Orlando Pride
Five Orlando Pride Matches to Circle on the Calendar
The NWSL finally announced the full slate of games for the 2018 season and the Orlando Pride are looking at an especially tough year of fixtures. With FC Kansas City dissolving and the bulk of the roster moving to Salt Lake City under the invigorated management of Real Salt Lake, the Boston Breakers folding and their best players being dispersed to the remaining teams, and the usual loading up of international talent, the normally tight race that is the NWSL season should be even more brutal this year.
After a terrific turnaround season saw the Pride jump from ninth to third, Orlando will have to do everything in its power to hold on to that coveted playoff spot as well as challenge for a title. The front office has bolstered the team with a slew of talented internationals and the already high-flying Pride certainly look much more well-rounded on paper. But the rest of the league did the same and it should be the most competitive year to date.
Here are five Pride matches to circle on your calendars.
March 24 vs. Utah Royals
The Pride’s first match of 2018 is always one to circle on your calendars, but even more so as Orlando welcomes the Utah Royals into the NWSL for that club’s first ever match. While the bones of the Royals’ roster comes from dormant FC Kansas City, the Salt Lake City side has bolstered it with big-name signings like United States Women’s National Team defender Kelley O’Hara, Canadian midfielder Diana Matheson, and Australian midfielder Katrina Gorry. It’s also brand new forward Sydney Leroux’s first match against most of her old FCKC teammates and the team that last held her NWSL rights.
It will be the first opportunity to see the Pride’s newest acquisitions, including Shelina Zadorsky and Poliana (Emily van Egmond will be a while in arriving due to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup). While Orlando will be without Brazilian dynamo Camila in the midfield for a few months, the team is still loaded with international talent from across the globe.
April 28 vs. Seattle Reign
Almost three months after a pair of trades, the Pride get to see some familiar faces return to Orlando City Stadium at the end of April. Former starting left back Steph Catley and forward Jasmyne Spencer return to Central Florida where they both spent the last two years. Orlando received a trio of Christine Nairn, Carson Pickett, and Haley Kopmeyer in return but it remains to be seen how often they will see the field.
The Reign haven’t seen the postseason since losing the 2015 NWSL final in heartbreaking fashion. The team has since revamped the defense with the additions of Catley, Yael Averbuch, and Christen Westphal. With a talented trio of Allie Long, Megan Rapinoe, and Jess Fishlock in front of them, the Reign look like they will close the gap on fourth place in 2018.
Aug. 11 vs. Portland Thorns
The reigning champions come to Orlando for the only time late in the year for a rematch of last year’s semifinal. The final of three regular season meetings and the only one at home, this should also be the first time the Thorns see the Pride at full strength with Camila scheduled to return to action during the summer.
This has playoff preview written all over it given the Pride’s upgrades in midfield and Portland’s usual re-loading. This will be a real test for Orlando’s on-paper improvements after a lackluster 4-1 thrashing in October. The Thorns are the benchmark the rest of the NWSL is measured against and the Pride will see where they stand right before the postseason.
Aug. 18 at North Carolina Courage
The Courage were once again dominant in 2017, locking up the top spot in the standings one year after winning the title as the Western New York Flash. While North Carolina couldn’t repeat and fell to Portland in a close final, they’re once again a top contender in 2018. Unfortunately for the Pride, they get last year’s two finalists in back-to-back weekends in a stretch that should test the team’s resolve.
Orlando split the series in Cary last year, including a wild 3-2 victory from an Alanna Kennedy free kick goal in stoppage time and won two out of three for the year. But North Carolina still came out on top, finishing a full nine points ahead of Orlando. The Courage don’t have the star power of the other top NWSL sides, but a collection of standout talent across the board has propelled the team to its success the past two years.
Lynn Williams leads the line again after bagging nine last year and both she and newly acquired USWNT star Crystal Dunn will provide a tough test for the Pride’s new-look back line. If Orlando can overcome the Courage right after a draining match with Portland this late in the season, it will say a lot about how far the team can go.
Aug. 25 vs. Chicago Red Stars
Orlando gets the Chicago Red Stars in the team’s home finale in late August. After a blockbuster trade saw Chicago land Australian superstar Sam Kerr, the Pride’s final (regular season) match in Orlando City Stadium should be full of fireworks.
