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Orlando Pride Are Again in Free Fall as Season Closes

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2 years ago

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The Orlando Pride are doing it again. Since the team’s first NWSL season in 2016, it has become an annual tradition for the Pride to go into freefall in the final weeks of the season. With the exception of the club’s 2017 playoff season, Orlando has hit a winless downward spiral to finish out each year, regardless of who is playing and coaching the squad.

The traditional collapse is in full swing again as 2022 draws to a close.

In the team’s inaugural season, the Pride were 6-6-0 on July 10 and a postseason berth in the team’s first year seemed possible. But the team tanked the rest of the way with an eight-game winless streak to end the year, with seven of those matches ending in losses and just one of them a draw. It was a disappointing end to what had been a solid inaugural year that began with four wins in a five-game stretch in the first two months of the NWSL campaign. The Pride won three straight that year from May 8-20 and sat at 4-2-0 before finishing 2-11-1 with that eight-game winless skid providing most of those losses.

By contrast, and (so far) serving as the lone exception that proves the rule, Orlando finished the 2017 regular season on a nine-match unbeaten streak (6-0-3), reaching the playoffs for the first time with a record of 11-6-7. Sure, the team got mauled in Portland in its lone postseason appearance to date, but that final stretch run was incredible. It was also, unfortunately, unique.

Orlando seemed poised for a return to the postseason in 2018. Despite a slow start to the year in which the Pride won only once in their first five matches (1-2-2), the team was sitting pretty at 8-6-4 by July 14 after a road win at Utah, with a chance to return to the playoffs with a strong finish. But the Pride went the other way. A pair of home draws against Seattle — OL Reign was known as the Seattle Reign then —and Sky Blue FC (now NJ/NY Gotham FC) weren’t devastating but they did kick off a six-match winless streak to end the year. Orlando finished with losses to Portland, North Carolina, Chicago, and Sky Blue, and the Pride scored only one goal in that four-game stretch, getting outscored 9-1.

The 2019 season was a disaster from the start, with Orlando starting the year 0-7-2 and sinking to the bottom of the NWSL standings. But the Pride won four of the next eight games to “climb” to 4-11-2 on the season before the bottom dropped out yet again. After a 2-1 win at Chicago on Aug. 21, 2019, the Pride finished on a seven-game winless skid (0-5-2) and ended the year just 4-16-4. The team managed to draw two of its last three after a four-game losing streak, but it was yet another downward spiral to close out the season. Whatever the opposite of “finishing strong” is, the Pride had mastered it.

It’s probably not fair to even count 2020 among these poor finishes, because the season was canceled essentially. The NWSL teams took part in two competitions — the NWSL Challenge Cup and the NWSL Fall Series. The Pride, however, did not take part in the Challenge Cup due to COVID issues within the team that surfaced just before the team was set to take part. Orlando participated in the Fall Series and failed to win a single game, going 0-2-2 in four matches to “close” the season on a four-game winless streak and run the team’s winless streak in all competitions to 11 matches (0-7-4).

The 2021 Orlando Pride campaign began with a ton of promise. Marc Skinner led the team to just a 1-1-2 record in the Challenge Cup before the regular season, but the team got out to its strongest start ever, going seven matches without a loss in a 4-0-3 run. The team then went winless in six straight (0-4-2) to fall to 4-4-5. That stretch coincided with rumors that Skinner was headed back to England to coach Manchester United, his departure, Carl Green coaching the team to a 2-0 home loss in the first match without Skinner, and Becky Burleigh leading the team to a 1-1 draw at North Carolina in her first game as the club’s interim coach.

The team seemed to more or less right the ship with a 3-1-2 run in the next five games and had a shot at a playoff run when sitting at 7-5-7 on Sept. 11. And then it happened again. Orlando lost its last five consecutive games, getting shut out three times in that span and the Pride were outscored 11-3 down the stretch.

Orlando began a major rebuild after the 2021 season. Big-name stars were sent to other teams and the Pride chose to go with a lot of younger players and some holdover veterans. Not much was expected in 2022 as new coach Amanda Cromwell arrived, but there was some satisfaction in getting to see which young players developed and how the team would augment the roster to build around them. The Pride tried many different players in the Challenge Cup and went 0-4-2, failing to score in the first three games and getting outscored 11-4. The team then lost its opener 3-0 at home to Gotham.

But the team seemed to be correcting course under Cromwell, getting a result in the next three games, including road wins at Angel City and North Carolina. The team was suddenly 2-1-1 and limiting the opposition’s offense after surrendering 12 goals in the previous four matches. And then, well…something happened. We still don’t know what. But the team got shelled in a 4-2 loss to Chicago, managed to draw a bad Washington Spirit side thanks solely to a pair of goals deep in stoppage time to erase a 2-0 hole, and then tied its worst loss in club history in a 5-0 beatdown at Houston.

Cromwell and one assistant coach were placed on administrative leave, two other assistant coaches decided to take personal leave rather than pick up the pieces, and Seb Hines was the last one standing, taking over as the team’s interim coach without a staff under him. Hines struggled out of the gate with back-to-back shutout losses, including a franchise worst 6-0 defeat at Portland.

But then, improbably, Hines got the team playing better. With help from former Orlando City forward Giles Barnes as an interim assistant coach and some help from Miguel Gallardo on a volunteer basis, Hines led the team to an incredible seven-match unbeaten run. It started with another two-goal comeback — this time to draw Racing Louisville 2-2 at the Daytona Soccer Fest at the Daytona International Speedway. The team then beat Houston on a late own goal and played the Spirit to a scoreless draw on the road. Two more draws had the unbeaten run at five games, albeit just a modest 1-0-4 run. Hines then took the team to San Diego and got a huge 1-0 shutout win over the Wave and backed that up with a 2-1 win at Gotham.

The team was back to the .500 mark at 5-5-6 and just three points below the playoff line. It had gone seven matches without a loss and seemed to finally find a way to turn those draws into wins. A home win over the Reign would have pushed the Pride just above the playoff line with five matches remaining.

But the Pride reverted to their old ways. Orlando led the Reign 1-0 at halftime. But the visitors leveled things early in the second half. Still, a draw wouldn’t have been the end of the world and the game went into stoppage time tied at 1-1. Then the Pride fell asleep and conceded a 92nd-minute goal to Megan Rapinoe and things have only unraveled from there.

The team has now gone five consecutive matches without a win, losing the first four of those games by a combined 9-1 and getting shut out three straight times against Portland, Louisville, and North Carolina. Orlando then threw away a 2-0 lead late at home Sunday night against San Diego.

If the team doesn’t win at OL Reign this Saturday night — and the Pride are 0-3-3 on the road against all incarnations of the Reign combined — it will cap yet another winless free fall at the end of the season. It will be the team’s sixth collapse in seven years (or fifth in six if you only want to count “normal” seasons). Any way you look at it, it’s a worrying trend that the team finishes so meekly when in several of those seasons there was a realistic chance to make the postseason with a strong close to the year.

The team has one game remaining and it’s largely meaningless, except to the Reign, who have a shot at the Supporters Shield. However, the Pride can make a statement on Saturday with a win. They can show supporters that it’s time for a change in Orlando with an ending that isn’t yet another loss or draw in a long string of them. They can tell fans that things are turning around. They can provide hope for 2023 by breaking the cycle.

The Orlando Pride have not won a game after Sept. 11 in any season except 2017. Historical data says they’ll lose again on Saturday night. Hopefully they can put an end to that tradition and finish on an unexpectedly high note.

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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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18 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.

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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.

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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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