**Orlando, Florida –** The North Carolina Courage left Orlando with a 4-2 win over the Pride at Exploria Stadium, officially eliminating Orlando’s opportunity to move on to the semifinal of Challenge Cup, while North Carolina remains unbeaten through five games.
An eventful first 15 minutes saw a continuation of the early goals phenomena across Challenge Cup action thus far this weekend.
The visiting Courage would end up opening the scoring in the third minute, as defender Merritt Mathias dumped a cross into the center of the area toward forward Jaelene Daniels, but instead it was Pride defender Megan Montefusco who put the ball into the back of her own net to gift North Carolina the lead.
Then in the sixth minute, North Carolina doubled its lead as the forward Daniels ended up finding the goal she sought the first time. Getting on the end of a cross from the right side via fellow forward Taylor Smith, Daniels buried the chance to double the Courage’s lead early on.
The guests weren’t done, though, as they added a third goal in the 9 ^th minute through the forward Smith. Turning from provider to scorer, Smith turned in a ball from midfielder Kiki Pickett to increase the Courage’s good fortune and add to the flurry of early goals from North Carolina.
Not giving up early on, Orlando did end up finding a goal of their own in the 15 ^th minute as playmaker Darian Jenkins pulled one back for the hosts. Her first goal as a member of the Pride, Orlando capitalized on a turnover deep in the Courage half and the forward found herself on the ball just outside the box. Producing a delightful effort from distance, Jenkins placed her shot in the upper left side of goal to pull one back for the hosts.
At the break, though, the Courage held well to their 3-1 lead with aim to keep their unbeaten run alive.
However, just ten minutes into the second half, Orlando’s Darian Jenkins added her second of the night to pile on pressure toward the visitors. A pass from the right flank found the substitute Kerry Abello, and her redirected headed ball in met Jenkins who flicked the ball back on toward goal and in for her brace to pull within one goal.
Then, in the 89 ^th minute, Debinha surely closed the contest as she picked up her second of the night. Meeting a ball in the center of the box just before being substituted off, the Brazilian added a goal of her won to the tally as the Courage increased to a two-goal cushion.
In the end, and largely thanks to Debinha’s late goal, the Courage were able to overpower the Pride, 4-2, despite Orlando’s first multi-goal game in this year’s Challenge Cup. However, North Carolina increased its unbeaten run to five games and remain the team to beat in the East Division.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights