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Meet the 2018 Orlando Pride

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The 2018 NWSL season is about to begin and Tom Sermanni’s Orlando Pride welcome back the majority of last year’s playoff team that finished third overall in the regular season. With several quality additions over the winter, the Pride seem poised to make another postseason run in 2018 and perhaps challenge for some hardware in the club’s third season.

There were only two major losses in the off-season, with the trades of left back Steph Catley and forward Jasmyne Spencer to Seattle, but the Pride got good value in return and simultaneously filled the position Catley vacated by acquiring Carson Pickett in the deal. Orlando also added a few other key players who are expected to make an impact in 2018.

Let’s meet this year’s Pride team.

2 Sydney Leroux, Forward

The biggest name of the off-season acquisitions, Leroux was acquired from Utah on Feb. 2 in exchange for a 2019 first-round pick. No longer an allocated player by the U.S. Soccer Federation (i.e. the USSF no longer covers her league salary), Leroux had to sign a deal with the club prior to the season, which she did.

Sydney wasted no time getting up to speed with her new team, scoring a goal in each of the Pride’s preseason matches and led the team in scoring. At the Pride Media Day she said she feels like the old Syd is back and that’s tremendous news for Orlando fans. Nearly all of her teammates we spoke to this preseason mentioned how her physical play and tenacity inspired them to play harder and tougher. If that is the case, this could be a special year for the Pride. The former FC Kansas City and Western New York Flash forward has lots of international experience, with 77 USWNT caps, and a history of playing with Alex Morgan. Her style of play should create more space for players like Morgan and Marta.

3 Toni Pressley, Defender

Pressley enters her third season with the Pride after being selected eighth in the 2015 NWSL Expansion Draft from the Houston Dash. She started 11 times in 14 appearances during the Pride’s inaugural season but transformed herself physically through a new approach to diet and fitness and entered 2017 looking like a completely different player. Pressley appeared in 18 games (13 starts) last season and smashed in her first goal with Orlando, a screamer that earned her NWSL Goal of the Week honors.

Sermanni was able to utilize Pressley in order to change shape to three in the back late in games to go for the win and it will be interesting to see if that continues. It will be tougher to earn minutes on this year’s Pride team than ever before, so Pressley will need to work on her passing percentage and eliminate the errors in the box that led to two second-half penalties which cost Orlando points last season.

4 Shelina Zadorsky, Defender

Another of Orlando’s off-season acquisitions, Zadorsky was acquired from the Washington Spirit on Jan. 23 in exchange for backup goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe and the Pride’s natural first-round pick in 2019. The 25-year-old Canadian international was brought in to bolster a defense that shipped 31 goals in 24 games last year. The Pride’s attacking style puts the defense under pressure at times and the acquisition of Zadorsky should help shore things up. She started two of her 30+ games with the Canadian Women’s National Team in the recent Algarve Cup and her side recorded shutouts in both, which she said at Media Day will give her confidence and serve as a springboard as she heads into her first season with Orlando. Shelina is allocated to Orlando by the Canadian Soccer Association.

5 Emily van Egmond, Midfielder

One of two Australian internationals on the squad, van Egmond will not actually join the Pride until late April due to World Cup qualifying in the Women’s Asian Cup. The attacking midfielder was signed on Valentine’s Day. Van Egmond is blossoming into one of the world’s top play-making midfielders despite being just 24 years old. Her presence will either allow Marta to play on the forward line or complement the Brazilian star if Sermanni wants more bodies in the midfield. She brings to the Pride more than 75 games of international experience on some of the biggest stages, as well as previous professional experience in Australia, Europe, and the United States (Western New York Flash, Seattle Reign, Chicago Red Stars). Emily will require one of the Pride’s five international slots.

6 Chioma Ubogagu, Forward

Chi enters her second season with the Pride after her rights were acquired from the Houston Dash in January of 2017 for a third-round pick in the 2018 draft. She was out of contract after the 2017 season and re-signed in mid-January. Ubogagu appeared in 19 matches with the Pride last season (16 starts), scoring four goals and adding three assists. Chi filled a lot of gaps last year. Nine of her starts came on the forward line, six were in the midfield and one was on defense — a position she also switched to a few times during games depending on substitution patterns. She played well enough to earn a call-up to the USWNT at left back, although she did not get a cap. With more attacking pieces in place for Sermanni this year, look for Ubogagu to serve as the club’s Swiss Army knife, doing a number of different jobs.

7 Christine Nairn, Midfielder

The Pride picked up Nairn from the Seattle Reign on Jan. 29, along with defender Carson Pickett, in exchange for Catley. Nairn brings a veteran presence to the Orlando midfield, as the 27-year-old has played more than 100 NWSL games with the Reign and the Washington Spirit, scoring 18 combined goals for those clubs. Nairn is an underrated player who does a lot of little things well and has a big leg, as she displayed twice in the preseason, scoring on a free kick against UCF and chipping the goalkeeper from the center circle against South Florida. She’ll provide a veteran presence to Orlando’s midfield.

8 Danica Evans, Forward

Evans enters her second season with the Pride after being drafted 22nd overall out of Colorado in 2017. Evans was used sparingly during her rookie year, appearing in 11 matches (one start) but only playing 195 total minutes. She scored one goal, but it was a big one, tying the match late against the Washington Spirit in Orlando’s home opener. Danica earned NWSL Goal of the Week for her calm finish. Evans will provide attacking depth for a club that has a treasure trove of options.

9 Camila, Defender/Midfielder

After suffering a serious knee injury in the final regular-season match of 2017, Camila Pereira (simply known as Camila) begins the season on injured reserve and therefore won’t count against the club’s international slots or roster limit until she returns. The Brazilian international’s recovery has seemingly gone well and a return in June is expected for the second-year Pride player. Camila was Orlando’s breakout player of the year in 2017, after signing with the club in December of 2016. She appeared in all 24 regular-season matches with the Pride in 2017, starting 22. She played just about everywhere, starting four games at right back, three at forward, and 15 in the midfield. She’ll only have about half a season to do it, but Camila will look to build on her four-goal, five-assist season of a year ago.

10 Marta, Forward

Marta Vieira da Silva, known globally simply as Marta, is one of the world’s most recognizable soccer players. She returns for her second season with the Pride after arriving early in the 2017 campaign. After a few games to settle in, Marta started delivering the goals and assists she’s known for, and, if not for someone named Sam Kerr, she might have been the NWSL MVP last year. After signing with Orlando last April, Marta arrived in time to dress for the home opener, despite having arrived via international flight less than 48 hours earlier. Playing both forward and midfielder in 2017, Marta played in 23 of the club’s 24 regular-season games, starting 21, as well as Orlando’s playoff match in Portland. Marta scored a team-high 13 goals (second in the NWSL) with six assists (also second in the NWSL). She created a league-high 64 chances for her teammates and her goals + assists total of 19 was second only to Sky Blue’s Kerr (17/4), who is now with Chicago. Marta was a four-time member of the NWSL Team of the Month, and she’ll again be expected to contribute heavily to the attack and team’s possession in 2018 and perhaps she’ll have more room with Leroux to clear more space for her. She will occupy an international slot for the Pride.

11 Ali Krieger, Defender

No longer allocated by the USWNT, Krieger, like Leroux signed a contract with the Pride prior to the NWSL season. She now enters her second year with Orlando since being acquired from the Washington Spirit on Nov. 2, 2016, in exchange for the Pride’s spot in the Distribution Ranking Order. She played every minute of the Pride’s 2017 season, mostly at center back, moving over from her more familiar right back spot. She led the NWSL in passing attempts (1,300), completing 82.5% of them. She did not score a goal but did assist on two. With the additions of Zadorsky and Poliana, Krieger could again play both fullback and center back in 2018, but, regardless of where she is on the field, the Pride will rely on her leadership, experience, and calm demeanor.

12 Kristen Edmonds, Midfielder

One of the longest tenured members of the Pride, Edmonds has been with the club since her rights were acquired from the Western New York Flash — along with Becky Edwards — in December of 2015. She enters her third season with the club, having led the team in goals in 2015, but filling in as more of a role player in 2016. She played 22 games (20 starts) last season, scoring two goals without an assist, just one year after scoring six times and adding two assists. She seems destined once again to slot in wherever Sermanni needs her in 2018, whether at fullback or in the midfield but that role fits in well with her whatever-is-needed demeanor.

13 Alex Morgan, Forward

Morgan enters her third season as a player allocated to Orlando by the USWNT. She became the cornerstone of the team’s roster in October of 2015, when the Pride traded a sizable list of assets to the Portland Thorns for both her and Kaylyn Kyle. Orlando parted with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft (which became Emily Sonnett), the rights to Orlando’s first pick in the 2015 Expansion Draft (Meghan Klingenberg), and an international roster spot for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Morgan missed several matches in both previous seasons with Orlando due to international play and a loan spell with Lyon. Still, she’s amassed 13 goals in 18 games across two seasons with the Pride so far. Of those, nine came last year, along with four assists, as she torched the NWSL in the second half of the season. Those numbers could climb if she remains healthy on this 2018 team.

14 Alanna Kennedy, Defender/Midfielder

Like van Egmond, Kennedy is going to be a late arrival in 2018, as she tries to help her country qualify for the World Cup through April’s Women’s Asian Cup. The Australian still requires one of Orlando’s precious international slots. The Pride traded its first ever draft pick, Sam Witteman, to the North Carolina Courage to acquire Kennedy on Jan. 19, 2017. Her deal expired after last season, but the Pride re-signed the Aussie to a new deal earlier this month. At the time of the trade, Sermanni called her “one of the best center backs in the league,” but she only played in that position for seven games before moving into the midfield. She played in all 24 matches (plus the playoff game) last year, starting 23 times in the regular season. She was second only to Krieger in minutes played, scoring four goals and adding an assist. She also scored Orlando’s first ever playoff goal at Portland. Kennedy was a ball winner, a safety-first defender (80 clearances), and a provider of timely offense. Sermanni will be happy when she returns from international duty.

15 Rachel Hill, Forward

The Pride sent two 2018 draft picks to Portland in January of 2017 for the rights to Hill, who joined the club late after finishing school at the University of Connecticut. Hill started eight matches in 2017 and appeared in 14 over the course of her rookie season, playing 713 minutes, while scoring three goals and adding an assist. This past off-season, she went on loan to Australia to continue her professional development and made a big impact with Perth Glory, where she played alongside — and learned a lot from — Kerr. She started all 12 matches in which she appeared for Perth, scoring nine goals and assisting on six more, and earning a league Player-of-the-Month honor. Hill will be looking to use that breakout performance as a springboard into the 2018 NWSL season.

16 Carson Pickett, Defender

Pickett, a 24-year-old Florida State product and Florida native, returned to her home state in the trade that sent Catley to Seattle. Pickett is a capable replacement for the Australian international left back, earning W-League Best XI honors this off-season with Brisbane Roar, for which she appeared 13 times, scoring once. Pickett enters her first season with the Pride, after two years with the Seattle Reign, where she made 36 appearances with one assist but is still seeking her first NWSL goal. She was part of Florida State’s national championship team in 2014, anchoring a defense that did not concede in the NCAA tournament. Like Catley, she’ll look to get forward and cross balls in for Morgan, Leroux, and Marta.

For more info on Pickett, check out this week’s PawedCast.

17 Dani Weatherholt, Midfielder

Weatherholt enters her third season with Orlando, after the Pride drafted her in the fourth round in 2016. She was out of contract after 2017 and re-signed with the club in January. She has appeared in 31 matches (26 starts) over the past two seasons, notching her first professional goal and assist in 2017 as she locked down a holding midfield role in her sophomore season. The 23-year-old Santa Clara product has gained confidence from playing with the U-23 USWNT and has made great strides in her first two pro seasons.

19 Poliana, Defender

The pride shipped a second-round pick in 2019 to the Houston Dash to acquire Brazilian international Poliana Barbosa Medeiros (more commonly known as Poliana) on Feb. 6. One of Houston’s more dynamic players over the past two years, Poliana notched five goals and added two assists in 37 appearances. Capable of playing both fullback and in more advanced attacking positions, Poliana shares some similarities with Camila, aside from her Brazilian heritage. She’s tested on the international level, playing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League play with Icelandic club Starjnan and winning the Copa Libertadores Femenina three times (2011, 2013, and 2014) with Brazilian side São José. She also has more than 30 international caps with Brazil. Poliana will require an international roster slot.

21 Monica, Defender

Monica Hickmann Alves (or just Monica) enters her third season with the Pride since being signed on Dec. 8, 2015. The Brazilian international, who is working on securing her green card before Camila returns from injury, according to a team spokesperson, has played both center back and holding midfield for the Pride over the last couple of years. She appeared in 19 of the team’s 24 regular-season matches (16 starts) and started in the team’s playoff game in Portland. She has made a total of 35 regular-season appearances (31 starts) in two seasons. Though she has yet to register a goal or assist with the team and has only 10 shot attempts, Monica’s defending (she won or shared the NWSL Save of the Week twice last year, despite not being a goalkeeper) and passing — she led the team at 84.4% — are her greatest strengths.

22 Bridget Callahan, Midfielder

Signed earlier today as a National Team Replacement player, Callahan enters her first professional season. The former University of Central Florida standout was a nonroster invitee to preseason camp and played well enough to at least earn a temporary deal with the club. She scored nine goals and accumulated two assists in 75 games. She scored three of those goals and added one of those two assists last year. With the Aussies gone until the end of April and the Brazilians leaving after the season opener, Callahan could be with the club through the first four games of the year or so. She will not count against the roster limit.

24 Ashlyn Harris, Goalkeeper

Allocated by the USSF, Harris enters her third season with the Pride, after being selected No. 2 in the 2015 NWSL Expansion Draft from the Washington Spirit. She’s made 28 appearances over the past two seasons as a starter, posting a record of 11-11-6 (6-2-5 last year) and notching six shutouts She missed time due to the Olympics in 2016 and a quad injury last year. Harris became the first player from an expansion team to win an NWSL season award when she was named the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year in 2016, when she recorded four shutouts and won the NWSL Save of the Week a whopping nine times. In 2017, Harris only won six weekly NWSL save awards. The 32-year-old USWNT goalkeeper may be Alyssa Naeher’s primary backup with the USWNT, but she’s Orlando’s star between the sticks, and she’ll again be counted on to make big saves when the team needs them — which will hopefully be less often with the additions the team has made on defense.

25 Lotta Ökvist, Defender

Ökvist, 21, enters her first season with the Pride after her rights were acquired from the Houston Dash on Wednesday in exchange for the club’s 2019 natural third-round draft pick. The Swedish international was the No. 13 pick of the Dispersal Draft after the Boston Breakers ceased operations in January. As a 2018 NWSL Dispersal Draft selection, Ökvist will not count against the Pride’s salary cap or roster maximum for the 2018 season, and her international roster spot from Houston (via Boston) will transfer with her to the Pride (effectively giving Orlando an extra for 2018). Before signing with the Breakers during the off-season, Ökvist featured for Pitea IF in her hometown of Piteå, Sweden. She made 25 appearances with Piteå during the 2016-17 Damallsvenskan season — her second stint with the club. The 5-foot-5 defender has also played one season with Umeå IK. Ökvist led her country to the 2015-16 UEFA U-19 Women’s Championship. Prior to that, she was a member of the U-17 Swedish Women’s National Team. The left-footer will bolster the Pride’s defensive depth and can also play in the midfield.

28 Haley Kopmeyer, Goalkeeper

Kopmeyer, 27, enters her first season with the Pride after being acquired from the Seattle Reign on Jan. 29, along with Seattle’s natural third-round pick in 2019, in exchange for Jasmyne Spencer. She provides a veteran backup for Harris, having made 46 NWSL appearances, with a high of 20 during the 2017 season. The University of Michigan product has kept 11 clean sheets and made 185 saves in her five-year career. Kopmeyer previously had loan stints with Brisbane Roar and Canberra United in Australia’s W-League and with Apollon Limassol in Cyprus.


Now you know the 2018 Orlando Pride. The club enters the NWSL season with its deepest and most talented roster to date, although not all the players are here now and more will soon depart for international play. With Women’s World Cup qualifying ramping up, this will be a common theme during the 2018 season. But the club has accounted for this as best it can by securing more domestic talent and inviting more college talent than usual to preseason training.

One notable name missing is draft pick Nadia Gomes (pictured in team photo, above). She isn’t officially signed as of now, and with no current roster space, she may end up being a National Team Replacement player at some point unless she’s dealt to another team or finds her way to another team/league.

This is a team expected to challenge for the NWSL Cup by season’s end. If it can stay healthy, survive the pockets of international duty, and build upon a strong 2017, the sky is the limit.

Orlando Pride

Pride Opponents Reducing Barbra Banda’s Available Space in 2025

How changes in the opposition’s defensive strategies have led to a decline in Barbra Banda’s statistics.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

A few years ago, I heard a basketball analyst talking on a podcast about Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors and how his shooting prowess completely changed the geometry of how his opponents were trying to defend him. Geometry, as you all remember from high school, is the area of mathematics that is focused on understanding space and the positions of items in space.

As a mathematician, my ears perked up, since geometry is rarely referred to on NBA podcasts, and I immediately understood his point was that because Curry was such an offensive shooting threat, the opposition had to think differently about their positioning than they would with just about any other player, and they could not afford to give Curry any space on the court or else he would punish them with his proficiency at shooting the basketball.

Basketball is a much different game than soccer, in particular because hoops shots from behind the arc are worth three points while shots from inside the arc are worth two. Defenses have to consider the talents of their opponents at shooting three-pointers and adjust accordingly. Curry is the only player in NBA history with more than 4,000 made three-pointers made during the regular season (4,058), and is nearly 1,000 ahead of the next player on that list, James Harden, who has made 3,175. It can be argued that the only person to make better use of an arc than Curry was Noah, but that is for another article.

What does any of this have to do with Barbra Banda? Well, nothing and everything. I have no idea what kind of basketball player Banda is, but I know that just as defenses in basketball have had to dramatically change their normal styles to defend Curry, so too have they changed in how they defend Banda. If we take a look at some of Banda’s style-of-play statistics from the 2024 regular season and compare them to 2025, we can see the evidence of how defenses are clearly making changes to their positioning and to the space they are allowing Banda to operate in on the field (all data is from fbref.com, all metrics are on a per-90-minute basis except shot distance and expected goals, which are per shot taken):

Metric20242025Difference
Passes Received22.715.7-31%
Progressive Passes Received7.416.57-11%
Shots5.234.14-21%
Shot Distance in Yards14.615.6+7%
Expected Goals0.140.12-14%
Progressive Carries5.803.71-36%
Attempted Take-Ons5.233.14-40%
Touches in the Attacking Third21.918.0-18%
Touches in 1810.68.0-25%
Shot-Creating Actions4.603.58-22%

I called these her style-of-play statistics because I think these describe what she is doing on the field and where she is doing it, or in this case, not doing it as much as she was doing it in 2024.

Let’s start with the top two: passes received and progressive passes received per 90 minutes. The Pride are completing nearly the same number of passes per 90 minutes in 2025 (357.3) as they did in 2024 (364.4), but Banda is receiving 31% fewer passes this season than she did last season. She is also receiving 11% fewer progressive passes, which are passes of 10 yards or more that move the ball closer to the goal in the attacking area of the field. Banda is healthy and still in her athletic prime, so it is not that she has lost a step and is unable to run as she did in 2024, but it is clear that opponents are making concerted efforts to track her more closely and deny her the ball all over the field.

Receiving the ball less often certainly contributes to taking fewer shots, and, unsurprisingly, Banda is taking approximately 1.1 fewer shots per 90 minutes thus far this season. In addition, she is, on average, taking her shots from 7% farther (not further, thank you, Finding Forrester) away from the goal and from areas of the field which historically have produced fewer goals, as evidenced by the decrease in expected goals per shot. I did not include her conversion rates on her shots in this table, because that is not about style of play and rather about her proficiency. It is interesting, however, to note that her proficiency is nearly exactly the same: shots on target percentage of 44.6% in 2024 and 44.8% in 2025 and a slight increase in goals per shot from 13% in 2024 to 14% in 2025. It is not that Banda’s skill has diminished, it is how her opponents are changing the geometry of their defense.

The biggest drops from year to year tie right into this, which are Banda’s 36% decrease in progressive carries per 90 minutes (progressive carries are the dribbling equivalent of progressive passes received, when a player dribbles the ball for 10 or more yards towards the goal in the attacking area of the field) and 40% decrease in attempted take-ons. Teams are simply not allowing her to get a head of steam and get into space like they did last season, to the tune of two fewer progressive carries per 90 minutes and two fewer attempted take-ons PER MATCH. Banda has actually been slightly more successful in her take-ons in 2025 (50% success vs 47.5% success in 2024), but as teams are working to have her receive the ball in less dangerous places she is choosing not to try to take on a defender as often and is less often able to receive the ball and turn on the burners towards the goal.

With fewer passes received and fewer progressive carries she is also not touching the ball as often in the opponents’ attacking third and 18-yard box, which ties back to the reduction in shots taken, and also the final metric, shot-creating actions. Banda was fourth in the NWSL last season with nearly five shot-creating actions per game, and she has dropped to 16th this season with only 3.58 thus far. Being in the top 20 is still excellent, but goals generally come from shots, and Banda’s shot creation is down through seven games. The eye test does not reveal a player who is tentative or shying away from trying to create. I think she is just being defended differently, and as yet she has not unlocked a good counter.

Even with all of this said, it is not like Banda is having a bad year or is in any danger of losing her starting role. She has dropped in shot-creating actions, but she is making use of the ones she does create, ranking fourth in goal-creating actions by averaging 0.72 per 90 minutes. She is also fifth in goals scored per 90 minutes and third in goals scored. Her goal output is also lower in 2025 than it was in 2024, but as I noted, it is still better than most of the league’s offensive players.

Increasing her output is partly on her and partly on her teammates, as they need to work together to counteract how Banda is being defended by making some changes of their own. The losses of Adriana to a new team and Julie Doyle and Summer Yates to injury have hurt the offense, as the attack cannot build on all the cohesion that those players built with Banda last season, and Ally Watt and Angelina have not contributed as much as was expected, at least not yet. As The Mane Land’s Dave Rohe said on this week’s SkoPurp Soccer podcast though, all of this is true and the team is still tied for first place and tied for the league lead in goals scored.

The Pride have two tough games coming up — on the road at North Carolina, always a tough opponent, and then at home against Kansas City, the team currently tied with Orlando at the top of the table. Winning both games will be an acute challenge, but if the Pride can do that they will create a degree of space at the top of the table, though it would be more of an algebraic than a geometric sequence, since they would be adding three points and then another three points.

Whether algebraic or geometric, the Pride will continue to work to calculus, sorry…calculate, how best to sequence their offense to unlock Banda and improve an offense that, excluding own goals, has scored only six times in their last six games. They will surely be considering all the angles in practice this week, but let’s hope that in the end the angle they choose to go with for their offensive strategy is right.

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Orlando Pride Depth Tested Early This Season

The Pride are being forced to test their newly acquired depth early in the 2025 NWSL season.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride started a full rebuild in 2022, which culminated in the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship in 2024. With the core of the team well set, Haley Carter and Seb Hines began work on building depth in the squad. Early this season, that work is being put to the test.

Just seven games into the 2025 NWSL season, the Pride have already suffered several key injuries. The first occurred in the NWSL regular season opener when midfielder Julie Doyle suffered a knee injury 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute. The following week, Rafaelle was replaced at halftime. Hines insisted it was precautionary, but the center back has yet to return.

Summer Yates, expected by many to replace Marta when the club captain retires, was injured on April 12 while assisting Barbara Banda’s game-winning goal in Seattle. The most recent injury occurred Saturday night when starting goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was kicked in the head by Mimi Alidou in the 47th minute, forcing her departure from the game.

The Pride did suffer a key injury last season when Rafaelle was injured during the Summer Olympics while representing Brazil. However, the solution was rather simple as Emily Sams moved to center back and Cori Dyke took over at right back. Despite being a rookie, Dyke was exceptional the remainder of the season, securing the starting right back spot through the NWSL Championship.

Neither Doyle nor Yates were starters at the beginning of the season. While Doyle has started many games for the Pride in her career, Hines has gone to Ally Watt and Angelina as the outside attacking midfielders. But with Angelina playing regularly for Brazil, Doyle and Yates were expected to play significant roles during the season.

Fortunately, the Pride were well prepared for this situation. They signed Zambian internationals Prisca Chilufya and Grace Chanda, who have filled those roles so far this season. Both are more than capable of starting for the Pride and filling the gaps left by Angelina and Watt when necessary.

Rafaelle is a more significant injury for the Pride. Her replacement in the lineup was a simple decision. Sams is a natural center back and started most of the 2024 games alongside Kylie Nadaner. The duo was arguably the best center back pairing in the league last season, resulting in Sams being awarded NWSL Defender of the Year. The bigger issue was who would be behind the starters.

