. Two weeks ago they won 4-0 in their last match against the Breakers with Lynn Williams scoring a brace and Taylor Smith and Abby Dahlkemper each adding one of their own.
The team only had one goal in the first half with rookie goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom getting both her first professional start and eventual shutout. The first half looked relatively even matched, but the second half the Flash was in control.
The Breakers came out of the half looking to score a goal and add pressure early in the half, but the Flash stepped up offensively and kept the scoring going with three goals.
This Flash team looks for their third straight home win this week and they’ll have to keep up the offensive pressure against a defensively dominant Pride team. With the international players back for both teams, the team will have to step up and keep their offensive game strong.
The Pride wants to bounce back
The Pride is looking to get a road win this weekend after a surprising loss to the struggling FC Kansas City team two weeks ago. The team was without their US internationals who tend to stand out in games.
This game was a chance for other players to shine, especially without Alex Morgan and Ashlyn Harris, but the Pride was shut out by the Blues. The team dropped to a 4-2-0 record and is now fourth in the NWSL standings.
The Pride is the only unbeaten and untied team at home but has a 1-3-0 record when on the road. While they tend to dominate games, they have not been able to score many goals in their away games.
To win this match, the team needs to not only be strong offensively but defensively as well. The Flash have shown that they can control the match in their last two games, but they have not been challenged by a very strong offensive team. The Pride with Morgan back up top will challenge the Flash defense and with Harris back in goal, it will be harder for the Flash to score on them.
The last time these two teams met, the Pride won 1-0 off of a Morgan goal. This match is expected to be a hard-fought one with both teams vying for a good win.
The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, June 11 in Rochester. You can also watch on the NWSL YouTube channel.