**HARRISON, N.J.** – Gotham FC and the Orlando Pride producing to a scoreless draw at Red Bull Arena on Sunday night, with the hosts Gotham only testing Orlando once with a shot on target compared to six by the Pride, though neither team was able to break through. The result extends Orlando’s unbeaten streak to three games (W2 D1) and pushes the club to 10 ^th place in the league standings, while Gotham now has a win and a draw in their last two and are up to 3 ^rd place on 13 points through seven games played.
Gotham technically might have come closest to an opening goal either way in the 12 ^th minute when forward Taylor Smith struck the post with a low drive toward the near side of goal. Smith had been played into the left side of the box and was dribbling toward goal when she attempted to poke an effort past Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse. Moorhouse was unable to get to the initial effort, but the ball screwed off the inside the post and back toward the goalkeeper’s way which allowed Orlando to end the chance.
Orlando then had back-to-back opportunities come their way in the 23 ^rd and 25 ^th minutes, pressing on the Gotham goal enthusiastically. The first chance came as defender Kylie Strom picked out forward Messiah Bright with a precise cross into the penalty area. Bright was able to meet the pass with her head, but her headed effort from just a few yards out fell wide. Then, two minutes later, midfielder Mikayla Cluff recovered possession deep in Gotham territory and drove forward before she ripped a shot on goal from distance. A powerful drive, the effort forced Gotham goalkeeper Abby Smith to make a pivotal save as she tipped it over the bar and out of play at the last moment.
Finally, as the half came to a close, Cluff was back at it in the 44 ^th minute as another shot from outside the box was saved by Smith before a dramatic ending in stoppage time saw Smith smother a rebounded effort from close in by midfielder Erika Tymrak to keep things level going into the break.
Both teams struggled to muster a lot of quality opportunities in the second half, with the closest Gotham came to producing an opening goal coming in two chances in close succession. First, forward Lynn Williams attempted a left-footed shot from just outside the box after spinning a defender, but her effort rolled wide of the near post and out of play. Then, in the 84 ^th minute, forward Yazmeen Ryan was played in by teammate Delanie Sheehan, only to have a low shot from the left side of the box kicked back out by Moorhouse before Orlando’s defense cleared the ball away.
The final chance of the night came in the second minute of added time for the Pride and forward Ally Watt. Strom was back on the ball out wide when she clipped in another cross toward the back post for Watt, who produced a very good header just a few feet out from the goal line. However, Smith was able to conjure up what will surely be a save of the week candidate as her strong right hand tipped the effort wide and Gotham was able to see the match through.
The result is the first draw of the season for both sides, and a only six-point gap separates third-place Gotham from 10 ^th -place Orlando in a tightly packed table a third of the way through the season.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights