Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride vs. Houston Dash: Player Grades and Player of the Match

Published

8 years ago

April 25, 2018

Sometimes the little things just don’t add up, and when that happens, you need the luck of a free kick. Christine Nairn provided that kick on Sunday and found Chioma Ubogagu in the second half to keep the Pride unbeaten at home in nine games.

Once again, it’s time to break down the team’s and each player’s performance and find our Player of the Match.

Starters

GK, Ashlyn Harris, 6 — I thought this was probably Harris’ best game so far in this young season, and not just because of the shutout. She finally laid off the long balls to nowhere and let the defense play it out. I think that helped with possession quite a bit against a Houston team that, in my opinion, has excelled in the midfield at times. She wasn’t truly tested in the net, but even if you are only called upon twice, you’ve gotta step up, and she did.

D, Ali Krieger, 6.5 — Orlando came out with three defenders, and this kept Ali on defense most of the match where she did quite well. She put a stop to a number of attacks and the highlight for me was when she battled Thembi Kgatlana in the box for what seemed like forever as both teams looked on. She came out on top and got the ball clear. She was the main defender in getting the ball forward, and had quite a few laser passes to the midfield to push possession into the attack. Jane Campbell had a fingertip save in the 82nd minute to keep Krieger from sliding one into the net. I think this too, was her best game yet.

D, Shelina Zadorsky, 6.5 — Shelina played the central defender and although she had a slow start in terms of seeing action, each and every time Houston threatened she played a part in breaking it down. She won a fantastic ball near the end of the match and put it in a great spot for Alex Morgan to go 1-v-1 against Amber Brooks, which unfortunately didn’t pan out.

D, Toni Pressley, 6 — Toni had a solid game too, but I’m putting her slightly lower because she trailed the other two defenders in passing and couldn’t get the ball forward as much as I’ve seen her do in previous games.

MF, Kristen Edmonds, 5.5 — Like Carson Pickett, Edmonds was allowed to get involved a bit more due to the 3-5-2/3-4-3 that the Pride played in, which relieved a bit of pressure. But just a bit. She was great on dropping back to help out on defense but in getting the ball forward — or being the one to get forward — it just wasn’t there. A better pass from Chi at the end of the first half would have put Kristen in a 1-v-1 with Jane Campbell, so that is unfortunate. She had the lowest amount of touches in the midfield again (out of players going the full 90 minutes) with 48 compared to Nairn’s 80, and Dani Weatherholt’s 79.

MF, Dani Weatherholt, 8 (PotM) — That’s right, an 8. And I might be doing her a disservice. You could honestly make a 10-minute highlight reel out of what she did on the pitch Sunday. As mentioned above, she had one less touch than the team high of 80. She had a stellar passing rate of 92.1 (on 63 passes!). Not a single player on the pitch matched her intensity and although she doesn’t have the assist or the goal, the Pride walked away with three points because of Weatherholt.

Go find the game on the NWSL website. You should watch the entire match and focus on her, but if you are short on time, find the 52:20 mark. This will give you time to settle in for the Dani Weatherholt show. You will see after a few seconds the Pride forwards just watching Houston kick it around and build possession. Weatherholt bursts into the camera frame and immediately wrecks possession. Houston bailed themselves out by lobbing it 20 yards and as soon as it settled on the feet of the Houston player, Weatherholt was already there disrupting that ball. Alex Morgan was nearby but just watched instead of making it a 2-v-1 situation. At that point, Weatherholt was finally put on the ground, and Morgan decided to finally help. But Weatherholt did this all match, with the notable exception of the 78th minute, when she stood on the sideline to clear up a bloody nose. Slacker.

She covered so much ground with so much pace that it was incredible to watch, and I’m glad I gave the game a second watch to really appreciate this. Hopefully Jill Ellis does this at some point, too.

MF, Christine Nairn, 6.5 — All the numbers are there for Nairn: Team high in touches, team high with her three chances created, and the all-time assist leader notched another one on a great free kick. And the rest of her set pieces were a lot better than in previous matches, too. The only knock would be the 76.9% passing, but I also give Houston a bit of credit for clogging that midfield and causing havoc all day.

MF, Carson Pickett, 5.5 — Like I said with Edmonds, moving Pickett up the field took a bit of pressure off her and allowed her to settle into the game a bit more. It still wasn’t great, but she had a few good moments that should have unlocked the offense with a bit more luck. She had a great steal in the 29th minute and then put it forward to Morgan, and right before she was subbed out in the 64th, she put a stellar ball forward that Morgan should have buried.

F, Chioma Ubogagu, 6 — What can I say that hasn’t already been said? This season, she’s been a bit messy with the ball at her feet, and the passes, although great looks, are always just a bit off so the play dies. But her effort is always there. We see so much (for better or worse) in regards to Chi’s game, because she’s almost always involved. If she could play facing the goal a bit more, I know we’d see some drastic improvement. She played 10 fewer minutes but only had two fewer touches than Sydney Leroux, and had five more touches than Morgan. Even with all the poor touches and poor passes, she was the hero of the day once again, and now has one more goal than the rest of the team combined, which was a Marta penalty in the season opener. Love the effort.

F, Alex Morgan, 4 — As always after a match like this, I hear excuses in regards to the service not being there for Morgan, that she was making runs that no one saw. I didn’t see that on Sunday, or my rewatch. A shot in the 63rd minute that she never misses sailed over the net. She then fired one off late in the game that gave some poor soul Carlos Rivas flashbacks. She had 39 touches, the lowest passing percentage at 44%, and her two shots were way off target. Amber Brooks had a good game against her, but she absolutely has to start delivering. She did give good pressure at times during the match, which was nice to see.

F, Sydney Leroux, 4 — Pretty much the same story as Morgan. I’ll add here that the two of them clearly have chemistry, because there were a lot of good looks from each one to the other. None of them worked out, but if they can start clicking completely, the results will come. Her wide-open miss in the 84th minute was the capper on a very uneventful day for Leroux.

Substitutes

F, Rachel Hill (64’), 4.5 — Hill wasn’t able to get involved too much, and when she was, Kristie Mewis was there to ruin the day. But it took a solid 10 minutes of her being in before she got that first solid touch down the side.

MF, Abby Elinsky (81’), N/A — Elinsky once again saw a bit of time and, although it wasn’t much, I saw some good positioning from her to relieve pressure from others. Not much else to say unfortunately, which is a shame because what I’ve seen from her so far has been fun and promising. Now with most of the other players coming back, it could be the last time we see her for a while.

F, Danica Evans (90+1), N/A — This was a “run out the clock” sub in exchange for Leroux. Evans finished with four touches and completely nailed her one pass for a 100% rating! In all seriousness though, she always pushes, no matter the time given.

There you have it. That’s my assessment, and as always, I’d love to hear what you saw and let me know what I got wrong (or right!) And of course, be sure to vote below on your Player of the Match.

Polling Closed

Player	Votes
Ashlyn Harris	4
Ali Krieger	10
Shelina Zadorsky	2
Dani Weatherholt	28
Christine Nairn	6
Chioma Ubogagu	4
Other (comment below)	1

Related Topics:Player Grades SBN_migrated

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Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride Sign Jamaican International Forward Solai Washington

The Pride add attacking depth by signing former Florida State forward Solai Washington.

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2026

Michael Citro

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The Orlando Pride announced today that the club has signed Jamaican international forward Solai Washington. The former Florida State Seminole through the 2027 season with a mutual option for the 2028 season.

“Solai is a player we’ve had an eye on for a while during her two years in college,” Orlando Pride head coach Seb Hines said in a club press release. “Her composure on the ball, her ability to break lines, and the maturity she showed at Florida State make her a fantastic fit for what we’re building here. She brings energy, versatility, and a real competitive edge, which is what we look for in players. We’re excited to have her here in Orlando and to see the impact she can make in our environment both on and off the field.”

The 20-year-old attacker from Atlanta made 35 appearances in her two years in Tallahassee, scoring eight goals and adding four assists while helping the Seminoles win the 2025 NCAA national championship and the 2024 ACC tournament. Washington was a member of the 2024 ACC All-Freshmen Team, the 2024 All-ACC Academic Team, and was named to TopDrawerSoccer’s postseason Top 100 Freshman list (at No. 42).

On the international stage, Washington has already represented Jamaica at the senior level on the biggest stage, making three appearances with the Reggae Girlz at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, debuting in a scoreless draw with France.

What It Means for Orlando

The Pride’s need for depth in the attacking positions is well documented, and Washington is a young player with a ton of upside in an area of need. From that perspective alone, this is a signing that makes sense. While it would be nice for the club to sign some proven NWSL-level scorers to provide depth for Barbra Banda, Marta, and Jacquie Ovalle, it’s always good to develop young talent. Since the abolition of the NWSL Draft, teams must work harder to secure the services of players like Washington.

It will require some time to know whether Orlando’s faith in Washington will be rewarded, and she wasn’t the most prolific scorer at FSU, but it says something about a player that they can get minutes at age 17 in a World Cup. It will be up to Hines and his staff to develop Washington, who will have no shortage of great mentors as teammates.

Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride Announce 2026 NWSL Schedule

We now know who, when, and where the Pride will play during the 2026 NWSL regular season.

Published

1 week ago

January 15, 2026

Sean Rollins

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

The National Women’s Soccer League schedule was announced this morning, telling us who, where, and when the Orlando Pride will play this year. The 2026 season will once again feature a balanced schedule with all teams playing the other 15 teams once at home and once on the road. The addition of Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC will see each team play 30 games, making it the longest regular season in league history.

The Pride will begin the season at home, facing the Seattle Reign on March 15. This season begins with a two-game homestand, ending with the club’s first-ever match against the Summit and the return of Ally Watt. The first road game will occur on March 25 when the Pride face Chicago Stars FC in Evanston, IL.

The Pride’s home schedule will end on Oct. 25 when they face NJ/NY Gotham FC. They’ll then travel west to face Seattle on Decision Day in the return game on Nov. 1, concluding the team’s 11th season in existence.

Orlando’s games this year are well distributed among the league’s various broadcast partners. The Pride will play nine times on Victory+ — the league’s new free streaming partner. Additionally, they’ll play six times on Prime Video, five times on Ion, twice on CBS Sports Network, once on ESPN, and once on ESPN2. The remaining games will be available on NWSL+.

Should the Pride qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive year, the quarterfinals will take play Nov. 6-8, followed by the semifinals on Nov. 14-15. The championship game will take place on Nov. 21 at a location yet to be determined.

The longest homestand this year is two games and will occur three times. As previously mentioned, the Pride begin with a pair of home games against Seattle and Denver on March 15 and March 20, respectively. They’ll host the Washington Spirit and North Carolina Courage on May 2 and May 8, respectively; the Kansas City Current and Boston on July 10 and July 15, respectively; and Utah Royals FC and the Houston Dash on Aug. 29 and Sept. 6, respectively.

The longest road trip this year is a three-game swing in May. Orlando will face Boston at Gillette Stadium on May 12, Denver on May 16, and San Diego Wave FC on May 24.

The league will take a month-long break during June as the country hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Pride’s final game before the break is on May 29 at home against Bay FC and they will return to action on July 3 against Angel City FC in Los Angeles.

The busiest months of the season will be May and July, when the Pride will play six times in each month. They’ll play four times in March, August, and September, three times in October, twice in April, and once in November.

Here’s a month-by-month breakdown of the regular season:

March — 4
April — 2
May — 6
June — 0
July — 6
August — 4
September — 4
October — 3
November — 1

The most common day the Pride will play this year will be Friday (11 times), the same as last year. They’ll play nine games on Sunday, seven on Saturday, two on Wednesday, and one rare Tuesday match.

Here’s the Pride’s breakdown by day for the regular season:

Monday — 0
Tuesday — 1
Wednesday — 2
Thursday — 0
Friday — 11
Saturday — 7
Sunday — 9

For fans that follow Orlando City and the Pride, the teams will play on the same day five times. However, two of the days won’t see the games overlap. On May 2, the Pride hosts the Spirit at 4 p.m. and the Lions face Inter Miami away at 7 p.m. On Sept. 19, the Pride host the Portland Thorns at 4 p.m while City plays at the New England Revolution at 7:30 p.m.

The teams’ games will overlap on three occasions, but they never start at the same time. On May 16, Orlando City hosts Atlanta United at 7:30 p.m. before the Pride play in Denver at 8:45 p.m. On Aug. 15, Orlando City hosts FC Cincinnati at 7:30 p.m. and the Pride play in Portland at 8:45 p.m. On Aug. 29, the Pride host the Royals at 7 p.m. and Orlando City faces Minnesota United FC away at 8:30 p.m.

