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Orlando Pride Must Stop Budding Trend of Allowing Late Goals

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4 years ago

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There’s something to be said for scoring late goals. The Manchester United of old is famous for the “Fergie Time” magic. Orlando City tends to bring back memories of the Cardiac Cats. Teams that have that ability to keep fighting until the last kick of the match bring something special. 

It is an entirely different story when a team allows goals in the last minutes of a game. And if that becomes a trend, that team might seem destined to fail. Through the first two matches of the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup, the Orlando Pride are cruising on that trajectory.

Orlando is 0-1-1 through two games of the tournament. The Pride first tied Racing Louisville FC 2-2 on opening weekend. Then, Orlando lost 1-0 to NJ/NY Gotham FC at home.

Louisville was the better team for stretches in the first match, especially the opening 15 minutes, and Orlando easily could have been down a few goals by the end of the first half. It was a different story a few days later. The Pride came out on the front foot on Wednesday. While Orlando struggled to keep possession, the Pride quickly hit on the counter and created a few opportunities. 

While the style of play was slightly different, both matches ended the same way — with the Pride allowing a late goal. 

“It’s just part of this league and we have to learn from it, move on, and kind of get better at those moments,” Marc Skinner said after the loss to Gotham. “Finish the game. If we are up in the game it looks different for us, so we need to get up in games and make sure we convert our chances.”

Orlando put itself in a position to win both matches. Abi Kim scored in the 88th minute against Louisville. All the Pride had to do was hold off for the last few minutes of stoppage. Then, a reckless foul and poor defending on the resulting set piece led to an equalizer. 

The Pride took 17 shots against Gotham. They continued to get balls into dangerous areas but could not finish. Courtney Petersen summed it up perfectly after the match. The Pride had many chances and were dictating the tempo early on. All that effort did not mean much, though, as Orlando could not score.

“At the end of the day, we have to put the ball in the back of the net if you want to win,” Petersen said.

Aside from the first-half penalty kick for the visitors, which Ashlyn Harris stopped, the Pride did not give up any real chances in the match until the 79th minute, when Orlando got hit on the counter attack. 

This inability to close out games has cost Orlando tremendously. The Pride could have had four points through two matches, which would have placed them in first place with a chance to win the group. Now, while mathematically still possible, the Pride have little hope of winning the group. 

Orlando’s schedule for the Challenge Cup gets progressively more difficult. Louisville and Gotham were the teams that Orlando was most likely to get points from. Now, the Pride must face Washington and North Carolina. The Pride cannot continue to allow late goals. There are a few ways to prevent this.

First, as the game winds down, players naturally become more tired. As they get tired, they need to play smarter. The Pride gave up a free kick and were beat on the counter in the two games. After the Louisville game, Skinner said that his team “has to manage the situation” better. This means not giving up a foul in that situation. But even before it got to that point, when the Pride had the ball, the team must maintain possession, take it to the corner, and kill off the game. Instead, they sent in a cross, lost possession, and Gotham got down the field and won the free kick. 

Another aspect is to prevent tired legs in the first place. Teams have five substitutions a game in the Challenge Cup. Skinner used a total of five substitutions through the first two matches. Of those five, two of them were likely a direct result of players who picked up a knock. 

Skinner gave an interesting take on his choice of going to the bench after Wednesday’s game. He said he was waiting for the right moment to put in his “game-changers.” 

“If you look at the balance of the game, if we score when we’re on top, the game changes,” Skinner said. “So, yes, we might look a little bit heavier as we go forward because we’re chasing the game. So, you know, your players are chasing and they’re running harder to get to near where you need them to be to score an opportunity. So, the game balances. Once we score those chances, we can sit and counter and pick the times we choose to punish the opposition for what they give us. We just haven’t put ourselves in that position the last two games. Even against Louisville, where you go one down, and then late we go one down here [against Gotham], your game changes.

“So, we felt comfortable at that point, and we had game changers ready to come in, but we were just waiting for the moment for that to happen. And then, when they score, you know, we have to adapt and we have to evolve, so then that’s when we introduced fresh legs. But I don’t think it was that tonight. I really don’t. I actually feel that we were good control considering they haven’t played, so they should be super fresh. So, to rotate those five players in, you know — we were the fresher team than them and then we just need to take the chances when we’re on top and that’s what we didn’t do, and that’s what we’ve got to do.”

He took out Petersen in the 73rd minute for Erika Tymrak. The midfielder had an immediate impact on the match and was able to contribute in the Pride’s attack. After Gotham scored, Skinner made his second substitute — Marisa Viggiano went out for Abi Kim. Meanwhile, Gotham used all five substitutes.

Orlando was the better team for most of the match, until somewhere between the 60th and 70th minute. A significant point during that period is that Gotham made two changes. Just 10 minutes later, in the 77th minute, Gotham made another two substitutions, and its attack strengthened even more. This led to the goal in the 79th minute. 

The opposite occurred against Louisville. Skinner brought on Kim in the 78th minute. Kim did well and scored a go-ahead goal 10 minutes into her debut. 

Another part in preventing late goals will only come in time. It is how well the players play together and how comfortable they are with each other. This is a team that just started to play together. It will take time to get that familiarity with each other. It also doesn’t help that it has young and inexperienced players in key areas as well. There will be growing pains, and this is part of the growth of the players and team. 

“I think the thing for us was that against Louisville we weren’t happy with the control moments. We conceded late in the game — and should have won the game, but then conceded,” Skinner said. “So, I’m reminded of the amount of new players playing together. It’s only (the) second competitive match. So, for us, we felt like we had control, but what it’s important to do is learn from what we’ve done in the last game, and build on it, not just learn one and then forget everything else. And I know when I reflect on this game the control elements, if we score those chances then it’s a different game. Goals change games, you know, the old cliche. We will learn a lot from the last few games.”

The positive for Orlando is that at least they are in the games until the end. In the last full season — 2019 — the Pride were often out of the game by the hour mark. This year’s team has a new fight to them and is much stronger all around. None of that matters if the late goals don’t stop. There will be growing pains, but the late goals must stop. 

In the past week, there has been a common theme with Skinner and the players. It has not been so much as how to prevent late goals. Instead, the talk has been on the other side of the ball. If the Pride convert their chances in front of goal, these goals are less impactful. Teams never want to allow a late goal, but if that team is up 2-0, it can still come out with a win.

“Tough result, especially because I think we did create chances,” said Viggiano after the loss to Gotham. “Going forward, we just have to focus on that final third and maybe connecting one more pass. And just finishing, and, you know, it’s there. I think we saw bits and pieces tonight, which is something positive to take out of it.”

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Kylie Strom

In her fourth season in Orlando, the veteran changed positions to help the NWSL’s best defense.

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22 hours ago

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December 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride originally signed Kylie Strom from Atletico Madrid in July 2021. Prior to her time overseas, Strom spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons in the NWSL with the Boston Breakers. Her initial contract in Orlando was through 2022 with an option for 2023 that was exercised prior to that year. Despite being briefly out of contract this past off-season, Strom, now 32 years old, re-signed for the Pride, extending her stay in Orlando through the 2026 season. This ended up as one of the most important moves of the off-season, as Strom went on to partner Emily Sams in the league’s best defense, earning an NWSL Defender of the Year nomination and playing in all but one game of the 2024 season.

Let’s take a look back at Kylie Strom’s 2024 season, her best in Orlando so far.

Statistical Breakdown

Strom made 25 appearances for the Pride in the NWSL regular season, starting 24 times and playing 2,158 minutes, less than 200 minutes from playing the entire regular season. Most of the game time she missed was due to the red card and one-match ban she picked up on opening day at Louisville. Strom only took six shots in the regular season with two on target and no goals scored. She contributed her lone assist against Gotham at home in September. In possession, Strom completed 1,298 of her 1,503 passes (86%), the highest number of completed passes in the squad and the third-highest completion percentage among the regular starters, closely following Sams and Morgan Gautrat. She recorded 10 key passes, no completed crosses, and 46 successful long balls. Defensively, she succeeded in 20 of her 40 tackles (50%), contributed 39 interceptions, and won 73 headed duels. She was fouled 23 times, committed 17 of her own, and earned two yellow cards in addition to the previously-mentioned red card.  

