Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride Head Coach Tom Sermanni’s Seat Heats Up

Published

6 years ago

August 22, 2018

The Orlando Pride playoff sights are currently on the outside looking in after a 3-0 loss to the North Carolina Courage on Sunday morning. With Chicago up a point and having a game in hand, it appears that the Pride have a very real possibility of failing to earn their second consecutive playoff appearance.

Through injuries and international dates, the Pride and Sermanni have struggled throughout the season to put together a consistent season of results. At only one point this season has the Pride won consecutive matches. You have to go all the way back two months and realize it was against the bottom two teams in the table (Sky Blue FC and the Washington Spirit).

Their best run of the season was back in late April to early May which saw the team go 4-1-2 with their only loss to the Supporters’ Shield-winning North Carolina Courage. But even during that run, there never was that back-to-back to win.

Now winless in their last four matches (0-2-2), one has to wonder if the Pride manager is on the hot seat considering how the season has gone. For the record, I would say I don’t think he should be removed. He should be given another year. But this ownership and management group has been known to be fickle and you never know what can happen. To use CEO Alex Leitâo’s own words when he dismissed Orlando City manager Jason Kreis.

“I could just relax and give time and see what happens. This is not my nature. This is not how I want to do things. I’m not going to take the easy path. I’ll take the path that I believe is best for the club. This is exactly what I’m doing.”

If you’re a Sermanni fan that quote should scare the hell out of you. From one perspective, someone evaluating this team could look at the lack of consistency combined with the top end talent here (i.e., Alex Morgan, Marta, Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieger, etc.) to make a hard judgment call that Sermanni isn't the man to get the job done.

I will say that this year has been a tough one for Sermanni nonetheless. His consistent tinkering has been a thorn in the side all year as he tried to find out what would work best, negating the fact that at some point you have to create consistency within your lineup. Now sitting in fifth, his lineup tweaks are even more under siege as one has to wonder if he’s been too crazy with his consistent changes in rosters.

To top it all off, the messages he’s been relaying — at least externally — have been contradictory in nature. Take for example these two quotes below. The first comes from Sermanni just after the Pride’s last win of the season on July 19.

“It’s going to be fluid and people have to adapt,” coach Tom Sermanni said. “We did a little bit of a formation shift and wanted to refresh the team during a long road trip. We put in five new starters to give us the best look we could possibly put together and get a good shape. We get people in who haven’t started in a little while who were fresh.”

The second was from Christine Nairn echoing Sermanni’s sentiments from just about three weeks earlier.

Nairn agreed with her coach.

“I think, as a club, we need to put a full 90 minutes together,” she said. “I think, at times, we really can be the best team, by far, in this league. And then, at times, we kind of struggle the most in this league. We just need to find that medium and convert on the highs and eliminate the low lows.”

Now, can you compartmentalize the two into an argument that you can have squad rotation and still need to put together a consistent in-game performance? Absolutely. But as someone who has been around the game for awhile, you only gain that consistency if you consistently have the same core on the field for the same amount of time. You can't expect to keep making three to five (or more) moves per match and expect to see consistency.

I’d argue that’s exactly why the Pride have only once put together back-to-back wins and are struggling at the end of the season compared to last year’s final season run of eight unbeaten games going into the playoffs.

Whether or not he should be replaced is one question, but he definitely needs some evaluating as this year and the future has its questions. His interesting decisions at times to not start young players like Dani Weatherholt, who started 17 of her 19 appearances last year but only 15 of 21 this year— and might I add in what is a weaker midfield with Camila’s absence and Kennedy’s early Australian absences and inconsistent play — has been baffling to some as the midfielder is one of the team’s best workhorses.

Or take second year player Rachel Hill, who came off a tear of a W-League loan this past off-season with six assists and was third in the league with nine goals — behind NWSL MVP Sam Kerr — while playing every minute of every game. Hill has seen only seven starts all year on a team struggling to score, while players like Chioma Ubogagu have had 15 starts and only one additional assist for all those extra minutes (same amount of goals, with four).

