The Orlando Pride (3-2-0) took on the Western New York Flash (2-3-0) at home on Saturday night in what was an entertaining match that saw both sides exchange opportunities, and a red card for WNY’s Abby Erceg. Alex Morgan broke the deadlock in the 79th minute to get the Pride the victory at home.
It was Kristen Edmonds finding Morgan up top with a lobbed ball that sent her off into a race with two defenders on her back. With her left foot, Morgan managed to chip the ball over goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo from about 20 yards out.
To add to the excitement of the match (for Orlando fans), Abby Erceg and Lianne Sanderson both got involved in an aerial battle late in the game. Sanderson remained low while Erceg went flying into the ball while simultaneously hitting Sanderson in the back, causing her to go down. Erceg was shown a yellow card, which was her second of the match, and was subsequently expelled from the game with the ensuing red card.
The Flash had multiple opportunities to score, but the crossbar denied Lynn Williams of a goal in the 27th minute, and Ashlyn Harris came up big with critical saves to keep them scoreless.
Next Friday, May 20th, the Pride will travel to Houston where they will take on the Dash at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Western New York Flash will host Sky Blue FC on Saturday, May 21st, at 7:00 p.m. ET.
