Orlando Pride Sign Midfielder Kerry Abello to New Two-Year Contract

The Orlando Pride announced this afternoon the signing of Kerry Abello to a new two-year contract. The deal will keep the midfielder in Orlando through the 2024 NWSL season with a club option for 2025.

“We are thrilled to come to terms with Kerry to see her remain in Orlando for the foreseeable future,” Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Haley Carter said in a club press release. “In her first season in the league, we saw her grow immensely and she proved herself to be an extremely versatile player for us. We’re excited to see Kerry continue to progress throughout her career and couldn’t be happier that it will be here, as a member of the Pride.” 

The Pride selected the 23-year-old with the fourth pick of the third round (24th overall) in the 2021 NWSL Draft. She elected to return to Penn State for her fifth year of eligibility and joined the Pride ahead of the 2022 season. She started the 2022 season on the bench, but became a regular in the starting lineup after Seb Hines took over as interim head coach on June 7, starting 11 of the last 16 games.

Abello made 24 appearances during her rookie season in all competitions, with 13 starts and 1,193 minutes. She didn’t score a goal, but recorded one assist.

Internationally, Abello has represented the United States at the U-14, U-15, U-17, U-18, and U-19 youth levels. She was called up to the U-23 team last year for the Women’s U-23 Three-Nations Tournament and scored in a 3-0 win over Sweden.

Prior to joining the Pride, Abello was a three-time All-Big Ten selection, helping the Nittany Lions to three Big Ten championships and was named to the All-North team twice during her collegiate career.

What This Means for Orlando

Abello was already signed through the 2023 season, but this keeps her in purple through at least 2024 and adds a club option for 2025, eliminating the need to re-sign her following the upcoming season. The team is still rebuilding and the 23-year-old fits in well with that process.

Primarily a center back in college, Abello played left midfielder last season for the Pride. She was a dangerous player going forward, creating several chances. Her crossing was an issue at times and she wasn’t as accurate shooting as you’d want from an attacker, but she’s still young and developing.

Since the team took the interim tag off Hines for this season, Abello could be a regular starter in the midfield, just as she was when he took over on an interim basis. But it depends on how the team uses new Brazilian signing Adriana, who has shown an ability to play in the midfield as well.

Meggie Dougherty Howard left the club this off-season for San Diego, but the Pride re-signed Marta and Erika Tymrak to two-year deals. As a result, the two outside attacking midfielders from last season are inked through next season. Dougherty Howard started with them last year, but Marta is back from her ACL tear and would’ve likely started in the number 10 role, even if Dougherty Howard returned.  With Adriana signed through 2025, the Pride’s attacking midfield is pretty well solidified for the next two seasons.