**Orlando, FL**** ****– **The Orlando Pride notched their first Challenge Cup victory, 1-0 over the Washington Spirit on Wednesday at Exploria Stadium. The first half started at a frantic pace when Alex Morgan corralled a ball in the middle of the park and found Sydney Leroux in behind the Washington defense. Leroux took a touch and fired past Aubrey Bledsoe for the game’s first goal. Despite a goal called off on the Washington side, the score remained 1-0 heading into the interval. The second half was one for the keepers as Ashlyn Haris and Aubrey Bledsoe were up to the task on every shot they saw including Harris stopping an Ashley Hatch penalty in the 65th minute. Harris again denied the Spirit in stoppage time to preserve the win and see Orlando pick up three points on the night. Orlando (1-1-1) will round out their Challenge Cup campaign when they travel to Sahlen’s Stadium to take on the North Carolina Courage (1-1-0) on CBS Sports Network at 7:30pm ET. Washington (1-1-0) will play their final match on April 27th when they take on the eastern division leading NJ/NY Gotham FC (2-0-0) at Audi Field. That game will take place on Paramount + with kickoff set for 7pm ET.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights