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Orlando Pride vs. FC Kansas City: Final Score 4-1 as the Pride Offense Comes to Life

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8 years ago

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The Orlando Pride’s home struggles came to an emphatic end with a 4-1 drubbing of FC Kansas City in front of 6,073 at Orlando City Stadium. It was Orlando’s first win over FCKC in four tries after a draw earlier this season and two losses last year. Alex Morgan, Toni Pressley, and Kristen Edmonds all scored their first goals of the season and Alanna Kennedy chipped in her second as the Pride (5-5-4, 19 points) tied a club record for goals in a game and set a new mark at home, with four.

The win snapped the Pride’s two-game home losing skid and equaled last year’s point total for the entire season. FC Kansas City (3-7-4, 13 points) extended its winless streak to seven games (0-5-2).

“I think there was a lot of positives from tonight’s game,” Head Coach Tom Sermanni said after the game. “We needed to put on a performance for the people in Orlando, for our supporters, and for everybody in the community and I think we did that tonight. I thought our soccer was incisive, and we played the way we’ve been trying to play and created lots of chances.”

Sermanni changed up his lineup a bit to get more offense in what he called a “must-win game” in the buildup, switching back to a 4-3-3. He started Chioma Ubogagu, Morgan, and rookie Rachel Hill up top, with Dani Weatherholt, Marta, and Kennedy in the midfield, in front of a back four of Steph Catley, Pressley, Ali Krieger, and Camila in front of Aubrey Bledsoe.

“We knew the way that they play, they try to play out from the back so we wanted to make sure, particularly at home, we went in and pressured them. So we tried to start out with a team that we felt could do that effectively,” Sermanni said.

The early going was fairly cagey with the bulk of play in the middle of the park but the Pride started getting forward more and more. Orlando’s first shot came six minutes in after Catley got forward and fed Morgan into the left side of the box. Morgan’s shot from a tight angle was saved out for a corner by Nicole Barnhart. Morgan sent a header just over the bar off a corner a minute later. In the ninth minute, Camila got forward and fired over the bar from about 25 yards out.

Orlando finally broke through in the 22nd minute after Ubogagu had a cross cut out for a corner. Camila took the corner short to Marta who crossed it into the box where Kennedy nodded home for her second of the year. It was Marta’s fourth assist on the season.

“I think we started really well,” Kennedy said. “We’ve had so many set pieces this year and we’ve come close a lot. Although we haven’t capitalized we still know that’s a strength of ours. I think that ball that Marta played was just perfect and I was happy to get on the end of it.”

The goal only spurred Orlando on, as the Pride continued to buzz around the FCKC box. Hill had one shot blocked and sent another over the bar in the minutes following the opening goal. Then the Pride caught a break in the 37th minute when Morgan was fouled in the box while trying to get onto a free kick from distance. She converted from the penalty spot at 38’ to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

If the first goal got the Pride even more on the front foot, the second woke up the visitors. FC Kansas City started getting into dangerous spots just after the goal and Brittany Ratcliffe forced a great diving save from Bledsoe in the 40th minute.

The game began to get stretched for the remainder of the first half. Morgan flicked one at Barnhart off a Hill cross a minute after the big Bledsoe save. FC Kansas City earned a couple of corners after that. Ultimately the Pride saw out the final minutes of the half and carried a 2-0 advantage into the break. Orlando held 55.6% of the possession, and held an 11-2 edge in shots (4-1 on target).

After a few half chances to open the second half, Morgan nearly got a second goal in the 61st minute when she barely got a toe on a Catley cross, but deflected it right at Barnhart.

But it was FC Kansas City that scored to close the gap to 2-1 in the 65th minute. Second-half sub Maegen Kelly on just about her first touch of the game was sent in behind the Pride defense and beat Bledsoe to pull the visitors back into the game. The back line got caught watching a bit as a ball over the top went off Sydney Leroux’s back and fell right onto the foot of the trailing Katie Bowen, who sent in the streaking Kelly for the scoring chance.