When you look at the future, you have to wonder if his preference against young players will be a detriment overall to the organization. He’s well known for not utilizing draft picks, instead preferring to move them for veteran talent. And he most notably didn't take advantage of the Boston Breakers’ dispersal draft, instead opting to not use any picks and trade away the Pride’s first two picks (eighth and eleventh) that could have netted some solid additional depth, in exchange for what will be now be a late 2019 first-round pick from the Seattle Reign, who just clinched their own playoff berth.

If I’m looking to the future, I’m not sure this team is built for success two, three, four years down the road, considering the expected aging of stars on this team. That is something that should be taken into consideration when looking at whether Sermanni should keep his seat.

I know it appears I’m piling up on Tom here. He's still been a quality coach, having given Orlando it’s only professional soccer taste of playoffs to date and could still do it again if the right results come. He — in my opinion — never should have been let go from the U.S. Women’s National Team in the first place and his connection to Australia can’t be overlooked as that country is burgeoning with young talent. If not for Sermanni’s presence, it’s possible that several of the Pride’s international players wouldn’t be here.

However, if I’m him, and I’m thinking about the moves the organization has made in the past with the likes of Kreis and Lions’ first manager, Adrian Heath, I wouldn't be too comfortable where I sit now as underperformance is judged extremely harshly by this leadership. I hope I’m wrong. I really hope this a moot point and the Pride gut it out. But the seat under Sermanni is heating up and there’s no question about that.

Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride Transfer Adriana to Saudi Side Al Qadsiah FC

The club has secured one of the highest transfer fees in NWSL history for the Brazilian attacker after she requested a transfer.

Published

21 hours ago

January 30, 2025

Michael Citro

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride announced today that the club has secured a club-record transfer fee from Al Qadsiah FC of the Saudi Women’s Premier League in exchange for Brazilian international attacking midfielder/forward Adriana. The club announced that the sale was one of the three highest in NWSL history, with Jeff Kassouf of The Equalizer reporting the fee as $500,000.

“We are incredibly grateful for Adriana’s contributions to the club, and while we will miss her presence both on and off the pitch, we are happy to support her in this next chapter of her career,” Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter said in a club press release. “At the Pride, we believe in empowering our players to pursue opportunities that align with their personal and professional goals. The record transfer fee we received reflects both Adriana’s exceptional talent and our commitment to building mutually beneficial relationships in the global transfer market. These resources will help us continue to attract world-class talent to Orlando as we build for the future. We wish Adriana all the best and she will always be part of the Pride family.”

The move, which was requested by Adriana, comes shortly after the start of training camp as the Pride prepare to defend their NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship titles.

“I want to thank the Orlando Pride, my teammates, and especially our amazing fans for making Orlando feel like home,” Adriana said in the club’s release. “This club gave me an incredible opportunity to grow as a player and person, and I will always be grateful for my time here. The Pride organization has been very supportive of my desire to take on this new challenge overseas. They worked hard to make this move possible while ensuring it benefited everyone involved. Orlando will always hold a special place in my heart, and I look forward to watching the club continue to grow and succeed.”

The Pride signed Adriana almost exactly two years ago on Jan. 19, 2023, from Brazilian giants Corinthians. That deal was through the 2025 season, meaning her contract would have been up at the end of this year. As Orlando typically extends players’ deals before they expire, the timing makes some sense, despite it happening during the Pride’s preseason.

In two seasons with Orlando, Adriana was a key player for the Pride with the versatility for Seb Hines to deploy her in multiple ways. She was primarily used as a winger during her time in Orlando, appearing in 46 NWSL regular-season games with 38 starts, logging 3,333 minutes. She scored six goals and added four assists, sharing the team lead in those categories in 2023. Her contributions in 2024 raised her career regular-season totals with the Pride to 12 goals and five assists across two seasons.

Adriana appeared in all three of the Pride’s playoff games during her stay in Orlando, starting two and logging 197 minutes. She did not make a goal contribution, attempting six shots with only one of those hitting the target. She tallied five key passes and one successful long ball in the Pride’s run to the title.