Dyke and starting left back Kerry Abello both played games at center back last season. It wasn’t a completely foreign position for them as they’d spent time there in college. However, moving your starting right back or left back to the central defender position is less than ideal. Preferably, you would have a player able to come off the bench and replace Sams and Nadaner when needed.

Hines showed his preference Saturday night when Nadaner was given the night off. Rookie Zara Chavoshi had played minimal minutes this season, taking part in only two games. However, the Pride boss decided to throw the 22-year-old into the fire, giving her the first start of her professional career. Making the decision more questionable was sending her into arguably the league’s most hostile atmosphere at a venue where the Pride have only claimed points once.

Despite the tough circumstances, the rookie defender did very well, holding her own. It was a valuable experience for the young center back, who will likely be called upon again as the season continues.

“Giving Zara the first opportunity to start the game in a hostile environment and get tested in certain situations, I thought she did very well for her first NWSL start,” Hines said of his rookie center back after the game.

The final injury occurred during the game Saturday night when Moorhouse suffered an injury. The shot stopper has been the Pride’s number one since Erin McLeod left the club following the 2022 NWSL season. There was only one choice as her replacement, the team’s backup goalkeeper the past two seasons. While it was McKinley Crone’s first appearance in an NWSL game, it wasn’t her first appearance for the team.

The Maitland, FL native originally joined the club in 2023 as a preseason non-roster invitee. She was signed as a National Team Replacement Player later that season, but didn’t make any appearances. The club signed Finnish goalkeeper Sofia Manner prior to the 2024 campaign, putting Crone’s future with the club into question. But Crone beat out her Finnish teammate to earn the backup spot behind Moorhouse.

Crone made her professional debut last season during the NWSL X Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup against the North Carolina Courage. The game ended 1-1, with the Pride losing 5-4 on penalties. It was the last appearance by Crone, as Manner and Moorhouse started the other two Summer Cup games. Saturday night may not have been her first professional appearance, but it was unquestionably her most significant.

The 26-year-old goalkeeper wasn’t forced to do much, saving the only shot she faced. Despite the lack of action, it was good for the Pride to get their backup some meaningful minutes in case Moorhouse is called into international duty or is unable to return next week.

“Mac’s been waiting a long time for that opportunity,” Hines said. “It’s in a way that we didn’t want it to happen. Obviously, you never want to see a player get injured. But Mac’s been patient waiting for this opportunity and I thought she did well when she came on.”

So far, the Pride have passed the test. While they’re not on a record-breaking unbeaten run like last year, they sit tied with the Kansas City Current atop the NWSL standings. The two teams are tied in every way, with the same record, the same number of goals scored, and the same number of goals conceded.

The recent experiences of the Pride reserves should only help the team moving forward. Whether Hines wants to provide more rest for his starters before the playoffs, someone gets injured, or international callups result in missing players, the Pride coach must have more confidence now that he can plug in less experienced players and trust them to do the job. That will only benefit the Pride as they look to defend their crown as NWSL champions.

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Orlando Pride vs. Portland Thorns: Final Score 1-0 as Pride Fail to Score at Providence Park

The Pride’s Portland problems popped up to punish the team once again.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride (5-2-0, 15 points) continued to have difficulty when visiting Providence Park, losing 1-0 tonight to the Portland Thorns in Oregon. The home team took the early lead on Reyna Reyes’ 16th minute goal. The Pride were unable to generate any good chances on goal no matter who Pride Head Coach Seb Hines put on in the second half.

Hines made five changes to the team that won against Angel City. Oihane once again replaced Cori Dyke at right back, Zara Chavoshi got the start next to Emily Sams in place of Kylie Nadaner. Carson Pickett took over at left back, with Kerry Abello moving into the midfield. Ally Watt also returned to the starting lineup in place of Prisca Chilufya. The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was made up of Pickett, Chavoshi, Sams, and Oihane. Haley McCutcheon and Abello were the defensive midfielders behind Watt, Marta, and Ally Lemos with Banda up top.

Early in the match, the Pride tried the route one approach, sending long balls up to Banda. The first two times it worked well enough for Banda to get the ball cleanly, but she was unable to make anything from it. After that, the Pride continued to try this approach, but it was less successful.

