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Orlando Pride Need to Use Florida’s Brutal Heat to Their Advantage

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6 years ago

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The conditions at the Orlando Pride’s training session on Wednesday were brutal. The players and staff were dripping sweat. There were short intervals with long water breaks in between. The heat index got as high as 112 degrees with the UV index at 11. 

After training, Head Coach Marc Skinner, Alanna Kennedy, and Shelina Zadorsky all spoke about the conditions. The theme was that the weather was brutally hot, but also that the Pride need to use it to their advantage on Saturday when Orlando faces the Washington Spirit. 

“The players that were in France, it’s really hot there too, so I think that prepped me a little bit,” said Zadorsky. “I think we always know it’s going to be hot here and that’s a factor in how we play and how we keep the ball. Hopefully, that gives us an edge to everyone that steps into our home environment.” 

The weather is also hot in Washington, DC. At 10 a.m., when the Pride were training, the heat index in the nation’s capital was 82 degrees. So, not ideal, but a relatively cool day in central Florida. 

Both Zadorsky and Kennedy mentioned that while it is scorching in Orlando, the weather in France was not much better. The heat is especially nothing new to Kennedy, who is from Australia, but she said “it never really gets easier” playing in this heat. 

“This is a crazy heat. You can’t breathe in this heat,” Skinner said. “I just told the group, ‘look, when you’re at home you have to use this to your advantage. You know what it’s like to train in this heat. So, you need to make sure that you work the opposition and make sure that they are chasing.’ 

“And I don’t care who you are or how fit you are, you can’t press for 90 minutes in this heat because you will just literally collapse. So, we need to be clever when we press, mixing those pressing lines up between high and low block. At times we’ll have to low block in these games and counter effectively. We have to use it to our advantage, and it’s something I’ve been talking to the girls and constantly reminding them about.” 

But before the team can look forward to Saturday, the players need to ensure that they stay hydrated throughout the week at training. This is rarely simple being an athlete, but given the added conditions, the Pride needed to take extra measures. Orlando got outside help to keep the players’ cores cool. 

“There was an expert that came in to discuss hydration and cooling and heating strategies,” Skinner said. “We do cooling breaks. We do a block of work and then a cooling break. We cool the hands in ice water. We cool the necks with ice water towels. Lots of hydration with ice pops. As much as they can digest and make sure that the core is cold. We’re doing a lot of work on that. I think we’re finding a little more benefit from that and we’re trying to do that on game days too.” 

Skinner said that this is all new to him. Laughing, he said that he is from England where he “tries to warm up for most of the time rather than cool down.” But he also said that it is a learning experience for him. 

The biggest thing is being smart in the heat. If the Pride start chasing the game, then they will struggle. Orlando will need to make better decisions with the ball and possess it among themselves. Marta was critical of the team’s ability to do the fundamentals after last week’s loss to the Chicago Red Stars. If the Pride don’t improve in these areas, it will likely be another home loss on Saturday. 

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2025 Orlando Pride Season In Review: Anna Moorhouse

The England international turned in another solid season between the posts.

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3 hours ago

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December 7, 2025

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Image of Anna Moorhouse making a save.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

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.

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2025 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Barbra Banda

The Zambian international was having another standout season when a season-ending injury derailed things.

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1 day ago

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December 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

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.

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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.

Published

2 days ago

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December 5, 2025

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Image of Angelina launching a long pass.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

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.

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