Strom started and played every minute of Orlando’s three NWSL playoff wins (270 minutes). She attempted no shots but did provide an assist for Barbra Banda’s goal against the Kansas City Current. In the playoffs, Strom completed 144 of her 169 pass attempts (85%), with one key pass, no completed crosses, and four successful long balls. In defense, she added four tackles and six interceptions without committing a foul, suffering a foul, or receiving a card. 

Strom also started all three matches in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, playing 239 minutes in total. She did not take a shot and thus could not score a goal in the tournament, nor did she record an assist. The defender completed 136 of her 158 passes (86%) without a key pass or successful cross, but she managed 11 accurate long balls. She added three tackles in four duels (75%) and four interceptions with one headed duel won on the defensive end. She also committed two fouls and was on the receiving end of two herself, but she was not shown a card.

Best Game

Looking at her availability, passing, and defending, Strom was remarkably consistent in 2024, across all competitions. This makes it difficult to pick one game from the bunch, so it would be tempting to pick any shutout against high-profile opponents, such as the NWSL Championship game or the NWSL Shield-clinching game, both wins against the Washington Spirit. Instead, the best game and best representation of Strom’s work was the 1-0 victory over the struggling Utah Royals on the road in April, the first win of the year.

In the victory over Utah, Strom completed 61 of her 68 passes (90%). She also added two tackles and four interceptions en route to holding Utah to just 0.1 expected goals per FBRef.com. With Marta coming off the bench in this match, this was also the first time Strom wore the captain’s armband for Orlando, though she went on to wear it for six additional starts in the NWSL. 

Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Strom a composite grade of 7.5 out of 10 for the 2024 season, a significant improvement over her score of 6 out of 10 in 2023. Previously,  Strom received a grade of 4.5 in 2022 and an incomplete during what was a rough stretch run in 2021 after joining the club midseason.

Going into the 2024 season, it was assumed that Rafaelle would be the primary center back partner for Sams, and Strom would play at fullback, her natural position to that point in her career. Instead, Rafaelle struggled with injuries, including at the start of the year, so Strom paired with Sams for four of the first five games, with the Pride having to employ a four-fullback back line in the second game due to player unavailability. Rafaelle then played with Sams in the middle for one match, before Seb Hines pushed Sames out to right back with Rafaelle and Strom paired together for the next five matches. From that point on, it was Sams and Strom in the middle the rest of the year.

The new position suited Strom and accentuated her strengths as a soccer player. She defended well as a unit with Sams and the fullbacks, using her physicality to win many tackles and headed duels while cutting out the mistakes she’d previously made when playing out wide. In possession, she was steady in building play through short- and medium-distance passes without taking too many risks. She was a vocal leader on the pitch and adept at snuffing opposition attacks before they could materialize. That she was able to adapt so quickly to a new role in the latter stages of her career is all the more impressive.

2025 Outlook

Strom has two more years on her contract going into 2025. Orlando will hope to get healthier in defense in the off-season and may sign some reinforcements, as both Megan Montefusco and Carrie Lawrence retired. But Strom has earned the starting center-back spot next to Sams. Given Cori Dyke’s late emergence at right back, there is less of a need to move Sams out wide. At the same time, Kerry Abello’s Best XI Second Team performance throughout 2024 would make it difficult to move Strom back to fullback on the left. It will be interesting to see how a position group that has become a strength of the team.

Regardless of how it unfolds, the goal for Strom moving forward should be to continue to play at the level she did during Orlando’s championship season, and given her consistency all year, this is a reasonable expectation for the player.

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Adriana

The Brazilian attacker was a key player in the Pride’s magical 2024 season.

