Photo copyright Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images.
Too often, two teams of equal skill come up against each other in a single-elimination knockout game and the teams grind each other into dust. No advantage can be found, and so a stalemate sets in. Such a game unfolded in September during the National Women’s Soccer League regular season, when the Orlando Pride hosted the Kansas City Current at Inter&Co Stadium. Very little of the patented NWSL chaos was present as the two heavyweights slugged it out in the trenches.
Given this previous meeting, it’s understandable that some would be worried we’d get a repeat of that performance in the NWSL semifinal on Sunday, as projections placed this as evenly poised as it could possibly be. Only home-field advantage separated the two sides.
Final game odds based on the announced XIs, from the @americansocceranalysis.com modelORL 53%KC 47%#VamosPride | #KCBABY | #NWSL | #NWSLPlayoffs
— Expected Own Goals (@xowngoals.bsky.social) 2024-11-17T19:14:02.097Z
Well, I hope you didn’t put money on struggleball vs. sufferball. The Pride convincingly defeated the Current 3-2 in a match where each side managed to cede ground and also dominate the other. Orlando just had more such moments, ultimately sealed by a Marta goal that brought back flashes of her glory years.
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