Sydney Leroux and Sam Kerr both bagged braces, but it was the Orlando Pride who emerged victorious over the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday afternoon with a 5-2 win at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, in front of 5,047 fans. Leroux’s two goals came in a span of two minutes in the second half, only […]

Sydney Leroux and Sam Kerr both bagged braces, but it was the Orlando Pride who emerged victorious over the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday afternoon with a 5-2 win at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, in front of 5,047 fans.Leroux’s two goals came in a span of two minutes in the second half, only minutes after she entered the match as a substitute. The Pride bounced back from a 4-3 midweek loss to the first-place Courage and are now 4-3-3 (15 points). The Red stars dropped to 2-3-6 (12 points). The Pride started quickly, scoring in just the second minute. Poliana found Rachel Hill in the box for Hill’s third goal of the season. [Empty Body] Four minutes later, the Pride were up 2-0 when Marta served a ball into Alex Morgan for a header goal. [Empty Body] Marta now has three assists on the season, pulling her into a six-player tie for the league-lead. Kerr answered in the 21st minute. After initially being denied by Pride goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, Kerr got another chance and headed it home for her third goal of the season. [Empty Body] The teams took a short break from scoring goals before things got really interesting in the 60th minute. Yuki Nagasato, who assisted on Kerr’s first, found Kerr again to tie it 2-2. [Empty Body] But then it was the Leroux show. After entering in the 52nd minute to replace Marta, Leroux scored on a diving header on a cross from Ali Krieger in the 61st minute. [Empty Body] Leroux got her brace just two minutes later. Morgan served a pass into the center of the box that deflected off Red Stars defender Katie Naughton and to Leroux, who spun and slammed home a right-footed shot to put the Pride up 4-2. [Empty Body] The goals are Leroux’s first two in a Pride uniform after joining the team in an offseason trade. She missed Wednesday’s game and was listed as questionable for this match with an illness, but played the final 39 minutes. Dani Weatherholt finished off the scoring in the 83rd minute on an assist from Morgan. [Empty Body] Kerr had two good chances for another goal in the match, but Harris stopped her both times. First, Harris made a save with her knee as Kerr tried to slip it between her legs in the second half. [Empty Body] And then in the 79th minute, she pulled down the ball as Kerr tried to chip it over her head. [Empty Body] The Red Stare are now winless in their last seven, going 0-2-5 over that span. They last won on April 18, 3-0 over the Dash. The Pride are next in action on Sunday, June 3, on the road vs. Seattle Reign FC. The Red Stars will head on the road to take on the Washington Spirit on Saturday, June 2, in the NWSL Game of the Week on Lifetime.