Published

2 days ago

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December 20, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

The Orlando Pride signed Brazilian international Adriana on Jan. 19, 2023 to a three-year contract through the 2025 NWSL season. One of the brighter spots of the Pride during the 2023 season, it seemed Adriana was on the verge of becoming a dominating NWSL player. Seb Hines again deployed her mainly as an attacking player, particularly on the wing, but sometimes as a second forward. While she was still a key player for the Pride in 2024, there were some bumps in the road when she would disappear from games and consistency was sometimes an issue.

Let’s take a look at Adriana’s second NWSL season.

Statistical Breakdown

Adriana appeared in 23 regular-season games, starting 19 and playing a total of 1,688 minutes. She scored six goals, which was third most on the team, and added one assist. It is notable that two of her six goals came from the penalty spot, where she went two-for-two in the regular season. She completed 71% of her 557 passes, which was a slight dip from a year ago, with 31 key passes, seven completed crosses, and 14 successful long balls. Defensively, Adriana chipped in nine tackles, 13 interceptions, and 18 headed duels won. She committed just 10 fouls while drawing 30 on the opposition, and she did not receive a card.

In the playoffs, Adriana appeared in all three of the Pride’s games, starting two and logging 197 minutes. She did not make a goal contribution, attempting six shots with only one of those hitting the target. Her passing wasn’t up to its usual level in the postseason, as she connected on just 63.9% of her 36 passes, including only two of nine in the NWSL Championship. She tallied five key passes and one successful long ball, but no accurate crosses. On defense, she finished the postseason with three tackles and an interception. The Brazilian international committed five fouls, suffered two, and was not booked.

Adriana was away at the Olympics during the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, so she did not play in the competition.

Best Game

Adriana had several big games in 2024, but perhaps her best was Orlando’s 2-0 home win over Gotham FC. She scored both Orlando goals in the match, lifting the Pride to their 19th straight game without a loss, tying the club’s single-season record for home wins (7), and pushing Hines past Tom Sermanni and into sole possession of the most coaching wins in club history (26). It didn’t take long for her to get involved, scoring just five and a half minutes after the opening kickoff. Angelina’s ball into the box was knocked into the air, and Adriana ran onto it and volleyed a blast into the net to make it 1-0 with one of the most impressive Pride goals of the season.

Not content with just one goal, Adriana struck again in the 19th minute. Summer Yates switched the play to send Adriana down the right side, where she took on USWNT defender Jenna Nighswonger, then used Barbra Banda’s presence in the box to create space for her shot, which she placed perfectly inside the left post to make it 2-0.

Adriana played the full 90 minutes in the match and fired six shots in all against Gotham that night, putting all six of them on target and giving her a season high in the latter statistic. She led all players in the match in both categories. She completed 87% of her 23 passes on 48 total touches, with one key pass, one accurate cross, and two successful long balls. Defensively, she made three recoveries, and she committed one foul while drawing two and did not pick up a booking. It was a great performance by the attacking midfielder against one of the NWSL’s elite defensive clubs.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gives Adriana a composite score of 7 out of 10 for her 2024 campaign. This is a slight dip from the 7.5 we gave her last season, but there were times when she struggled to find her game in 2024. When she was on her game, she was outstanding, but there were games and even stretches of matches when she didn’t provide her usual quality. Her form isn’t the only reason she was dropped at times from the starting XI, because some of her teammates elevated their own, but it was a factor. While she increased her goal total by one, it came in more appearances and minutes, and her assist total fell, despite having a better cast around her. The Brazilian is capable of more, but the staff still felt it was a solid season.

2025 Outlook

Like her Brazilian teammate Rafaelle, Adriana’s contract runs through the 2025 season, so she’ll be working hard to earn a new deal beyond the upcoming season. If she starts the season well, the Pride will no doubt offer a new contract midseason if there’s not already a new deal in place before opening day. At 28 years old, Adriana is in the prime of her career and can still be an effective player. With the Pride improving, she’ll need to play more consistently or at a higher level to keep starting with this club, but she’s capable, and I expect her to fight to hold onto her starting spot in Hines’ XI.

