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Orlando Pride vs. Racing Louisville FC: Final Score 3-1 as Pride Are Eliminated from Playoff Contention

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3 years ago

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After scoring in the third minute, the Orlando Pride (7-9-7, 28 points) gave up three unanswered goals, falling to Racing Louisville FC (5-12-5, 20 points), 3-1. The loss was Orlando’s fourth in a row and officially ended the Pride’s hopes of qualifying for the NWSL playoffs for the second time in team history.

Pride interim head coach Becky Burleigh only made one change to the starting lineup from the team’s 1-0 loss to Chicago midweek. Erin McLeod started in goal and Ashlyn Harris wasn’t in the team. Backup goalkeeper Kaylie Collins and midfielder Emily van Egmond both started on the bench, the first time on the team sheet for the team’s newest players.

The Pride came into this game needing a point to stay alive in the playoff race and three points to realistically have any chance of getting to the postseason. In the previous three games, the team had conceded inside the first 10 minutes, but got off to a great start in Louisville.

In the third minute, Alex Morgan did well to find Jodie Taylor making a run behind the Louisville back line. The leading pass found the English striker, allowing her the time and space to easily slide the ball past Louisville goalkeeper Katie Lund.

It was the first lead for the Pride since Sept. 11, when they beat this same Louisville team 3-1 in Orlando. It was Taylor’s third goal of the season, and her first since Aug. 14 against the Portland Thorns.

“I just saw Alex get the ball and start dribbling and I saw some space to run into,” Taylor said about her goal. “And a really good ball from Alex. I watched some clips of the goalkeeper earlier and kind of knew her tendencies and knew she’d try to stay in goal so I was able to just slap it past her.”

In addition to scoring first, the Pride were able to keep Louisville from getting an early goal, something that has plagued the team in recent weeks.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better start, for sure,” Burleigh said after the game. “I mean, to keep a clean sheet at the beginning was something we really put an emphasis on. But then also to get on the scoresheet for ourselves, that was huge. It just sort of gives you a chance to kind of catch your breath a little bit and not be chasing. I mean, we’ve been chasing games from five minutes in the past few weeks, and I think it was really nice to be on the other side of that.”

The good start continued after the goal. In the 17th minute, Morgan took her own chance at goal after being set up by Marta. The Brazilian midfielder did well to play it back for Morgan, whose first touch was to her left and then a shot toward the inside of the post. Lund’s dive appeared to be late, but the shot was just wide of the target.

In the ensuing minutes, the Pride had multiple opportunities from Courtney Petersen on the left side. Taylor kept making a back post run, looking for her second of the game. However, both of Petersen’s crosses were too close to Lund, allowing her to catch the aerial passes.

The first good chance for Louisville didn’t come until the 34th minute. Lauren Milliet won the ball from Marta in the Pride’s third of the field and took a quick shot on goal. The shot was close enough to elicit a dive from McLeod, but the ball rolled just wide of the near post.

Two minutes later, the Pride nearly doubled their lead. Taylor beat her defender to the left of goal and found Leroux in a central position. The good work of Taylor combined with a slip by the defender set Leroux up for a shot on goal. However, she leaned back on the shot and hit it well above the target.

Louisville nearly equalized in the 42nd minute when Ebony Salmon sent a dangerous ball across the six-yard box. McLeod stayed on her line, allowing Yuki Nagasato to nearly get on the end of the pass. She reached her foot out but couldn’t quite get to it.

A minute into injury time, the hosts found their equalizer. A lazy pass from Gunny Jonsdottir to Ali Riley was blocked by Nagasato and went directly to Salmon at the top of the box. The forward curled a shot toward goal, around the outstretched arm of McLeod, and in.

The goal was the last play of the half and sent the Pride into the locker room with an even game, despite dominating much of the first 45 minutes.

While the Pride had a great start to the first half, the start of the second period of play was similar to what has been seen in previous games. Louisville immediately put the Pride under pressure and started creating chances from the early minutes.

The first Louisville chance of the second half came in the 48th minute. Katie McClure took a shot that was aimed for the upper part of the goal, but McLeod was able to get a strong hand to it and tip it over the crossbar.

In the 52nd minute, the hosts took their first lead of the game. Taylor Otto played to Salmon, whose first touch backheel sent McClure in on goal. Already behind the Pride defense, it was an easy finish to the back post.

As has often been the case for the Pride, it took an early goal to awaken the team. In the 58th minute, they nearly got it back when Morgan played Petersen through to the left of goal. The defender had plenty of space, but her shot was wide of the far post.

In the 66th minute, it was second-half substitute Taylor Kornieck setting up Morgan. Kornieck sent a lovely aerial ball to the six-yard box, where Morgan had made a run. The ball found the foot of the U.S. international, but she was leaning slightly back and appeared to hit it with her shin, sending the volley over the goal.

With 12 minutes remaining, the Pride were sending numbers forward in a desperate attempt to find an equalizer. Louisville took advantage of the space, sealing the game.

It started when Salmon received the ball near the right sideline and made a long run to the Pride’s box. Simultaneously, Nagasato was making an unmarked run toward the back post. With her head up, Salmon found Nagasato with plenty of space and played a long, low ball to her. Nagasato had plenty of time, easily playing it past McLeod for the dagger.

The Pride did have some late chances, but nothing came of it. In the 80th minute, van Egmond ended up with the ball at the top of the box. She fired on goal but the ball missed wide of the left post.

A minute later, Petersen found Morgan in front of goal. The striker attempted another volley but wasn’t able to get much on it and Lund easily smothered the soft shot.

In the 85th minute, Louisville nearly put in a fourth. Cheyna Matthews played Cece Kizer through, creating an open shot on goal. However, McLeod did well to get down and make the stop.

Moments later, a long cross was looking for the head of Matthews at the far post. McLeod was beaten by the cross, but Toni Pressley did well to head the ball away from danger.

The Pride entered the game four points behind Houston, Chicago, and North Carolina for the final playoff spot with one game remaining. A point would’ve likely seen the team eliminated tomorrow, but the loss officially ended any chance of Orlando qualifying for the postseason.

“It’s obviously a tough one to swallow given the implications of the match,” Burleigh said about the game. “Clearly we started off great, and just couldn’t maintain the momentum. Giving up the goal right before halftime, clearly not ideal. Still felt like at halftime we were very much there for the taking, as far as being in the game. I just think there were some opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of and they took advantage of theirs.”

The Pride ended the first half with five shots and one on target. Four of those five shots came before Louisville got their first in the 28th minute. The game went downhill quickly after that as the hosts out-shot the Pride 4-1 in the final 17 minutes of the first half and scored the equalizing goal seconds before halftime.

Louisville went on to dominate the second half. In addition to their two goals, the hosts had more shots (9-5) and shots on goal (5-2) in the second 45 minutes.

In the end, Louisville led in shots (13-10), shots on goal (6-3), and corners (5-0). The Pride ended the game with more possession (57.7%-42.3%), passes (516-368), and better passing accuracy (78.3%-72.8%).

The Pride had the possession and chances to put the game away in the first 20 minutes, but failed to convert on several golden opportunities. That clearly weighed on the minds of the team and it didn’t get any better when they gave up the late first-half equalizer.

They appeared to come out of the locker room a mentally defeated team, allowing Louisville to create all of the chances. The second goal had the Pride chasing the game, something they’ve struggled with for much of the season.

The Pride now have two weeks before they face Chicago in their final game. They’ll have to find a way to put this one behind them if they want to finish strong.

“Obviously, we want to end on a high. We’re at home against the Chicago team. We want to finish as strong as we possibly can and get as many points as we possibly can,” Taylor said about the last game of the season. “Obviously, playoffs are out of the question now, but we just want to end well for the club, for ourselves, for our teammates, for each other.”

The Pride will welcome the Chicago Red Stars to Exploria Stadium on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m., ending another disappointing season.

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Orlando Pride Announce 2025 Preseason Camp Roster

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2 days ago

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January 20, 2025

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Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride have announced the club’s 2025 preseason roster consisting of 30 players, with one of those (Mariana Larroquette) currently out on loan in Argentina. Another player, forward Amanda Allen, was formerly on loan with the USL Super League’s Lexington Sporting Club, but that loan was terminated when Allen was placed on the Season Ending Injury list on Dec. 9, 2024, with a torn labrum.

The Pride return all of their core players from the 2024 team that won the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship, including 98% of the player-minutes from last season and all of the team’s goal-scoring from a year ago. Almost all of the players who competed in the team’s incredible season are back from a team that broke league records for points, wins, clean sheets, consecutive shutout minutes, consecutive wins, and consecutive games unbeaten.

New faces for 2025 include two off-season signees — goalkeeper Kat Asman and defender Zara Chavoshi, the first player the Pride signed directly out of college since the league’s removal of the NWSL Draft. 

The roster is made up of four goalkeepers, just eight defenders (compared to 12 a year ago), nine midfielders, and nine forwards. One of those forwards, Larroquette, is on loan with Newell’s Old Boys Women of the Campeonato de Fútbol Femenino in Argentina’s top flight. 

The 30-player roster includes three non-roster invitees: goalkeeper DeAira Jackson, midfielder Aryssa Mahrt, and forward Simone Jackson.

DeAira Jackson was the 2024 WAC Goalkeeper of the Year and a member of the All-WAC first team following her last collegiate season. After playing two seasons at Cal State Fullerton, she transferred to Grand Canyon University and became the school’s all-time shutout leader with 16 in just two seasons. Nine of those came in her senior campaign, which set the school record for most clean sheets in a season. She was also the Outrigger No Ka Oi Tournament MVP and a two-time WAC Player of the Week in 2024. The Fontana, CA native appeared in 43 matches for Grand Canyon across two seasons, compiling a record of 25-11-7, the aforementioned 16 shutouts, a 0.89 goals-against average and a save percentage of .781, facing 415 shots in 3,754 minutes.

Mahrt played three seasons at the University of Wisconsin, appearing in 62 games (61 starts) and playing 4,503 minutes. The Milwaukee, WI native scored 21 goals and added 15 assists, putting 78 of her 114 shots on target. Eight of her goals were game winners. Mahrt started all 21 games in her senior season, leading the Badgers in goals (10) and assists (4). She has represented the United States at the youth level with both the U-14 and U-16 sides. Her soccer lineage includes a great grandfather who played for the Malaysian National Team.

Simone Jackson is a Redondo Beach, CA native who played four seasons at USC, appearing in 73 games (51 starts), scoring 22 goals, and adding 13 assists. In 4,204 career minutes, she fired 192 shots, putting 88 on target and scoring six game winners. She was a member of the All-Big Ten third team following the 2024 campaign, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2022, a third-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2023 and 2021, and a 2021 Pac 12 All-Freshman Team honoree. She has represented the U.S. at multiple youth levels, including at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, in which she scored for the United States in a 3-1 loss to Japan. Jackson has also participated at every level starting at U-14.

Simone comes from a family with a tremendous athletic pedigree. Her grandfather, John Jackson, was USC football’s running backs coach and offensive coordinator from 1976-81; her father, John Jackson Jr., played both football and baseball at USC from 1986-89 before brief stints with four NFL teams in the 1990s and playing minor league baseball. Her brother, John Jackson III, played wide receiver at USC and is currently with the Chicago Bears organization.

The club’s two Zambian players — Barbra Banda and Grace Chanda — are the only ones listed as internationals. Unlike previous years, no players are listed as not yet reported.

The Pride will kick off their 2025 campaign with a rematch of the 2024 NWSL Championship as they face the Washington Spirit in the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup on March 7.

2025 Orlando Pride Preseason Roster (as of Jan. 20, 2025):

Goalkeepers (4): Kat Asman, McKinley Crone, Anna Moorhouse, DeAira Jackson (NRI).

Defenders (8): Kerry Abello, Zara Chavoshi, Cori Dyke, Brianna Martinez, Carson Pickett, Rafaelle (SEI), Emily Sams, Kylie Strom.

Midfielders (9): Angelina, Grace Chanda (INTL – Zambia, SEI), Morgan Gautrat, Ally Lemos, Luana (SEI), Aryssa Mahrt (NRI), Marta, Haley McCutcheon, Viviana Villacorta.

Forwards (9): Adriana, Amanda Allen (SEI), Barbra Banda (INTL – Zambia), Simone Charley (SEI), Julie Doyle, Simone Jackson (NRI), Mariana Larroquette (LOAN), Ally Watt, Summer Yates.

Key

INTL: International Player
NRI: Non-Roster Invitee
NYR: Not Yet Reported
SEI: Finished 2024 on the Season-Ending Injury list
LOAN: On loan 

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Pride Ready to Make a Run for the 2025 Title with a Core from 2024

Comparing and analyzing the percentage of returning minutes and goals for the Pride to those of previous NWSL playoff champions.

Published

4 days ago

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January 18, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

During my son’s soccer practice earlier this week I was walking around the park and came upon a basketball court where there was a game going on. One team made a basket to win the game, and a player from the losing team immediately yelled out a phrase that is familiar to anyone who has ever played pickup. “Run that back,” the player said, indicating that they wanted to play another game right away with the same players. The winning team acquiesced, and off they went. Off I went as well, as I did not want to make it awkward by standing there continuing to watch 10 people I did not even know playing pickup hoops in Winter Park.

It was probably already awkward. Oh well.

It was fitting, however, that those players were talking about running it back while I was around a soccer practice, because just a few miles away — in Sylvan Lake Park — the Orlando Pride are preparing for their 2025 NWSL season. And now that Marta has re-signed with the club for two more seasons, the Pride are bringing back nearly every player from the 2024 season. It is not everyone, but the Pride are bringing back a cool 98% of all the minutes played during the 2024 NWSL regular season.

Only four players who played any minutes during that season have departed — Carrie Lawrence (288 minutes), Evelina Duljan (174), Celia (74), and Mariana Larroquette (52), though she is only on loan and is scheduled to be back in the summer, taking their combined five starts and 593 minutes with them — but that leaves more than 25,000 of the 2024 minutes played returning to the Pride for 2025.

Throughout the 2024 season we received indications that the front office really liked the makeup of the group already on hand, as during the year they signed McKinley Crone, Julie Doyle, Cori Dyke, Morgan Gautrat, Brianna Martinez, Viviana Villacorta, Ally Watt, and Summer Yates to new contracts. Most of these were completed in the early to middle part of the season, so even before the team had clinched the regular-reason title and entered the playoffs it was clear that the club felt like it had a good mix of players for the present and the future.

All of these players already being under contract through at least 2025 have made for a very quiet off-season for the Pride so far, and then when Marta made her announcement last week, it cemented the incredibly high percentage of returning minutes. “How high,” you ask in your best Redman or Method Man voice? I already mentioned it was 98%, but of all the NWSL teams who have ever won a championship, that 98% ranks first for returning minutes and represents one of only two seasons when the champion brought back more than 90% of the team’s minutes played from its championship season.

Because the Pride brought back nearly all of their minutes played, it should not be a surprise that they also brought back nearly all of the goals they scored. Except they did not bring back nearly all of the goals they scored, they brought back all 43 of the goals (excluding own goals) they scored during the 2024 season. All of them! The Pride are the first playoff champion in NWSL history to return 100% of the goals scored during their championship season, as you can see from this chart below, which details each playoff champion and the percentage of minutes and goals that returned for the subsequent season. It also shows what place the team finished during the subsequent regular season and playoffs:

The 2018 Courage are clearly the closest proxy to the 2024 Pride, and I like what I see when I look off to the right in that chart, because that team brought back almost all of its minutes and goals and then went ahead and finished first during the subsequent regular season and won it all during the playoffs. I am not saying that the Pride will do the same in 2025, but I am not not saying it either. Give me a few weeks to get my preseason predictions in order and I may actually say it loudly and (being that they are the Pride) proudly.

There are counterexamples as well, as the 2016 Western New York Flash (who became the North Carolina Courage in 2017), 2021 Washington Spirit, and 2022 Portland Thorns all brought back more than 80% of their minutes and 90% of their goals and did not win the playoffs, but both teams were highly successful during the subsequent regular season and won playoff games, though they did not repeat as champions.

One of the more interesting things about the 2025 Pride will be that they will have tremendous continuity with all of their returning minutes and goals, but they will also have continuity with four players who were with the club in 2024 but did not play or barely played due to injury/illness. Neither Simone Charley nor Grace Chanda suited up for the Pride at all last season, but both are experienced players who had been expected to contribute to the team before their injuries. Luana and Viviana Villacorta both did play a little bit — Luana in the beginning of the season and Villacorta at the end. Luana had been starting before her diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma ended her 2024 season, and Villacorta played more than 1,000 minutes during each of the 2022 and 2023 seasons before an injury kept her out for most of 2024.

All four of these players are currently listed on the 2025 roster, and as they return to full fitness it will almost be like four brand new signings of players who are clearly NWSL quality players, providing not only depth but also pushing the starters to stay sharp, lest they lose their role to someone challenging for their minutes. Brand new signings often take time to settle in, but these four will be familiar with the club, the coaches, and their teammates, which a huge advantage for the Pride.

Former NBA coach and current front office executive Pat Riley coined the phrase “the disease of more” to reflect what often happens to championship teams during the year after they win their title, as players want more for themselves, be it credit, media coverage, playing time, money, status, etc. Riley said that “success is often the first step toward disaster,” and while I quibble with the word “often” in that quote, I do think it can be true in sports. The Pride will get everyone’s best shot (figuratively, and sometimes literally) in 2025, and to repeat as champions they will have to do a lot of what they did in 2024 while also evolving some as well.

Bringing back nearly all of the same players helps with the repeating of last season’s excellent form, and “adding” those injured players who did not play last season, plus rookie defender Zara Chavoshi and free agent goalkeeper Kat Asman, will bring some new vibes and claws-sharpening-claws energy to the 2025 squad.

The Pride’s season kicks off in early March, and while the roster could still change in the next seven weeks, I think that it is likely that who they have right now is who will be wearing purple in the opening match.

I am looking forward to seeing them run it back while going on a title run.

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Orlando Pride Loan Forward Mariana Larroquette to Newell’s Old Boys Women

The Argentine forward is going home to get some minutes until July 1.

Published

6 days ago

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January 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride announced today that forward Mariana Larroquette is going on loan to Newell’s Old Boys Women in her native Argentina until July 1. The move will keep the seldom-used attacker out of the Pride lineup until midseason, but she’ll be able to get some playing time that could prove beneficial to Orlando in the season’s second half.

“We’re excited to find an opportunity for ‘Larro’ to gain meaningful minutes while also being an ambassador for the women’s game in her home country Argentina, as they get set to host the CONMEBOL Championships this summer,” Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter said in a club press release. “This will be a great move for her both professionally and personally, and we’re excited to see what she achieves while on loan.” 

The Pride signed Larroquette on July 6, 2023 — just prior to her involvement in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup — on a contract through 2025. The former Club León, Sporting CP, and Kansas City forward and Argentine international was expected to bolster an Orlando attack that was in need of more goals. It hasn’t worked out that way, even though she scored her first Pride goal and added an assist in her first appearance with Orlando in a 5-0 destruction of the Chicago Red Stars at home on Aug. 20, 2023. That remains her only NWSL goal since joining Orlando.

The 32-year-old made just four appearances during the 2024 regular season — all off the bench — logging 48 total minutes. She did not contribute a goal or an assist or even attempt a shot. Larroquette completed just 41.2% of her 17 passes. She started once in three appearances in the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, playing 107 minutes without a goal contribution and attempting three shots. Larroquette did not appear in the Pride’s postseason run to the NWSL Championship.

In her Pride career so far, Larroquette has made just 12 appearances in all competitions, starting just one time, scoring one goal, and contributing one assist.

What It Means for Orlando

Ultimately, this is a chance for Larroquette to get some minutes and perhaps improve her form. Although she provided depth last season, she was rarely used. Playing for the Lepers (seriously, that’s the team’s nickname, which is even stranger than Newell’s Old Boys Women) will get Larroquette playing time in the Campeonato de Fútbol Femenino close to home. This could be the precursor to her departing Orlando for good if she isn’t a good fit for Seb Hines’ tactical approach. At 32, Larroquette is unlikely to bring a windfall to the Pride in a transfer, but she has shown she can be a useful player off the bench when needed in recent years, and has been able to contribute on the international level for Argentina.

This is a move that can help Larroquette re-establish her game and show whether she is still capable of providing offense to her club — whether that ends up being the Pride or another team. As she has not been seeing the field much, there shouldn’t be a big impact to Orlando while she’s away, and it is possible we’ve seen the last of her in a Pride uniform.

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