“Probably could have finished the game off long before it went to 2-1 and had a little dodgy spell in that period of time,” Sermanni said.

“With the style of soccer that we play it’s going to happen where we get exposed sometimes because we look to attack and get as many numbers forward as possible,” Pressley said. “But I think we just need to look at the defensive transition now and since we do commit so many numbers forward, always keep in the back of our minds that this could break down and that we need to be set defensively just in case something like that happens.”

But the Pride got back on the front foot after the FCKC goal. Five minutes later, Pressley took a pass from Camila, darted inside one defender and unleashed hell toward the Kansas City goal, scorching her shot just inside the back post to make it 3-1. It was Pressley’s first NWSL goal.

“I got the ball from Camila — it was a good ball — and I just looked to beat the defender,” Pressley said. “And I knew that I was pretty close to goal and I just decided to go for it. Why not?”

The visitors came right back with a chance. Kelly turned and fired a blast from outside the area but Bledsoe made another big save to preserve the two-goal advantage. That turned into a three-goal edge in the 75th when Barnhart was a bit too casual with the ball and a hustling Edmonds took it right off her foot, rounded her and deposited the ball into the empty net to make it 4-1.

From that point on, the game felt like it was over. FC Kansas City got a couple of more half chances but Orlando was still the more dangerous team down the stretch.

Second-half sub Jamia Fields forced a diving save from Barnhart in the 81st minute. Morgan nearly scored again in the 83rd minute when she got down the left but she fired a hard shot instead of chipping Barnhart and the keeper made the save.

When the full-time whistle blew, it was a deserved win for the Pride, who finished with 52.7% of the possession, a 25-10 advantage in shots (11-4 on target) — setting a club record for shots — and 80.4% passing accuracy on the night.

“What we said at the end of the game tonight is we want this to be the foundation of what we’re going to do,” Sermanni said. “We don’t want to now have a good result and then go back and have a bad result and a good result and a bad result. What we need to do is try to get on a run if we can.”

The Pride will be back in action next Saturday, July 22, when they visit the Chicago Red Stars at 3:30 p.m.

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A 2025 Orlando Pride Wish List

Four things I want for the Orlando Pride in 2025.

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4 hours ago

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January 23, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

I know that it probably seems greedy to ask for anything more after the Orlando Pride won both the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship in 2024, but I’m still going to do so. If the Pride want to repeat their success in 2025, they will need a little bit more than in 2024. Let’s look at my wish list for the defending champs.

No Banda Slump

Barbra Banda scored 12 goals with five assists in her first 12 matches with the Pride. She then scored one goal with one assist in the next 10 regular season matches. I know that players have slumps. Strikers in particular tend to be streaky when it comes to goal contributions. I’m just asking that Banda not have another slump quite that big in 2025.

It might be that teams did a better job of double- or triple-teaming her on defense. Perhaps she just got a little unlucky during the slump. Whatever the reason, I hope that her familiarity with her teammates, the league, and Seb Hines’ style of play allows her to significantly increase her goal contributions this season.

A Healthy Chanda and Charley

Neither Grace Chanda nor Simone Charley were able to see the pitch much for the Pride last season. That hopefully changes in 2025. Adding these two players is almost like signing new players, except they’ve been there for everything. There’s no need to adapt to the culture of the club, as they are already a part of it all.

Chanda not only brings international experience, but she has played with Banda for the Zambian National Team. I expect she’ll be able to make an immediate impact when she integrates into the attack. As for Charley, she will be yet another speedy striker the Pride can utilize in their potent attack.

Adding Depth Contributions

The 2024 season saw some players step up a level. Ally Watt had one of her best seasons, Summer Yates impressed everyone, and Cori Dyke earned a starting spot after an appearance on SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. If we can have other young players make the same type of jump in 2025, it bodes well for the club.

Despite having the best defense in the league, the Pride are a little light along the back. I’d like to see Brianna Martinez and new signee, Zara Chavoshi, make some noise on the back line when they get some minutes. There’s also the possibility of a non-roster invitee impressing enough to get a contract. Depth is incredibly important for a team looking to repeat.