Additionally, the Brazilian made one appearance in the NWSL Challenge Cup, playing just eight minutes off the bench in 2023 without a goal contribution. She was on international duty during four of the Pride’s six matches in that competition. Adriana was away at the Olympics during the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, so she did not play in that competition.

What It Means for Orlando

Losing a player of Adriana’s caliber does not make a team better, but the club got a big return for an attacking piece that had started splitting time with Summer Yates during Orlando’s final stretch of the season in 2024. The Pride’s younger players are starting to demand more minutes with their performances, and while the team’s depth takes a hit with Adriana’s departure, the club has the resources to find a roster replacement.

Someone will have to replace Adriana’s six goals per year. Yates scored five in her second season in the league, but a jump to 11 in her third year seems unrealistic. However, more minutes for Yates may mitigate some of Adriana’s lost offense. Others who can contribute to replacing those goals include Grace Chanda, Simone Charley, Ally Watt, and Julie Doyle. The first two on that list are talented, but still have yet to play their first game for the Pride. It’s also conceivable that Barbra Banda can score more goals in her second NWSL season.

In Adriana, the Pride also lost one of the team’s better penalty takers. Adriana was two-for-two from the spot in 2024. Someone else will need to step up and take up the secondary penalty-taker role (to Marta) in 2025.

Opinion

Three Orlando Pride Games to Circle on the Calendar

Let’s take a brief look at three games to pay extra attention to during Orlando’s upcoming NWSL campaign.

Published

7 days ago

January 24, 2025

Ben Miller

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

We got the release of the Orlando Pride’s 2025 schedule on Wednesday, which means we’re that little bit closer to the start of the season on March 7. The nature of the 14-team National Women’s Soccer League means that there are fewer scheduling quirks than with the 30-team Major League Soccer, with each team playing the other 13 clubs twice each. Still, there’s plenty to dig into with regards to how the scheduling shakes out, and now that I’ve had time to examine what 2025 holds, I’ve got three games in particular that I’ve got circled on my match calendar. Behold.

March 7 — vs. Washington Spirit

You had to know this was coming, right? There’s so much to like about this game. Not only is it the home opener, but as the NWSL Challenge Cup match, it’s also a chance to win another piece of silverware in a rematch of last year’s NWSL Championship game. This game sells itself on just about every level imaginable. The Pride return almost everyone from a wildly successful 2024 season, and while there aren’t a ton of new signings to familiarize ourselves with, getting healthy versions of Grace Chanda and Simone Charley is essentially like getting two brand new players. It’ll be our first chance to gauge where the Pride stand as they try to continue on from the high standards that were set last year, and we should also get a couple new banners hoisted into the rafters. You can hardly ask for more than all that.

Aug. 16 — at Kansas City Current

The Current were excellent in 2024, finishing fourth and boasting the league’s best attack, with 57 goals scored in 26 games, for an over two goals per game average. The Pride, meanwhile, had the league’s third-best attack, with 46 goals, and the joint-best defense with just 20 conceded. Orlando never lost to Kansas City in 2024, as the Pride drew and won the regular-season contests and then won again in the semifinal matchup between the two teams. The pair have made a habit of putting on entertaining affairs, and with the match placed as one of the first ones to occur after the league’s July break, it might go a long way towards setting the tone for the back half of Orlando’s season.

Nov. 2 — vs. Seattle Reign

The NWSL is bringing back Decision Day this year, and the Pride have been blessed with a home game on the league’s final day of regular-season play. On paper, Orlando has also been handed a favorable matchup against a Seattle team that struggled last year and is in the midst of a rebuild. Given how tight the margins tend to be in the upper reaches of the league, every point takes on added importance, and playoff scenarios can swing wildly when everyone is playing at the same time. It’s always nice to be able to play at home in a situation that variable, and it can make for a truly memorable atmosphere that will (hopefully) set Orlando up for another postseason run on the right note.

It feels a little cheap to highlight the first and last games of the season, but I can’t help liking what I like. Are there any games that you’re especially looking forward to this season? Be sure to have your say down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!

Orlando Pride

A 2025 Orlando Pride Wish List

Four things I want for the Orlando Pride in 2025.

Published

1 week ago

January 23, 2025

David Rohe

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!