Connect with us

Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride Are Again in Free Fall as Season Closes

Published

4 years ago

on

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.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Final Score 3-1 as Banda Brace Leads Pride to Victory

Barbra Banda bags a brace and an assist but goes down injured late in the victory.

Published

3 days ago

on

May 29, 2026

By

Image of Barbra Banda celebrating her goal against Bay FC.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Justin Glatt

After dropping two games to expansion teams and stealing a win in San Diego, the Orlando Pride looked to enter the summer break on a good note. The Pride (5-5-2, 17 points) had never lost to Bay FC (3-6-2, 11 points) and used a second-half burst to maintain that winning record and won 3-1 at Inter&Co Stadium.

Barbra Banda opened the scoring in the fourth minute and followed it up in the 51st minute with her second. She added an assist to Cori Dyke in the 55th minute to close out the Pride scoring. Caroline Conti scored the lone Bay FC goal at the seven-minute mark.

“No better gift than a 3-1 victory at home in front of our fans,” Pride Head Coach (and birthday boy) Seb Hines said after the game. “It feels good that we’re ending this period on a high. I think it’s the first time this season we’ve got back-to-back victories.”

The Pride made one change in the lineup, giving Kerry Abello her first start of the season over Julie Doyle. Anna Moorhouse started in goal with Abello, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, and Oihane on defense. Haley McCutcheon and Ally Lemos played midfield in front of them with Mace, Luana, and Nicole Payne attacking from the midfield. Banda and her leading-leading nine goals played alone up top.

After an hour weather delay, the Pride went with the in-vogue start these days by kicking the ball straight out of bounds deep on the start and pressing high. It led to an opening three minutes of play in which the Pride kept the pressure up and forced the ball to stay on the Bay FC side. In the fourth minute, Luana headed a ball towards the center which Banda controlled, bodied Bay FC’s Joelle Anderson off the ball, and slotted the opening goal with her left foot.

Bay FC fought right back in the seventh minute as the visitors didn’t have to fight through the press off their kickoff. Claire Hutton crossed the ball into the box, Abello deflected it wide but there was no Pride defender there and it fell to Caroline Conti. Abello tried to fight all the way over but Conti was able to put it past Moorhouse before any help arrived.

The entire back line got pulled to the right on the play and Mace could not get back to help out wide.

“Hailie Mace came into NWSL as a winger. She’s got some tendencies that fit a winger profile. We knew Bay FC had a high back line. How do we get behind that back line? Having someone to support Barbra and not just Nicole but add in another player who can get into the attack,” Hines said regarding the switch.

In the 16th minute, Rachael Kundananji beat Oihane and crossed the ball to Hannah Bebar, who headed it into the net, but Cristiana Girelli was in an offside position threatening the goal, so the assistant referee ruled that it put Moorhouse off enough to interfere with the play.

The teams settled down a bit and traded possession until the 27th minute when Oihane centered the ball to Payne, who scuffed the shot high. One minute later, Luana sent a through ball for Banda to run onto and she went down in the box in a collision with Brooklyn Courtnall. It was fairly evident, however, that Banda got her leg into Courtnall’s to either try to control the ball or draw a foul, and the referee, Jaclyn Metz, saw it the same way.

In the 33rd minute, Oihane was subbed out for Hannah Anderson. Oihane had been laboring a little and may have picked up a knock somewhere.

The Pride couldn’t re-establish the high press so they turned into a lot of possession by Bay FC. Any attack by the Pride ended in a turnover off a bad pass or ill-conceived long shots as Orlando’s attackers were impatient in building play. Turnover after turnover plagued the Pride for the remainder of the half as they did not threaten at all until the 45th minute, when Banda took on Maddie Moreau and Kundananji, shook them both loose, and then crossed the ball into an empty area at the back post with no one to finish.

It was a fitting final piece of sound and fury, signifying nothing, as the half wrapped without any plays of interest. The Pride weren’t able to lead any of the statistics, tying Bay FC in shots (4-4), while Bay FC led in shots on target (3-1), possession (53%-47%), and passing accuracy (85%-83%). Neither team was able to force a corner in the first half.

To start the second half, Hines subbed in Summer Yates for Abello, which pushed Mace back to the back line. In the 48th minute, Kundananji got behind when Anderson got caught out and was sizing up a one-on-one with Moorhouse. Dyke hustled back and blocked the shot.

“We started the game super strong, super intense, but I think we fell off towards the end of that first half,” Dyke said. “We got a little too stretched between the lines and weren’t getting enough pressure on the ball and we talked about that at halftime. We needed to stay more compact and then pick our moments to go.”

Go they did. Three minutes later, Yates sent a through ball angled behind Banda which allowed her to run onto the ball unopposed. She beat goalkeeper Emmie Allen, who came out of the box aggressively to defend, and then passed the ball into the net in the 51st minute.

Four minutes later, Banda pressured Allen, forcing the goalkeeper into a clearance out of play. On the ensuing throw-in, Banda held off Bebar in the box, spun, and crossed the ball to Dyke, who put the ball in off the crossbar. The ability of the Pride to retain possession and work the ball in against a lesser opponent opened up the scoring and turned the game on its head.

Bay FC didn’t have a lot to do over the next stretch of time and Taylor Huff went down with an injury in the 61st minute, prompting a change as she was subbed out for Karlie Lema. Dorian Bailey came on for Joelle Anderson in the same stoppage but at the 62nd minute.

The teams went back and forth for a bit until the Pride drew a corner in the 71st minute. It deflected off a Bay FC defender and fell to Rafaelle at the far post, who headed it just wide. Three minutes later, Jacquie Ovalle and Zara Chavoshi wrapped up the Pride substitutions by coming in for Payne and Mace. Bay FC also took the stoppage in the 74th minute to sub two players in, bringing on Keria Barry and Onyeka Gamero for Kundananji and Girelli.

Unfortunately, in the 81st minute, Banda was dribbling down the left side when she pulled up lame and went to the ground off the pitch. She stayed there until tended to and was obviously upset. We’ll have to wait for any injury news on her. Bay FC made its final substitution in the ensuing stoppage in the 82nd minute, bringing on Kelli Hubly for Conti.

The injury to Banda left the Pride playing with only 10 players for the remaining 15 minutes (including added time) due to using up all three substitution windows. They stayed fairly solid in defense and played a lot of keep-away ball to see out the victory while playing short.

“A great way to finish this part of the season with a win at home. I think we were consistent today and we took the chances we created,” Luana said. “We’ve been having highs and lows in this part of the season but we bounced back in these two wins and it brought us a lot of confidence.”

Orlando City was ahead in the only stat that matters, goals, but trailed in every other major stat. Bay FC finished ahead in shots (14-8), shots on target (5-4), possession (54%-46%), passing accuracy (85%-84%), and corners (4-1).

The Orlando Pride now will be off until early July for the NWSL World Cup break. The next match is scheduled for July 3 in Los Angeles against Angel City FC.

Continue Reading

Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Pride return home to face Bay FC in their final game before the FIFA World Cup break.

Published

4 days ago

on

May 29, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Welcome to your preview and match thread as the Orlando Pride (4-5-2, 14 points) return home from a three-game road trip to take on Bay FC (3-5-2, 11 points). This is the first of two meetings between the two teams with the return game scheduled for Sept. 27 in San Jose.

Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.

History

Bay FC is one of two expansion teams that entered the NWSL for the 2024 season. The teams have met four times, with the Pride holding a 3-0-1 record and a 1-0-1 mark at home in the series.

The most recent meeting took place on Sept. 13, 2025, in Orlando. The visitors took the lead just before halftime when Racheal Kundananji headed in a long pass by Caprice Dydasco. The Pride equalized in the second half, when Ally Watt headed a Jacquie Ovalle cross past Jordan Silkowitz to claim a 1-1 draw.

On June 13 of last year in San Jose, CA, Bay FC led almost every statistical category, but the Pride defense held strong until Barbra Banda scored shortly after halftime. The Pride withstood attack after attack, coming away with a hard-fought 1-0 win.

The teams met twice in 2024, with the first-ever game between the clubs occurring on May 11. Just prior to the half-hour mark, Banda dribbled inside and Deyna Castellanos attempted an ill-advised challenge, resulting in a foul in the box and a Pride penalty. Adriana put the ball into the bottom left corner for the only goal, lifting the Pride to a 1-0 win. It was the sixth win in an NWSL-record, eight-game win streak.

The teams met for the second time on Sept. 20, 2024. It looked like the game might be headed for a scoreless draw until Banda got her head on the end of a Carson Pickett cross, redirecting it past Katelyn Rowland to give the Pride the 1-0 win.

Overview

The Pride return home tonight after a difficult road trip that saw the team fall 2-1 to Boston Legacy FC and 3-1 to Denver Summit FC. Having already lost to both expansion teams, they headed west to face San Diego Wave FC, a team near the top of the standings. But Nicole Payne’s first professional goal lifted Orlando to a 1-0 win.

Despite not scoring in two of the last three games, Banda still leads the league with nine goals in 10 games this season. She has a two-goal lead on Ashley Sanchez, who is second in the league. Haley McCutcheon is the only other Pride player with multiple goals, scoring twice in the same game. Ovalle, Marta, and Hannah Anderson have the team’s other three goals. The assists have been spread out much more evenly with Ovalle, McCutcheon, and Rafaelle all sharing the team lead with two.

The clean sheet against San Diego was big for the back line as the team has conceded too many goals recently. Dating back to their 3-2 loss to Racing Louisville FC on April 24, the Pride have conceded multiple goals in four of the last six games. The only other game in which they didn’t concede at least twice was a 1-0 win over the North Carolina Courage on May 8, their last home game.

Tonight is the Pride’s last game before the league breaks for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. After the game, they won’t play again until July 3 and won’t play at home until July 10. That makes getting a quality result tonight essential for momentum going through the remainder of the season.

If you’re looking for a team to win against, Bay FC is one of the most likely candidates. The Bay -area side sits 13th in the NWSL on 11 points, just four points ahead of Louisville for last place. Tonight’s visitors are currently on a four-game winless run (0-2-2) and a two-game losing streak. Their last win was a 1-0 victory against San Diego on May 3. The club’s most recent games are a 2-0 loss to Portland Thorns FC on May 20 and a 1-0 loss to Chicago Stars FC on May 24.

Bay FC has struggled this year on both ends of the field. Its eight goals are second fewest in the league and Bay is one of three teams with single-digit goals this year. Meanwhile, the team’s 14 goals conceded are sixth in the league. The California side has been better defensively overall than the Pride, who have conceded 16 goals, but worse offensively, as the Pride have scored 15 goals so far this year.

Bay FC has been led in the attack by Alex Pfeiffer and Dorian Bailey with two goals each. Kundananji, Taylor Huff, Keira Barry, and Joelle Anderson have one apiece. Pfeiffer also leads the team in assists with two, tied with Cristina Girelli. Huff and Sydney Collins are the only other players with assists this season.

It should help the Pride tonight that Bay FC will be missing two key players. Silkowitz and starting center back Aldana Cometti were sent off against Chicago Sunday, meaning they’ll miss tonight’s game.

However, the Pride have their own key absences. In addition to injuries that have accumulated this season, Angelina was handed an additional game’s suspension after being sent off on May 16 for pulling Delanie Sheehan’s hair.

“We’re looking forward to it. Looking forward to being back home,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said about tonight’s game. “It’s been a long road trip. Excited to get in front of our own fans. Want to create that atmosphere, make it hostile for Bay FC. We know it’s a quick turnaround for both teams as well, so we want to make sure that we start off on the front foot, build on what we achieved last Sunday in San Diego, and finish this part of the season on a high.”

