Orlando Pride x North Carolina Courage

At Exploria Stadium on Wednesday, the Orlando Pride lost 3-0 against the North Carolina Courage. Debinha scored twice to help the Courage, while Tess Boade scored with seconds left in the first half. The Pride's defeat evened the season series with the Courage, in which they had previously won 2-1.

The visitors scored first when the Courage played a long ball into the back of the Pride's defense. Megan Montefusco's unfortunate header sent the ball straight into the path of a sprinting Debinha, who calmly tucked the ball low to the left side of the goal to get the game started. Immediately before the halftime whistle, Debinha turned provider and helped the Courage extend their lead to two goals. The second goal for North Carolina came after the Brazilian forward chipped a pass to Tess Boade at the top of the Orlando box. Boade took the pass down and struck a low ball to Erin McLeod's left, beating the keeper and going into the net. As soon as play resumed after halftime, the Courage took advantage of a corner kick opportunity to extend their lead. The corner kick was taken by Merritt Mathias, and Celia, defending for the Pride, headed the ball wide. Debinha collected the clearing in the right corner of the box and scored her second of the game with a high-arcing drive that sailed into the left corner of the goal. This coming Sunday, September 25th, at Exploria Stadium, Orlando Pride will play San Diego Wave FC in the last game of their home regular season.

[Photography by ICONIC photographer Hannah DiLorenzo]