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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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4 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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2025 Orlando Pride Season In Review: Haley McCutcheon

The midfielder reached a career high for goal contributions while providing solid defense and leadership as a vice-captain.

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6 hours ago

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December 4, 2025

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Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Pride acquired Haley McCutcheon (née Haley Hanson) in a midseason trade with the Houston Dash on Aug. 18, 2022. Following the 2022 season, the University of Nebraska product signed a new contract through 2024, which the club then extended through 2026 a year later on Dec. 20, 2023. Earlier this year, on June 25, the Pride extended McCutcheon again, and she is now under contract with the Pride through the 2028 season.

Though she joined the Pride having primarily played on the back line while with Houston, during the past two seasons she has played almost exclusively as a defensive midfielder, providing a strong bridge between the defensive and attacking groups.

Let’s take a look back at the midfielder’s fourth season with the Pride.

Statistical Breakdown

McCutcheon started and went the full 90 minutes in the NWSL Challenge Cup game against Washington, playing alongside Morgan Gautrat in the middle of the field in the beginning of the game but moving to right back in the second half. The one shot she took did not hit the target but nearly every pass she played did, as she completed 92% of her passes with one key pass late in the game that nearly led to a Barbra Banda goal. She also added two tackles on defense and committed one foul. She was not booked.

In NWSL regular-season play McCutcheon appeared in all of Orlando’s 26 matches, starting 25 and playing a total of 2,177 minutes, which was third most on the team. She put nine of her 25 shots on target and converted three of them into goals — a career high. The former first-round draft pick completed 77% of her passes with a team-leading and career-high four assists (tied for 11th most in the NWSL) from her 16 key passes and four successful crosses. On the defensive side, she compiled a team-high 56 tackles, while also tallying 22 interceptions, seven blocked shots, and 75 clearances. She committed 33 fouls, suffered 13, and received two yellow cards.

McCutcheon went the distance in both of the Pride’s playoff games, playing all 180 minutes. As compared to the regular season, she was considerably less accurate with her passing, completing only 67% of her passes with one key pass, but she rose to the moment by opening the Pride’s playoff scoring account with a goal against Seattle. That goal came on her only shot on target during the playoffs out of her three attempts. She was an active defender though, contributing five tackles, five interceptions, two blocked shots, and three clearances. She committed four fouls, suffered none, and was not booked.

Seb Hines rested McCutcheon for most of the Concacaf W Champions Cup, playing her in only one game and for 45 minutes. McCutcheon came off the bench in the final group stage game against Pachuca and took an off-target shot, completed 17 of her 20 pass attempts (85%), and did not contribute any defensive statistics of the few that were tracked during that competition. She was not booked.

Best Game

McCutcheon’s most prolific game of the season came in a loss, so I will honor her one goal and one assist game against Chicago by mentioning it,, but for her best game I am going to go with the the playoff-opening 2-0 win over Seattle, when McCutcheon once again became McClutcheon, scoring the game’s opening goal and her third playoff goal in her fourth playoff appearance for the Pride.

That goal was huge, but just as huge was the defensive effort put forth by McCutcheon after scoring, as she contributed a season-high eight interruptions (tackles + interceptions), as well as a blocked shot and two clearances. Seattle outplayed the Pride for most of the game, nearly doubling the Pride in shots taken and more than doubling them in expected goals from open play, but Orlando’s defensive effort, led by McCutcheon, the team leader in both tackles and interceptions, kept the visitors off the scoreboard. It was a strong all-around performance by the midfielder in a do-or-die game, and I believe it was her best of the 2025 season.

2025 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave McCutcheon a composite grade of 6 out of 10, a slight step down from the 6.5 we gave her last year. It matches the 6 we gave her in 2023 and is much better than the 5 out of 10 grade she received in her first season in Orlando in 2022. She increased her goal contributions but slightly declined in her pass completion percentage, defensive interruptions per 90 minutes, and touches per 90 minutes — all critical areas for a defensive midfielder. On the whole, it was a solid season for the midfielder, but there were some consistency issues, and like many of the Pride’s players, there was a slight bit of regression from 2024 to 2025.

2026 Outlook

The Pride signed McCutcheon through 2028 earlier this season, so unless they trade her in the off-season she will be back with the club in 2026. Since joining the Pride in 2022, she has started nearly every NWSL game, and that likely will continue next season as well. The Pride’s issues this season were more offensive than defensive, and with nearly every key defensive player coming back, the team will plan to rely on that continuity and stability in the back while trying to figure out how to execute better on the attacking side of the field.