The Pride will be without Angelina (suspension), Cosette Morche (ankle), Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Viviana Villacorta (knee), and Solai Washington (knee). Marta (thigh) and Ovalle (thigh) are listed as questionable. Bay FC will be without Cornetti (suspension), Abby Dahlkemper (maternity leave), Anouk Denton (lower leg), Dydasco (maternity leave), Heather Gilchrist (knee), Alyssa Malonson (knee), Emily Menges (maternity leave), Pfeiffer (knee), and Silkowitz (suspension).

Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Oihane, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, Hailie Mace.

Defensive Midfielders: Ally Lemos, Haley McCutcheon.

Attacking Midfielders: Kerry Abello, Luana, Nicole Payne.

Forward: Barbra Banda.

Bench: McKinley Crone, Zara Chavoshi, Hannah Anderson, Julie Doyle, Marta, Jacquie Ovalle, Summer Yates, Seven Castain, Simone Jackson.

Bay FC (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Emmie Allen.

Defenders: Sydney Collins, Joelle Anderson, Brooklyn Courtnall, Maddie Moreau.

Defensive Midfielders: Hannah Bebar, Claire Hutton.

Attacking Midfielders: Racheal Kundananji, Caroline Conti, Taylor Huff.

Forward: Cristiana Girelli.

Bench: Camryn Miller, Kelli Hubly, Jamie Shepherd, Dorian Bailey, Karlie Lema, Onyeka Gamero, Tess Boade, Keira Barry.

Referees

REF: Jaclyn Metz.
AR1: Art Arustamyan.
AR2: Adam Cook.
4TH: Edson Carvajal.
VAR: Anya Voigt.
AVAR: Katarzyna Wasiak.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV: None.

Streaming: NWSL+.

Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @themaneland.bsky.social on Bluesky and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter (@ORLPride) or Bluesky (@orlpride.com) feed.

Enjoy the game. Go Pride!

Continue Reading

Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Pride need to do to earn all three points against Bay FC?

Published

5 days ago

on

May 28, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride welcome Bay FC to Inter&Co Stadium this Friday night for the last match before the World Cup break. This is an opportunity to get a win over a team lower in the table and move up in the standings. What must the Pride do to earn all three points against Bay FC this weekend?

Keep the Chip

I have been asking all season on SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast for the Pride to play with the chip on their shoulder that they had when they won the double in 2024. We saw that against the San Diego Wave. My hope is that the players have now remembered what that feels like and will execute with the same level of intensity going forward.

The task is potentially a little easier against Bay FC, as the California-based side has scored less than half the number of goals that the Wave have this season. Of course, that is the trap. The Pride cannot slack off against Bay FC. Having Rafaelle anchoring the defense is a big help, and moving Hailie Mace out to right back has proven effective. In 2024, this team hated — with a capital “H” — conceding goals. They took it personally. That is the passion I want again. The chip on the shoulder.

Overwhelm and Outscore

As I mentioned above, Bay FC is not a prolific scoring team. Friday’s visitors have also given up 14 goals this season. That’s not the best or the worst in the league, but they haven’t faced Barbra Banda yet. The Orlando Pride don’t have any trouble creating chances, but they have had trouble getting anyone other than Banda to finish them this season. Banda leads the league in goals, and she has an opportunity to maintain or extend that lead against Bay FC.

What will truly make the difference for the Pride against Bay FC is if any of the other players can contribute a goal. We saw the space that Banda can provide her teammates when Nicole Payne scored her first goal against San Diego. Now I want other players to take advantage of that space to provide some goals for the Pride.

More Luana

Luana got her first start since coming back to the squad cancer-free. I think we’ve forgotten that she was a starter on the 2024 squad before her Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis. She was a starter on a team that won the double. Now she is back and she is a leader and an inspiration for her fellow players.

Given Marta’s limited minutes, having Luana out there as a stabilizing presence is important. Obviously, she brings a different skill set than Marta but still a critical one. Much like the defense, the midfield was better last match, and I feel she was a big part of that.

That is what I will be looking for on Friday night. The Pride can head into the World Cup break on a high with a victory. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Trending