Kerr tore the league apart last year, setting the single-season goal record with 17. While the Pride didn’t have a single goal scorer quite on Kerr’s level — and Marta finished second in the league with 13 goals — they led the league in scoring with 45 scores in 24 matches. With Alex Morgan in line for a full season this time around, Leroux and van Egmond in the fold, and Rachel Hill coming off a sensational campaign in Australia, that number should go way up.
The Red Stars finished just a point behind Orlando last year and were similarly bounced from the postseason in the semifinals in 2017. With Kerr, Chicago’s offense should take a huge leap from the meager 33 goals for last season, which was the lowest of the top six in the league. With the improvements that Seattle has made, the late-season stretch will be crucial to both Chicago’s and Orlando’s playoff hopes.
In a nine-team league, every weekend will be full of high profile match-ups. But these five games could define the Pride’s 2018 season.
Orlando Pride
2025 Orlando Pride Season In Review: Anna Moorhouse
The England international turned in another solid season between the posts.
The Orlando Pride acquired goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse from French side Bordeaux on Jan. 31, 2022, signing her to a two-year contract through the 2023 season. In October of 2023, she signed an extension through 2025, and then on Aug. 15, she signed another extension that runs through the 2027 season. She has been the Pride’s primary starting goalkeeper since 2023, and her strong play in Orlando earned her several call-ups with the England national team and her first ever starts with the Lionesses on Nov. 29 and Dec. 2 of this year.
Let’s take a look back at Moorhouse’s fourth season with the Pride.
Statistical Breakdown
Moorhouse opened the 2025 season in the same place that she ended the 2024 season, in between the posts in a game against Washington. This time she did not shut the Spirit out though, allowing one goal on three shots on target, while making two saves. She completed 73% of her passes, including four long balls on nine attempts (44%), and while she went the right way on three of the four penalty kicks, Moorhouse did not save any of them as the Spirit defeated the Pride on penalties after the 1-1 draw.
During NWSL regular-season play, she appeared in 25 games, starting all 25 and going the full 90 in 24, while coming off due to a potential concussion in the other. The Pride went 11-8-6 in games that Moorhouse started, and already trailed when she left the first Portland game in a 1-0 road loss May 3. She played a team-high 2,211 minutes, allowing 26 goals and making 72 saves for a save percentage of 74% and a goals-against average of 1.06, which was third in the NWSL among goalkeepers who played in at least 10 games. She passed at an 77% completion rate, with 97 accurate long balls among the 215 she attempted (45%). The Liverpool Hope University graduate ended up with a plus/minus of +6 for the season, and allowed 2.1 fewer goals than Opta’s analysts projected using their post-shot expected goals tracking.
Moorhouse started and played full matches in both of the Pride’s playoff games, going 1-1-0 while logging 180 minutes and allowing only one goal on nine shots on target. She made eight saves for a save percentage of 89% and finished with a 0.5 goals-against average. She was not as accurate with her passing as she was during the regular season, completing only 58% of all passes and 29% of her long balls. The only goal she allowed was unfortunately the only goal in the semifinal game, so she ended the playoffs with a plus/minus of +1.
Moorhouse dressed during three of the Pride’s four Concacaf W Champions Cup matches, but she did not play during any of those games.
Best Game
The Pride’s No. 1 posted eight shutouts during the 2025 season, with the final shutout coming in the opening round of the playoffs against Seattle. The Reign went down a goal early, thanks to Haley McClutcheon, and thus were on the attack for the final 70 minutes. They outshot the Pride 17-9 and put eight shots on target, but Moorhouse was up to the task, stopping all eight shots for a season-high eight saves. Ironically, for a goalkeeper, her best save of the night might have come not with her hands but with her feet, as she just got her left foot extended enough to deny Seattle the game-tying goal in the 75th minute — a huge save to keep the Pride ahead.
Opta’s analysts estimated that Seattle’s post-shot expected goals tally was 1.6, so Moorhouse was +1.6 on actual goals allowed vs. expected goals allowed, her best differential of 2025. It was an excellent performance in what was to that point the biggest game of the Pride’s season, and her efforts helped the Pride get through to the semifinals for the second consecutive season.
2025 Final Grade
The Mane Land staff gave Moorhouse a composite grade of 6.5 out of 10, a slight drop from the 7 out of 10 we gave her last season and a slight improvement from the 6 out of 10 she received in 2023. Her shot-stopping skills and reflexes were still strong, but there were once again a few goals that she just gave away — in particular against Utah, when she was caught well off her line, and then more egregiously against San Diego, when she was under very little pressure and yet passed the ball directly to a Wave player, who then made her pay by putting the ball into the open net. Goalkeepers are always under the microscope, and Moorhouse had a solid season for the most part, but a few of the goals the Pride allowed only occurred due to her errors and that is why her grade dipped just a little bit from 2024.
2026 Outlook
Moorhouse’s contract runs through the 2027 season, so barring an off-season transaction, she will be back with the Pride next season and will return as the presumptive starting goalkeeper. The Pride are bringing back all four of their goalkeepers, who are all under contract though, so clearly they see something in each of the other three goalkeepers (Kat Asman, McKinley Crone, and Cosette Morché). That means that Moorhouse will not just be handed the starting gloves for 2026; she will have to earn them. The England international is by far the most experienced of the Pride’s goalkeeping quartet, but Crone and Morché both showed potential during their minutes this season, and they will both try to unseat Moorhouse during the preseason. I expect Moorhouse will retain her spot as the starter, but she will be pushed like never before.
Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)
- Luana (11/17/25)
- Cosette Morché (11/18/25)
- Elyse Bennett (11/19/25)
- Simone Charley (11/20/25)
- McKinley Crone (11/20/25)
- Grace Chanda (11/21/25)
- Viviana Villacorta (11/22/25)
- Summer Yates (11/23/25)
- Julie Doyle (11/24/25)
- Simone Jackson (11/25/25)
- Zara Chavosi (11/26/25)
- Oihane (11/27/25)
- Cori Dyke (11/28/25)
- Ally Lemos (11/29/25)
- Kylie Nadaner (11/30/25)
- Rafaelle (12/1/25)
- Kerry Abello (12/4/25)
- Haley McCutcheon (12/4/25)
- Angelina (12/5/25)
- Barbra Banda (12/6/25)
Orlando Pride
2025 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Barbra Banda
The Zambian international was having another standout season when a season-ending injury derailed things.
The Orlando Pride signed Zambian international striker Barbra Banda on March 7, 2024 from Chinese Women’s Super League side Shanghai Shengli FC to a contract through the 2027 season. Banda arrived a few weeks later when her exit from Shanghai Shengli and international paperwork were taken care of, and from the moment she stepped onto the pitch with her Pride teammates on April 19 of last year in a home win over the San Diego Wave, she completely changed the team’s attack, embarking on a season that resulted in NWSL regular-season and playoff titles and racking up a full trophy case worth of individual awards.
Banda’s second year with the club was off to a great start, with eight goals in the first 12 games, including the first hat trick in Orlando Pride history, before her production tailed off a bit and then she was then lost for the season to a hip injury sustained early in the match at Kansas City on Aug. 16.
Let’s take a look back at Banda’s injury-shortened second season in Orlando.
Statistical Breakdown
Banda started and played the first 82 minutes in the 2025 Challenge Cup match. She did not record a goal contribution and took just one off-target shot. She passed at an 84% rate but that was on just six total attempts, and she did not record a completed long ball or a key pass, although she was successful on one of her two dribble attempts. Defensively, she won one aerial duel. She committed one foul, drew two on the Washington Spirit, and was not booked.
During the regular season, Banda made 16 appearances (15 starts), playing 1,299 minutes. She contributed eight goals and an assist, putting 35 of her 58 shots on target. She completed just 61% of her 182 passes, two of her 14 crosses (14.3%), and two of her four long balls (50%) with 15 key passes. On the defensive end, the Zambian forward contributed 14 tackles, two interceptions, two clearances, and two blocked shots. She committed 37 fouls, drew 21 on the opposition, and picked up three yellow cards on the season.
Banda did not participate in the Concacaf W Champions Cup or the playoffs, which both took place after her season-ending injury.
Best Game
There’s really no contest. Banda recorded the first hat trick in club history and the NWSL’s first first-half hat trick on the road in a 3-1 road win over the Utah Royals on May 23. It was a dominant first 45 minutes for the Zambian international, who started scoring early. Oihane sent Ally Watt down the right flank and Banda made a quick, heads-up move to get inside her defender as Watt’s cross arrived. She flicked her shot home with a first-touch shot to put the Pride ahead 1-0 in the sixth minute.
Although Utah tied the game eight minutes later, Banda was just getting started. Showing off her impressive speed and physicality, Banda punished Utah for a soft back pass, blazing forward to beat the center back to the ball and poking it into space. She took a couple of dribbles, pushed the ball right to round the keeper while holding off the other center back, and slotted home her second goal of the game in the 37th minute to restore Orlando’s lead.
Less than a minute later, Haley McCutcheon sent Banda down the left flank with a long ball. The Zambian entered the box from the side while weighing her options in a ton of space. She then blasted a near-post shot past goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn to make it 3-1, completing her hat trick from start to finish in just 32 minutes.
Banda fired six shots in total in the game and put all six of them on target, coming close to a fourth goal several times, making the most of her 24 touches in the game in her 72 minutes on the pitch. If there was a downside to her match, it was completing only four of her 10 passes (40%), but she did all the damage on the day, logging a game-high three successful dribbles on four attempts. She also had five recoveries on the defensive end and won four of her eight duels. She committed three fouls and drew one on Utah, picking up one of her three yellow cards on the season in this match.
2025 Final Grade
The Mane Land staff gave Banda a composite rating of 8 out of 10 for her second season in Orlando. This was a point lower than the 9 we gave her last year. Banda was as dangerous as ever, but at times she was impatient and often isolated, which no doubt led to most of her 199 turnovers on the season. Although she finished with eight goals, tying for sixth among all NWSL players despite missing nearly half the season, Banda still left a few goals on the field with misses or firing straight at the goalkeeper, but that’s admittedly a nitpick. She still somehow finished the year with the league’s most shots on target (35). There wasn’t much drop in Banda’s play, but the overall slight drop in team play was likely more costly to her individual stats than anyone else’s on the team. It’s a shame her injury occurred prior to Jacquie Ovalle’s arrival, as the Mexican international’s skillset seems well suited to play to Banda’s strengths.
2026 Outlook
The 25-year-old is in the prime of her career and under contract through 2027, so unless she requests a transfer, she’ll be a big part of Orlando’s team in 2026. Banda will be an automatic starter when she returns to action. Depending on her recovery timeline and how much time she can get in preseason training, she might start the season on the bench before returning to the starting XI, but as one of the league’s most lethal players, she’ll be a starter as soon as she’s fully fit.
As mentioned above, Ovalle’s acquisition was largely due to a skillset that complements Banda’s. Ovalle’s ability to pick out teammates should unlock more scoring chances for Banda, and in turn, Banda’s presence on the pitch will open up space for Ovalle that was missing in 2025. The partnership, once it’s had some time to gel, should be a fruitful one for Orlando. A return to double-digit goals in 2026 is not only possible, but with a healthy Banda, it’s probable. That would put her back at NWSL Best XI level.
Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)
- Luana (11/17/25)
- Cosette Morché (11/18/25)
- Elyse Bennett (11/19/25)
- Simone Charley (11/20/25)
- McKinley Crone (11/20/25)
- Grace Chanda (11/21/25)
- Viviana Villacorta (11/22/25)
- Summer Yates (11/23/25)
- Julie Doyle (11/24/25)
- Simone Jackson (11/25/25)
- Zara Chavosi (11/26/25)
- Oihane (11/27/25)
- Cori Dyke (11/28/25)
- Ally Lemos (11/29/25)
- Kylie Nadaner (11/30/25)
- Rafaelle (12/1/25)
- Kerry Abello (12/4/25)
- Haley McCutcheon (12/4/25)
- Angelina (12/5/25)
Orlando Pride
2025 Orlando Pride Season In Review: Angelina
The Brazilian’s performance dropped a bit in 2025, but she was still a solid player in the middle of the field.
The Orlando Pride signed defensive midfielder Angelina on Dec. 13, 2023, as a restricted free agent, with the Brazilian international joining the Pride after spending the three previous seasons with Seattle. She is still playing on that initial contract, which runs through the 2026 season, and crossed 50 games played with the Pride near the end of this season.
Let’s take a look back at the midfielder’s second season with the Pride.
Statistical Breakdown
Angelina started and went the full 90 minutes in the NWSL Challenge Cup game against Washington, opening the game as an attacking midfielder but shifting after halftime back to the defensive midfield, where she had primarily played in 2024. The Brazilian did not take any shots or have a goal contribution, completed 79% of her passes, made three tackles, committed and suffered two fouls, and was not booked. She nearly had the game-winning assist, playing a beautiful free kick onto Kylie Nadaner’s head that the defender put into the back of the net, but she had been offside prior to the ball being played, so the goal did not count. The game went to penalty kicks and Angelina converted her opportunity low and to the goalkeeper’s left, but unfortunately the next two Pride players did not convert theirs, and the Pride did not win the post-match shootout or the trophy.