Overcoming History

Winning back-to-back anything in any sport is difficult. Every other team will bring their best against you. The weight of expectations can also be very heavy. That being said, if any club can do it, this Pride team can.

The coaches and players already dealt with the pressure of the undefeated streak last season. They dealt with the pressure of winning the NWSL Cup after winning the NWSL Shield. They have dealt with plenty of pressure. Now, they will need to find the proper motivation to propel them to the top yet again. There will be no sneaking up on the league this year.

Those are some of the things I want to see in 2025, but I want to know your thoughts on these points. Perhaps you have some wishes of your own. Let me know in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando Pride Announce 2025 NWSL Schedule

We now know who, where, and when the Pride will play in 2025 as they seek to defend their two shiny trophies.

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1 day ago

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January 22, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

The National Women’s Soccer League schedule was released this afternoon, telling us who, where, and when the Orlando Pride will play this year as they look to defend their NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship. The 2025 season once again includes a balanced schedule with each team playing the other 13 teams once at home and once away. As previously announced, the Pride will take part in the NWSL Challenge Cup against the Washington Spirit on March 7 at 8 p.m. at Inter&Co Stadium prior to the regular season.

The Pride will open the season at home against the Chicago Red Stars at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 14. The first road contest will take place on Sunday, March 23 at NJ/NY Gotham FC. Like last year, the season will end with a Decision Day matchup at home against Seattle Reign FC on Sunday Nov. 2 at a time to be announced later.

The postseason will start with the quarterfinals taking place Nov. 7-9, with matches televised on ESPN/ABC, CBS/Paramount+, and Prime Video. The semifinals will be played the weekend of Nov. 14-16 and broadcast on CBS/Paramount+ and ESPN/ABC. The final will take place in primetime and will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

The Pride’s longest homestand this season will be just two games, which happens four times if counting the Challenge Cup match against the Spirit and season opener against the Red Stars. Orlando will host Washington and Angel City on April 19 and 25, respectively; the Utah Royals and Racing Louisville on Aug. 3 and 9, respectively; and Bay FC and the North Carolina Courage on Sept. 13 and 19, respectively.

The longest road trip this year will also be two games, occurring four times: at Portland and North Carolina May 3 and 10, at Bay FC and Louisville June 13 and 20, at Kansas City and Angel City Aug. 16 and 21, and at San Diego and Houston Sept. 26 and Oct. 3.

There are no regular-season matches scheduled in July, meaning the league is taking a break for any potential summer international friendlies/tournaments or an as-yet-unannounced cup competition. The Pride’s busiest month will be August, in which they’ll play five matches, with three at home and two on the road. There will be four Pride matches in March (counting the Challenge Cup), May, and September; three each in April, June, and October, and one — the regular-season finale — in November.

Here’s the month-by-month breakdown for the regular season:

  • March – 3 (plus the Challenge Cup)
  • April – 3
  • May – 4
  • June – 3
  • July – 0
  • August – 5
  • September – 4
  • October – 3
  • November – 1

The most common day the Pride will play this year will be on Friday (11 times, or 12 times counting the Challenge Cup), including four consecutive Friday games late in the season. They’ll play 10 Saturday games, four Sunday matches, and once on Thursday (at Angel City Aug. 21).

Here is the Pride’s schedule by day in the regular season:

  • Friday – 11 (plus the Challenge Cup)
  • Saturday – 10
  • Sunday – 4
  • Thursday – 1

Pride games will air on various platforms again in 2025, including Prime Video, ESPN 2, ESPN, ION, NWSL+, Paramount+, CBS, and CBS Sports Network.

A new NWSL Rivalry Weekend has been added to the schedule in 2025. While the Pride have some rivalries growing naturally against Kansas City and Washington, they have been pitted against Racing Louisville for some reason. Both teams wear purple, I guess.