2026 Orlando Pride Schedule (All Times Eastern)

Sunday, March 15 — vs. Seattle Reign FC, 4 p.m. (Victory+)
Friday, March 20 — vs. Denver Summit FC, 8 p.m. (Victory+)
Wednesday, March 25 — at Chicago Stars FC 8 p.m. (Victory+)
Sunday, March 29 — at NJ/NY Gotham FC, 7 p.m. (Victory+)
Friday, April 3 — vs. Angel City FC, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Friday, April 24 — at Racing Louisville FC, 5:30 p.m. (Victory+)
Saturday, May 2 — vs. Washington Spirit, 4 p.m. (ION)
Friday, May 8 — vs. North Carolina Courage, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Tuesday, May 12 — at Boston Legacy FC, 8 p.m. (Victory+)
Saturday, May 16 — at Denver Summit FC, 8:45 p.m. (ION)
Sunday, May 24 — at San Diego Wave FC, 7 p.m. (Victory+)
Friday, May 29 — vs. Bay FC, 7 p.m. (NWSL+)
Friday, July 3 — at Angel City FC, 10 p.m. (Prime Video)
Friday, July 10 — vs. Kansas City Current, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Wednesday, July 15 — vs. Boston Legacy FC, 7 p.m. (NWSL+)
Saturday, July 18 — at Utah Royals FC, 8:45 p.m. (ION)
Friday, July 24 — vs. Chicago Stars FC, 8 p.m. (Victory+)
Friday, July 31 — at North Carolina Courage, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Saturday, Aug. 8 — vs. Racing Louisville FC, 7 p.m. (NWSL+)
Saturday, Aug. 15 — at Portland Thorns, 8:45 p.m. (ION)
Sunday, Aug. 23 — at Washington Spirit, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday, Aug. 29 — vs. Utah Royals FC, 7 p.m. (NWSL+)
Sunday, Sept. 6 — vs. Houston Dash, 7 p.m. (Victory+)
Friday, Sept. 11 — at Kansas City Current, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Saturday, Sept. 19 — vs. Portland Thorns, 4 p.m. (ION)
Sunday, Sept. 27 — at Bay FC, 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Friday, Oct. 2 — vs. San Diego Wave FC, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Sunday, Oct. 18 — at Houston Dash, 1 p.m. (CBSSN)
Sunday, Oct. 25 — vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, 3 p.m. (CBSSN)
Sunday, Nov. 1 — at Seattle Reign FC, 5 p.m. (TBD)

Orlando Pride

How the Orlando Pride Can Return to the Mountaintop

What needs to happen for the Pride to win hardware in 2026?

Published

1 week ago

January 15, 2026

David Rohe

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

A fall-off after winning the double in 2024 was probably inevitable, yet the Orlando Pride still managed to come within minutes of playing in a second straight NWSL championship match. Many of the pieces are still there, and there are resources to get more. However, there have been some big changes in personnel on and off the pitch.

What needs to happen for the Pride to challenge for another double in 2026?

Reinvigorate the Attack

The return of Barbra Banda is the balm to soothe the worries of Orlando Pride fans. Even when the Pride struggled before she was injured, Banda scored plenty of goals. The biggest problem is she was left on an island as the team tried lobbing the ball up the field to her, hoping she’d do it all herself. Jacquie Ovalle didn’t take the NWSL by storm as we hoped, but it sometimes takes time for a player to adjust to a new league and club. If they had been able to work together, it’s likely the Orlando attack wouldn’t have faltered. Ovalle’s ability to deliver the ball into the box, combined with Banda’s ability to put the ball in the net, is a dangerous combo.

Of course, the Pride will need more than the two of them if the club is to win some trophies in 2026. I made this point several times last season, but Marta needs to find her form from 2024. With Banda and Ovalle in the attack, it should allow Marta the freedom she needs to be creative without having to carry the offense. Additionally, the Pride need other attackers to also find their 2024 form. I’m looking at Julie Doyle and Summer Yates in particular.

Fill the Roster

Haley Carter didn’t leave the cupboard bare when she departed for the wicked Washington Spirit. As such, Seb Hines and new Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Caitlin Carducci don’t have too much to do. But, the transfer of Emily Sams did create a need at center back. Fortunately, the Orlando Pride received $650,000 in intraleague transfer funds for Sams. That kind of cash can go a long way to filling the gaps in the roster.

With Kylie Nadaner on maternity leave and Rafaelle seemingly always on the verge of injury, finding a replacement for Sams is a priority. Some might point to Zara Chavoshi, but unless she levels up quickly, Carducci will need to look elsewhere. Offensively, as important as Banda is, adding another striker is necessary for quality depth. The departures of Ally Watt and Prisca Chilufya mean there’s a spot for an even better backup striker. I’m also not opposed to a quality left back.

Find the Grit

In 2024, the entire Pride team was personally offended if the opposition scored a goal. The level of defending up and down the pitch was a big factor in breaking records and winning hardware. The players need to pick up the chip and put it back on their metaphorical shoulders. I somewhat addressed this with the need to replace Sams, but there’s more to it than that. The Pride wore teams down over the course of a match, meaning it wasn’t necessary to score tons of goals. Of course, it’s not just the back line that needs to be better, but the entire team. Fortunately, Hines knows a thing or two about defenses. The Pride still have Marta to motivate them, and that — while not everything — is not a small advantage.

Those are the things I will be looking for in 2026. Let me know your thoughts or ideas in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!