Portland made things difficult for the Pride, pressing early and often. In the 16th minute it paid off for the home team. Pickett played a defensive ball out for a Thorns throw-in. Portland worked the ball across to Reyes. She moved the ball onto her left foot and put a very good shot inside the left post for what ended up being the game-winning goal.

The curl on that left foot 🙌Reyna Reyes with a special goal for @thornsfc.com!

NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-05-04T01:18:37.428Z

The Pride did have some chances but nothing with any type of power behind it to beat McKenzie Arnold. The Pride looked flat through most of the first half, and the Thorns brought more energy. Orlando looked disjointed and disinterested.

In the 37th minute, Pride supporters got a big scare. Banda took the ball into the box, but then pulled up as if she had a noncontact injury. Play was eventually stopped for the trainers to check on her. Mercifully, Banda was not injured and was able to continue.

Things almost got much worse for the Pride in the 39th minute. Reilyn Turner took a through ball into the box, rounded Moorhouse and put the ball on frame. Fortunately, Chavoshi recovered and made a clutch goal-line save to keep the score at 1-0.

After 45 minutes of play, the Thorns had the advantage in shots (7-5) and shots on target (4-1). The Pride had the advantage in possession (53%-47%) and corners (3-0), but were not able to generate much of a threat.

Hines did not make any changes to start the second half despite the lack of scoring. The Thorns started quickly as Deyna Castellanos got on a long ball in the box. Luckily, her shot went wide. One minute later, Moorhouse was fouled. She took a shin to the head, and boot to her right hand. After several minutes she was subbed off for McKinley Crone.

The second half was much like the first. The Pride had difficulty breaking Portland’s lines. When they did, the chances did not threaten Arnold. A perfect example of this came in the 64th minute. Watt stripped the ball from a Portland player and fed it to Banda, who gave it back to Watt for the chance, but there was nothing on it.

In the 68th minute, Hines brought on Dyke, Angelina, and Viviana Villacorta for Oihane, Lemos, and Pickett. One minute later, Banda had a chance, but her near-post shot was saved by Arnold. On the other end, Crone saved a shot by Payton Linnehan in the 74th minute. In the 75th minute, Chilufya came on for Marta.

Hines made his final substitution in the 83rd minute, bringing on Grace Chanda for Watt. Between Moorhouse’s injury and various other fouls, there were 11 minutes of second-half stoppage time. Being up a goal against the defending champs, Portland players immediately headed for the corner whenever they got the ball.

Despite double digits to work with in stoppage time, the Pride failed to equalize and suffered their second loss of the season. At full time, the Pride had the advantage in possession (58%-42%), corner kicks (7-2), and passing accuracy (80%-75%). Portland had the advantage on shots (15-11), shots on target (7-4), and, most importantly, on the scoreboard.

“You have got to try and create the space. You have got to move, make unselfish runs and you have got to be proactive rather than reactive,” Hines said about the team’s lack of offense. “I felt today that Portland were one step ahead of us in their defensive structure. We didn’t create too many opportunities. They were well organized. You have got to find different ways, and we had different solutions during the run of game and changed different buildup shapes, but it wasn’t enough to get that equalizer.” 

Hines praise the play of Chavoshi and Crone in the match, with both players short on experience.

“I think they are the main positives out of the game,” Hines said. “Giving Zara [Chavoshi] the first opportunity to start the game in a hostile environment and get tested in certain situations, I thought she did very well for her first NWSL start. [McKinley Crone] has been waiting a long time for that opportunity. It is in a way that we didn’t want it to happen, obviously, you never want to see a player get injured. Mac has been patient waiting for this opportunity and I thought she did well when she came on.” 

Fortunately for the Pride, the Kansas City Current and the Washington Spirit also lost their matches, meaning the Pride remain tied for first with the Current. Sadly, this was a missed opportunity to put some daylight between those other top teams.

“My head is all over the place at the moment, honestly,” Crone said about getting on the pitch. “I don’t really (know) if I can pinpoint a singular emotion. I am really honored, especially being from Orlando, just to be able to represent the city. This is such a tough place to come in and play. I thought the team fought hard. Now at this point, it is about turning our focus to the next game. It is such a long season, and we have so many more games ahead of us, it is now about how can we respond to this result today.”


The Pride remain on the road next weekend for an away match against the North Carolina Courage at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC.

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