Fans who support both Orlando City and the Pride will be interested to know the teams play on the same day eight times this season, but only twice do the game times overlap — on May 3, when the Pride play at 7:30 p.m. at Portland and the Lions play at 8:30 p.m. at Chicago; and on May 10, when the Lions host New England at 7:30 and the Pride and Courage kick off in North Carolina at the same time. However, the teams cut it close a couple other times, with the Pride hosting the Washington Spirit at 5 p.m. April 19 and the Lions playing at Montreal at 7:30 p.m.; and on Sept. 13, with the Pride hosting Bay FC at 5 p.m. and Orlando City facing D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. The other four times the teams play on the same day, the kickoffs are at least three hours apart and as many as 10.5 hours apart (March 29).

2025 Orlando Pride Schedule (All Times Eastern)

  • Friday, March 7 — vs. Washington Spirit, 8 p.m. (Prime Video) – NWSL Challenge Cup
  • Friday, March 14 — vs. Chicago Red Stars, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
  • Sunday, March 23 — at NJ/NY Gotham FC, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
  • Saturday, March 29 — vs. San Diego Wave, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
  • Saturday, April 12 — at Seattle Reign FC, 7:30 p.m. (ION)
  • Saturday, April 19 — vs. Washington Spirit, 5 p.m. (ION)
  • Friday, April 25 — vs. Angel City FC, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
  • Saturday, May 3 — at Portland Thorns, 7:30 p.m. (ION)
  • Saturday, May 10 — at North Carolina Courage, 7:30 p.m. (ION)
  • Friday, May 16 — vs. Kansas City Current, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
  • Friday, May 23 — at Utah Royals, 9:30 p.m. (NWSL+)
  • Saturday, June 7 — vs. Houston Dash, 7 p.m. (NWSL+)
  • Friday, June 13 — at Bay FC, 10 p.m. (Prime Video)
  • Friday, June 20 — at Racing Louisville, 8 p.m. (NWSL+)
  • Sunday, Aug. 3 — vs. Utah Royals, 6 p.m. (NWSL+/Paramount+)
  • Saturday, Aug. 9 — vs. Racing Louisville, 7:30 p.m. (ION)
  • Saturday, Aug. 16 — at Kansas City Current, 4 p.m. (CBS)
  • Thursday, Aug. 21 — at Angel City FC, 10:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
  • Friday, Aug. 29 — vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
  • Sunday, Sept. 7 — at Chicago Red Stars, 3 p.m. (NWSL+/Paramount+)
  • Saturday, Sept. 13 — vs. Bay FC, 5 p.m. (ION)
  • Friday, Sept. 19 — vs. North Carolina Courage, 7:30 p.m. (NWSL+)
  • Friday, Sept. 26 — at San Diego Wave, 10:30 p.m. (NWSL+/Paramount+)
  • Friday, Oct. 3 — at Houston Dash, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
  • Friday, Oct. 10 — vs. Portland Thorns, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
  • Saturday, Oct. 18 — at Washington Spirit, 12:30 p.m. (CBS)
  • Sunday, Nov. 2 — vs. Seattle Reign FC, TBA (broadcast platform TBA)
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Orlando Pride Announce 2025 Preseason Camp Roster

Published

3 days ago

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January 20, 2025

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Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride have announced the club’s 2025 preseason roster consisting of 30 players, with one of those (Mariana Larroquette) currently out on loan in Argentina. Another player, forward Amanda Allen, was formerly on loan with the USL Super League’s Lexington Sporting Club, but that loan was terminated when Allen was placed on the Season Ending Injury list on Dec. 9, 2024, with a torn labrum.

The Pride return all of their core players from the 2024 team that won the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship, including 98% of the player-minutes from last season and all of the team’s goal-scoring from a year ago. Almost all of the players who competed in the team’s incredible season are back from a team that broke league records for points, wins, clean sheets, consecutive shutout minutes, consecutive wins, and consecutive games unbeaten.

New faces for 2025 include two off-season signees — goalkeeper Kat Asman and defender Zara Chavoshi, the first player the Pride signed directly out of college since the league’s removal of the NWSL Draft. 