McCutcheon figures to be alongside Angelina in the central midfield for many of the Pride’s games next season, and the club will hope that she can replicate her offensive output while continuing to be a defensive destroyer. She is still in her prime, so I expect that she will play heavy minutes again in 2026, while reaching 100 games played with the club (she is currently at 89), and she will be one of the Pride’s key players as they target another run at the NWSL championship.

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2025 Orlando Pride Season In Review: Kerry Abello

The left back wasn’t able to “Vamos!” as much in 2025.

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8 hours ago

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December 4, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

The Orlando Pride selected Kerry Abello 24th overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft, but she didn’t sign her contract until Jan 28, 2022, as she decided to return to Penn State for a fifth season. On Feb. 23, 2023, the Pride re-signed Abello to a new two-year contract through 2024 with an option for 2025, and on March 1, 2024 they re-signed her to a new three-year contract through the 2026 season.

Like many of her teammates, Abello’s 2025 fell short of her 2024 season, when she was named to the NWSL Best XI Second Team. That is not entirely surprising given how the team and the players performed in 2024, but it is still somewhat disappointing. Let’s take a look at Abello’s 2025 season. Vamos!

Statistical Breakdown

Abello made her 2025 debut in the NWSL Challenge Cup against the Washington Spirit. She started at left back and played the full 90 minutes. Abello completed 28 of her 40 passes (76%). She had 56 touches and did not take any shots or have a goal contribution. Defensively, she recorded a tackle and two interceptions.

In the NWSL regular season, Abello played 23 games (18 starts) and recorded 1,552 minutes. She completed 680 of her 863 passes (78.7%) but did not record an assist. She scored one goal on 10 shots, three of which were on target. Defensively, Abello recorded 31 tackles, eight interceptions, 34 clearances, and one block. She committed 14 fouls, drew six on the opposition, and picked up two yellow cards.

The defender started both playoff games, recording 180 minutes. She completed 48 of her 65 passes (73.8%) without a key pass or an assist. She took one shot but she did not score a goal. Defensively, Abello made five tackles while recording one interception, one block, and seven clearances. She committed three fouls, drew one on her opponents, and was not booked in the postseason.

Abello did not appear for the Pride in the Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup, though she was on the bench for the Pachuca match.

Best Game

Oftentimes we will designate a defensive player’s best game as one when they score a goal. Kerry Abello did score a goal this season, and it was a doozy. The problem is she scored an own goal a few minutes earlier, so I will not in good conscience make the 3-2 win over the Washington Spirit her best game. However, here is that goal.

Instead, I will give it to her defensive performance in the 1-0 win over the Portland Thorns on Oct. 11. In her 90-plus minutes of action, Abello recorded 71 touches and completed 39 of her 50 passes (78%), including three of her six long balls (50%) and 10 passes into the final third. She also took one shot that was blocked. Defensively, she shined with five tackles, two clearances, and four recoveries. Additionally, she won seven of her eight duels (88%) and her only aerial duel (100%). She did what a defender is supposed to do — keep a clean sheet.

She also earned Player of the Match on SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride Podcast for her efforts in the 2-0 loss to Racing Louisville on June 6, and the 1-0 loss to Angel City on Aug. 21, but I still felt the Portland game was her best.

2025 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Abello a grade of 6 out of 10 for the 2025 season. This is a drop from the 7 out of 10 she received for her 2024 performance. It’s still an improvement over her 5.5 out of 10 from 2023, and 5 out of 10 from 2022. As you can see, it’s not that she had a bad year, but rather a slight regression from her best professional year in 2024.

2026 Outlook

Abello is signed through the 2026 season, and I expect that she will remain with the club. She showed in 2024 that she can contribute consistent defense on a championship squad. There may be some competition for the starting role depending on who the Pride bring in on defense. The addition of Hailie Mace on the right might push Cori Dyke over to the left. There’s also the possibility that Kylie Nadaner moves out from center back to the left creating competition for the spot.

Abello will be playing for a new contract or auditioning for her next stop if she doesn’t re-sign. I expect she’ll up her game in 2026 as the Pride look to return to the mountain top. As of now, I still have her as the presumptive starter at left back though there’s a lot that can happen between now and the start of the new season.

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Orlando Pride Sign U.S. International Defender Hailie Mace

Former Kansas City Current defender signs a three-year deal through 2028.

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2 days ago

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December 2, 2025

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Image of Hailie Mace playing for Kansas City.
Image courtesy of Lathe Cobb/ Kansas City Current

The Orlando Pride continued their roster building ahead of the 2026 season today by adding defender Hailie Mace. The club announced today that the former Kansas City Current player has signed a three-year contract that will keep her in purple through 2028.

“We are thrilled to have Hailie join our squad and contribute to this team both on and off the field,” Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said in a club press release. “Hailie is exactly what we look for when we want to bring players in with her versatility, quality on the ball and experience in this league. Really excited to see what she is able to bring and can’t wait for her to get integrated with the squad.” 

The 28-year-old native of Ventura, CA spent the last five seasons with the Kansas City Current, where she scored five goals and added 11 assists in 95 appearances (79 starts), logging more than 7,000 minutes played. She was originally drafted out of UCLA by Sky Blue FC (now NJ/NY Gotham FC) with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft but opted not to sign and instead started her professional career with Melbourne City in Australia’s top flight as a guest player, scoring a goal in her debut against the Newcastle Jets. After two appearances as a guest player, Mace signed with FC Rosengard in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan in February of 2019, where she played in 16 games and scored four goals. Rosengard won the Damallsvenskan on Oct. 30, 2019.

Following her contract in Sweden, Mace signed her first NWSL contract in after Sky Blue traded her rights to the North Carolina Courage in exchange for midfielder McCall Zerboni. The UCLA product registered an assist on a Debinha goal in her first match with the Courage in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup. She played only six matches with the Courage, scoring two goals, before going on loan to Kristianstads DFF in Sweden from August to November 2020, helping the club finish in the top three, qualifying for the UEFA Women’s Champions League. She scored five goals in 10 matches with Kristianstads.

The Courage sent Mace to Kansas City on July 22, 2021, in a blockbuster trade, along with Kristen Hamilton and Katelyn Rowland, in exchange for Amy Rodriguez and $60,000 in Allocation Money. Her debut with Kansas City coincidentally came against her old Courage teammates on July 23, 2021. Mace re-signed with the Current on Dec. 19, 2022 to a three-year contract that expired at the end of the 2025 season. She announced on social media in November that she would not return to the Current, and now she’s landed in Orlando.

Mace is tied for the Current’s career assist record (11), and she is coming off a season in which the club won the Supporters’ Shield while setting NWSL single-season records in clean sheets (16), consecutive shutout minutes (869) — breaking the record Orlando set in 2024 — and consecutive shutouts (9). She was named to the NWSL Best XI Second Team after the 2025 season, in which she appeared in 24 matches (including playoffs), starting 16 and playing 1,639 minutes. She did not score a goal in 2025 on just five shots (one on target), but she recorded five assists for the Shield winners. Mace completed 80% of her passes in 2025, with 93 accurate long balls (46.7%), nine key passes and a successful cross.

Adept with the ball at her feet, Mace was successful on 59.1% of her dribble attempts. She won 35 tackles on the year, won 51.8% of her duels, and racked up 42 interceptions and six blocks. Mace committed 24 fouls, won 17 from the opposition, and was booked twice.

On the international stage, Mace has earned nine caps with the United States Women’s National Team, debuting on April 8, 2018, in a friendly against Mexico — a wild 6-2 win. Mace was the only college player named to the 20-player roster for the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship, playing 90 minutes in a shutout win over Panama en route to the U.S. winning the tournament. She previously has participated in U.S. Youth National Team camps at the U-20 and U-23 levels.

Mace played both as a forward and a defender at UCLA, and competed at Inter&Co Stadium (then known as Orlando City Stadium) previously in the 2017 Women’s College Cup, where she was an All-Tournament selection for the NCAA women’s soccer tournament. Mace’s UCLA side lost the final 3-2 to rival Stanford in the final. During her four years at UCLA, Mace made 79 appearances (74 starts), playing 6,342 minutes, scoring 24 goals, adding 12 assists, and putting 76 of her 148 shots on target. She was a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist in 2017.

What It Means for Orlando

The addition of Mace is a good one, as she’s a skilled player, but it’s also not in an area of need. Mace has versatility, but projects mainly as a defender at the professional level (she moved from center back to forward during her UCLA career). She has played a lot of right back and some center back in a three-player back line — a position in which the Pride currently have Oihane and Cori Dyke, with Emily Sams also playing there at times.

It’s possible this is a signing with another roster move already in mind, which we’ll find out in due time. The Pride are up to 24 players under contract after yesterday’s roster status update. Unless there are more moves to come, it appears that Orlando will continue forward with Kerry Abello at left back, with Dyke or someone else serving as the backup in that spot following Carson Pickett being out of contract.

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