The Orlando Pride's winless streak grew to six matches as they fell at home to NJ/NY Gotham FC 2-0 on Friday night.
"Obviously disappointed with the result," coach Seb Hines said. "The players worked extremely hard. I felt we started really well, and we're just in this moment right now together, and we need to help each other get us out of this moment to go on to win games."
Gotham (6-6-6, 24 points) opened the scoring with a goal in the 13th minute off the foot of Esther Gonzalez. The visitors put together an excellent build-up, allowing the Spanish forward to find the open space behind the defense and score off an assist from Rose Lavelle.
Orlando (8-6-4, 28 points) conceded a second goal in first-half stoppage time, this time from Jaelin Howell. Her volley from the top of the box got between Orlando defenders and past goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse.
The Pride continued their trend of creating chances to score but were unable to finish them. Orlando outshot Gotham 12-9 but failed to score for the third consecutive game.
Record-signing Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle should be arriving soon to help the Pride attack. But until her paperwork clears, Orlando desperately needs to find a way to score if it aims to defend its NWSL title. The Pride are 15 points behind first-place Kansas City and are running out of time to make up ground as the regular season starts to wind down.
"It's just really unfortunate. We don't want to lose. That's not what we come here to do," midfielder Ally Lemos added. "We come here to win, and at the end of the day, we've got to get results, and that's what we need to bring into next week."
The Pride, who haven't won since June 13, face a quick turnaround as they make their CONCACAF W Champions Cup debut against Alajuelense on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Inter&Co Stadium.