The Orlando Pride suffered their third loss of the season with a 1-0 home setback to the Kansas City Current on Friday night. Both sides looked evenly matched for most of the game, but a defensive lapse from the Pride (5-3-1, 16 points) in the second half allowed Kansas City (7-2-0, 21 points) to cement its lead at the top of the NWSL standings. “Tough result, obviously, but I thought we played well. We dominated in parts,” Orlando goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse said. “We’ve had some tough games in the past against Kansas, so it’s a disappointing result, but the performance is something to work on and something to keep pushing on.” Kansas City scored the lone goal of the game in the 52nd minute off the foot of Temwa Chawinga, who snuck past Orlando’s defense to get on the end of a bouncing ball in the box. The Malawi international blasted it past Moorhouse. Orlando was forced to play more openly after the goal, and the Pride continued to push forward for an equalizer. Kansas City kept its players behind the ball to stifle any Orlando attack. Marta and Barbra Banda, typically known for their goal-scoring prowess, managed only one shot on target between them. “Teams are playing differently against us. We’re usually coming up against teams sitting back in a low block, defending for their lives,” Moorhouse added. “We just need to find a way to score that goal, and then maybe we can relax a little bit, and then we don’t have to chase the game.” It was the Pride’s third loss in five games, dropping them to third place. The defending champions’ performance against Kansas City was underwhelming, and they will have to get it right against the Utah Royals next weekend if they want to fight back to the top of the table.
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