In NWSL regular-season play, Angelina appeared in all of Orlando’s 26 matches, starting 23 and playing a total of 1,816 minutes. She put five of her 15 shot attempts on target, but none past the goalkeeper. The Brazilian international completed 73% of her passes, with one assist from her 23 key passes (second most on the team, behind Marta) and four successful crosses. On the defensive side, she compiled 29 tackles, while also tallying 11 interceptions, nine blocked shots, and 18 clearances. She committed 20 fouls, suffered 26, and received two yellow cards.
Angelina played all 180 minutes during the Pride’s two playoff games. Just as in the regular season she did not score any goals, and only had one shot attempt across the two matches, putting it on target. Her passing completion percentage dipped a bit from the regular season, coming in at 69% without a key pass or an assist. On defense, she contributed two tackles, one interception, and five clearances. She committed three fouls, suffered two, and was not booked.
In a manner very similar to her normal midfield partner, Haley McCutcheon, Seb Hines rested Angelina for most of the Concacaf W Champions Cup, playing her in only two games and for a combined total of 80 minutes. Angelina came off the bench in the Pride’s two games against teams from Liga MX Feminil — Club America and Pachuca — and did not record a goal contribution, took one off-target shot, completed 74% of her pass attempts without a key pass, made three tackles, committed one foul, suffered one foul, and was not booked in the competition.
Best Game
The Brazilian’s best game in 2025 was definitely her one-goal, one-assist performance for her native country in the Copa America Feminina championship game, but choosing her best game for the Pride was a much more difficult decision. Many of her games ended up with similar stat lines, but only game ended up with a goal contribution, which was the Pride’s last-gasp comeback to earn a 1-1 draw against North Carolina. Angelina earned her assist by playing a dangerous corner kick toward the near post, where Prisca Chilufya scored one of the odder headed goals you will ever see, looping her header incredibly high in the air but at just the right angle to drop into the back of the net in the third minute of second half stoppage time.
In addition to the assist, Angelina had three other shot-creating actions, completed a season-high 94% of her passes, and added one tackle on defense. In a season of mostly workmanlike performances Angelina’s performance in this game stood out, as the one moment of magic for the Pride was created off of her corner kick, earning a point for the Pride and my vote for her best game of the season.
2025 Final Grade
The Mane Land staff gave Angelina a composite grade of 6.5 out of 10, a significant step down from the 8 out of 10 we gave her in 2024. Despite playing more than 300 more minutes in NWSL play in 2025 than she did in 2024, many of her counting stats were either lower (goals, assists, shot-creating actions, key passes, defensive interruptions) or only slightly higher (shots, passes completed, touches, successful long balls). Seb Hines tried to use her in some different positions in the beginning of the season, but even when she returned to playing primarily in the same spot as she did in 2024, her involvement in the game dipped a bit this season, which is reflected in the lower grade from our staff.
2026 Outlook
Barring an off-season trade or transfer, Angelina will be back with the Pride next season and will be the presumptive starter alongside McCutcheon in the defensive midfield. While her form dipped in 2025 as compared to 2024, she was still a solid player for the Pride, and she will be 26 years old next season, so she should be able to perform at least at the same level as in 2025 and hopefully will return back to her 2024 form. If she does, it will go a long way toward helping the Pride have a third straight season with a top tier defense, which should keep them in the mix for a top-four seed and a chance to return to the NWSL championship game.
Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)
- Luana (11/17/25)
- Cosette Morché (11/18/25)
- Elyse Bennett (11/19/25)
- Simone Charley (11/20/25)
- McKinley Crone (11/20/25)
- Grace Chanda (11/21/25)
- Viviana Villacorta (11/22/25)
- Summer Yates (11/23/25)
- Julie Doyle (11/24/25)
- Simone Jackson (11/25/25)
- Zara Chavosi (11/26/25)
- Oihane (11/27/25)
- Cori Dyke (11/28/25)
- Ally Lemos (11/29/25)
- Kylie Nadaner (11/30/25)
- Rafaelle (12/1/25)
- Kerry Abello (12/4/25)
- Haley McCutcheon (12/4/25)
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