The roster is made up of four goalkeepers, just eight defenders (compared to 12 a year ago), nine midfielders, and nine forwards. One of those forwards, Larroquette, is on loan with Newell’s Old Boys Women of the Campeonato de Fútbol Femenino in Argentina’s top flight. 

The 30-player roster includes three non-roster invitees: goalkeeper DeAira Jackson, midfielder Aryssa Mahrt, and forward Simone Jackson.

DeAira Jackson was the 2024 WAC Goalkeeper of the Year and a member of the All-WAC first team following her last collegiate season. After playing two seasons at Cal State Fullerton, she transferred to Grand Canyon University and became the school’s all-time shutout leader with 16 in just two seasons. Nine of those came in her senior campaign, which set the school record for most clean sheets in a season. She was also the Outrigger No Ka Oi Tournament MVP and a two-time WAC Player of the Week in 2024. The Fontana, CA native appeared in 43 matches for Grand Canyon across two seasons, compiling a record of 25-11-7, the aforementioned 16 shutouts, a 0.89 goals-against average and a save percentage of .781, facing 415 shots in 3,754 minutes.

Mahrt played three seasons at the University of Wisconsin, appearing in 62 games (61 starts) and playing 4,503 minutes. The Milwaukee, WI native scored 21 goals and added 15 assists, putting 78 of her 114 shots on target. Eight of her goals were game winners. Mahrt started all 21 games in her senior season, leading the Badgers in goals (10) and assists (4). She has represented the United States at the youth level with both the U-14 and U-16 sides. Her soccer lineage includes a great grandfather who played for the Malaysian National Team.

Simone Jackson is a Redondo Beach, CA native who played four seasons at USC, appearing in 73 games (51 starts), scoring 22 goals, and adding 13 assists. In 4,204 career minutes, she fired 192 shots, putting 88 on target and scoring six game winners. She was a member of the All-Big Ten third team following the 2024 campaign, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2022, a third-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2023 and 2021, and a 2021 Pac 12 All-Freshman Team honoree. She has represented the U.S. at multiple youth levels, including at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, in which she scored for the United States in a 3-1 loss to Japan. Jackson has also participated at every level starting at U-14.

Simone comes from a family with a tremendous athletic pedigree. Her grandfather, John Jackson, was USC football’s running backs coach and offensive coordinator from 1976-81; her father, John Jackson Jr., played both football and baseball at USC from 1986-89 before brief stints with four NFL teams in the 1990s and playing minor league baseball. Her brother, John Jackson III, played wide receiver at USC and is currently with the Chicago Bears organization.

The club’s two Zambian players — Barbra Banda and Grace Chanda — are the only ones listed as internationals. Unlike previous years, no players are listed as not yet reported.

The Pride will kick off their 2025 campaign with a rematch of the 2024 NWSL Championship as they face the Washington Spirit in the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup on March 7.

2025 Orlando Pride Preseason Roster (as of Jan. 20, 2025):

Goalkeepers (4): Kat Asman, McKinley Crone, Anna Moorhouse, DeAira Jackson (NRI).

Defenders (8): Kerry Abello, Zara Chavoshi, Cori Dyke, Brianna Martinez, Carson Pickett, Rafaelle (SEI), Emily Sams, Kylie Strom.

Midfielders (9): Angelina, Grace Chanda (INTL – Zambia, SEI), Morgan Gautrat, Ally Lemos, Luana (SEI), Aryssa Mahrt (NRI), Marta, Haley McCutcheon, Viviana Villacorta.

Forwards (9): Adriana, Amanda Allen (SEI), Barbra Banda (INTL – Zambia), Simone Charley (SEI), Julie Doyle, Simone Jackson (NRI), Mariana Larroquette (LOAN), Ally Watt, Summer Yates.

Key

INTL: International Player
NRI: Non-Roster Invitee
NYR: Not Yet Reported
SEI: Finished 2024 on the Season-Ending Injury list
LOAN: On loan 

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