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Marta

Marta showed why she’s the GOAT in her eighth season with the Pride.

Published

3 days ago

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December 19, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

In case you forgot, Marta first signed with the Orlando Pride way back in 2017. She has been the constant for the club through ups and mostly downs. That all changed this season as she captained her club to two trophies. Back in 2022, she signed a new two-year contract, taking her through 2024.

Marta may not be as young as she once was, but she definitely made you forget it often enough this season. It was undoubtedly the best she’s performed in a few years, and it made a difference in the standings. Let’s take a look at the GOAT’s latest season in Orlando.

Statistical Breakdown

Marta was the leader and the heart of this year’s Orlando Pride team. Her teammates wanted to win, but they also wanted to win for Marta. She played most of the regular-season games, but missed the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup because she was with Brazil at the Olympics. 

Marta made 23 appearances in the NWSL regular season, starting 19 games and recording 1,739 minutes. Marta was second on the team with nine goals on 40 shots, 18 of which were on target. Additionally, she completed 648 of her 878 passes (74%), including one assist, 52 key passes, nine successful crosses, and 75 completed long balls. Defensively, Marta posted 16 tackles, 27 headed duels won, and 12 interceptions on the year. She committed 12 fouls, suffered 45, and was booked four times (all yellow cards).

In the playoffs, Marta started all three games, recording 267 minutes. She scored two goals on 12 shots with five on target, and she completed 86 of her 108 passes (80%) without an assist, although she recorded six key passes, three accurate crosses, and 14 completed long balls. She was also active defensively in the postseason, with six tackles and two interceptions. She committed three fouls in the playoffs, suffered four, and was not booked.

Best Game

You might think that the one match in which Marta scored a brace would be her best match, but that isn’t the case. That match was the 6-0 beatdown of the Utah Royals, who were bottom of the table. I’m going with her performance in the 3-2 playoff semifinal victory over the Kansas City Current.

That goal summed up Marta’s season for me. She was not going to let this team lose when the Pride were so close to the championship. When needed, she could find the speed — even late in a match — and put two defenders on the ground in unison. It was a goal she willed to happen against one of the best teams in the NWSL.

In this match, Marta took four shots, with two on target, scoring the aforementioned goal. She completed 29 of her 38 passes (77%) on a total of 74 touches, and took all three Pride corner kicks. Defensively, she contributed four tackles and two interceptions. She committed one foul, did not suffer any fouls, and was not booked. She simply displayed the full range of her skill and leadership qualities, helping her team reach the final.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Marta a composite grade of 8 out of 10 for her eighth season with the club. Her passion, drive, and leadership were a major reason why the club won the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship. This was the best Marta we’ve seen for several seasons, and she wanted to win more than almost anyone else in any given match. To illustrate how much better she was, we gave Marta a grade of 6 out of 10 last season. That came on the heels of an incomplete grade in her injury-shortened 2022 season. She also received a 6 in 2021 and a 6.5 in 2019. This year is the closest Marta has come to the 9 out of 10 we gave her back in 2017, when she had 19 total goal contributions and finished second in the league in both goals and assists. She turned back the clock and gave us much more of the vintage Marta in 2024 than we’d seen in a long time, which is why we considered her one of the best players on the team.

(Note: If you’re wondering why 2020 wasn’t mentioned, its’ because we did not give out grades because the Pride only participated in the Fall Series during that lost season because of the pandemic.)

2025 Outlook

Marta’s contract expired after the 2024 season, but she has stated that she wants to keep playing one or two more years. She will be 39 years old at the start of the 2025 season but had a very good 2024 season. I think that she wants to retire with the Pride, and I feel that the club will offer her a one-year contract. The Pride indicated in their postseason roster status update that the club was in negotiations with her about returning. If a new deal happens, and if she can keep up her current form, she will find a way to contribute as the Pride look to defend their titles. She will have to hang up the boots at some point, but I don’t think it will be this coming season.

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