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Orlando Pride vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC: Final Score 2-0 as Pride Concede Latest Goal in NWSL History

Pride concede two latest goals in NWSL history to fall 2-0 to NJ/NY Gotham FC.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The Orlando Pride (0-3-0, 0 points) experienced more late-game drama, falling 2-0 to NJ/NY Gotham FC (2-1-0, 6 points) at Exploria Stadium. Midge Purce converted a penalty after a controversial handball in the box and Lynn Williams sealed it for the visitors with the latest goal in NWSL history.

The big surprise in the Pride lineup tonight was the inclusion of Kaylie Collins in goal. Regular starter Anna Moorhouse wasn’t in the team at all and Carly Nelson, the team’s primary backup, was on the bench. 

“We had a few minor injuries. Kaylie’s been with the team for a while now and she’s waited for an opportunity,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said about starting his 23-year-old goalkeeper. “It’s given her exposure. It’s her time. So again, we’re always challenging players, we’re questioning players for places and to be in the starting 11. That continues with the goalkeepers as well.”

“Excited to get the start,” Collins added. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity. Honestly, it’s just the start so I’m feeling good about that.”

The rest of the lineup was as expected, including Kylie Strom, Emily Madril, Caitlin Cosme, and Haley McCutcheon in the back, Kerry Abello, Mikayla Cluff, Adriana, Marta, and Erika Tymrak in the midfield, and Messiah Bright up top.

The game was pretty even to start with a giveaway in the back providing Gotham with the first chance. But the shot was right at Collins, who easily grabbed it. The Pride had a chance of their own a minute later when Abello shot from the top of the box, but Gotham goalkeeper Abby Smith was there to make the save.

In the sixth minute, Strom made a nice overlapping run and received the ball from Marta on the left. The outside back sent a cross into the box for oncoming attackers, but it was too close to Smith, who had no trouble collecting it.

The game settled down after the first six minutes as both teams attempted to build an attack. The next chance came in the 14th minute when Ifeoma Onumonu charged down the right sideline. She made her way into the Pride box, but Cosme was there to block the cross out of play.

In the 19th minute, Adriana was played behind the Gotham back line. She attempted to play it across for Marta, who was making a run into the Gotham box, but sent it a little too far ahead of her. Gotham was unable to clear and Marta regained possession for the Pride. She sent a lovely ball into the six-yard box where Adriana had made a run, but her header was just wide of the target.

Shortly after, the Pride appeared to have another good chance when Tymrak played a diagonal ball from the left for Adriana. The Brazilian raced Smith to the ball outside of the box, but the goalkeeper got there first, clearing it away.

After serving as a game-changing substitute against Angel City, Bright was quieter in this one. However, she had a chance in the 25th minute when the rookie turned her defender twice, creating enough space to get a shot off. Unfortunately, the Gotham defense did well to keep someone in front of her, and her shot was blocked.

Two minutes later, Adriana attempted a cross into the box, but it was blocked by Mandy Freeman. The ball bounced back out to Abello, who shot from the top of the box. But she didn’t get much on it and Smith was able to make the easy stop.

In the 31st minute, McCutcheon played the ball forward for Adriana, who was making a run into the box. Adriana’s first touch was a low cross for Bright, at the top of the six. The rookie striker got her foot to the ball, but it went off the post and out of play. Despite the close attempt, it wouldn’t have counted as the assistant referee had raised his flag for offside.

Gotham finally got another chance in the 33rd minute when Onumonu dribbled down the right and into the Pride box. She was well defended by Strom, who drove her towards the end line. The forward ended up taking a shot from a tight angle, but it was right to Collins.

The last chance of the first half came in the 42nd minute when Abello took a long-distance shot. It wasn’t very hard and caused no trouble for Smith, sending the game into halftime scoreless.

Despite Gotham kicking off, the Pride got off to the better second-half start. Less than a minute into the second period of play, Tymrak played Marta forward. She attempted a shot from the left of goal, but it was right to Smith, who made the stop.

Gotham nearly opened the scoring in the 50th minute when a clearance landed at the feet of Kelley O’Hara well outside of the Pride box. The left back sent in a cross that appeared to be heading just inside the back post. It forced Collins into a dive to tip it wide of the goal.

The visitors had another chance in the 54th minute when a poor touch by Madril gave Yazmeen Ryan the ball near the top of the box. Kristie Mewis ended up with it and shot, but it was well high of the target.

In the 61st minute, Hines made his first change of the game. Still coming back from her ACL tear last season and a hamstring injury that kept her out of the 2-1 loss to Angel City, Marta was replaced by Viviana Villacorta. The appearance was Villacorta’s first since she left the Aug. 26, 2022 game against OL Reign in the same stadium.

“We knew that Marta was restricted, missing last week and still coming back from an ACL,” Hines said about the substitution. “So that substitution was always going to happen.”

Gotham had a pair of great chances in the 65th minute when Collins lost the ball to Williams, who took it right off her foot. She found Sinead Farrelly, but her shot was blocked by Cosme. The deflection fell to Ryan, who took a shot of her own, but McCutcheon was there to keep it from going in.

In the 74th minute, Madril played a nice ball out of the back for McCutcheon. The right back dribbled into the Gotham box and had enough space for a shot, but from a tight angle. As a result, the ball hit the side netting.

Three minutes later, Tymrak took the ball to the end line and played it back for Adriana. The Brazilian’s first touch got away from her, but it went right to Abello a few yards behind. The midfielder took a shot, but hit it over the crossbar.

As time wound down, Gotham began to keep more possession as the visitors searched for a late winner. Purce didn’t start the game, but came on in the 69th minute for Onumonu. In the 80th minute, the second-half substitute took her first shot of the game from outside of the box. It was on target, but Collins did well to get a hand to it, tipping it over the crossbar.

The visitors continued their attack and had another chance in the 83rd minute when Mewis and Williams both flicked the ball forward. But Collins did well to come off her line and gather it before any Gotham players could get a shot off.

After nearly getting the game’s first goal, Purce almost set up the opener in the 87th minute. Her cross nearly connected with the head of Mewis right in front of goal, but was inches high, and went out for a Pride goal kick.

Just before the game went into injury time, Hines made three more changes as the Pride looked to see out their first point of the season. Megan Montefusco, Jordyn Listro, and Summer Yates entered the game for Cluff, Tymrak, and Listro.

While the substitutes made their way onto the field, the fourth official held up nine minutes of added time. That was a major factor in the game’s final result.

Shortly into injury time, Williams dribbled into the box and attempted a cross, but it was deflected out by Montefusco. The ensuing corner kick bounced around the Pride box before referee Elvis Osmanovic blew his whistle for a foul on Gotham. However, he was alerted by the video assistant referee of a possible handball.

After sitting around approximately four minutes waiting for a decision, Osmanovic jogged over to the sideline monitor to review the play. Eventually, he came back and pointed to the spot, indicating a handball offense on Cosme.

“I think all of us were pretty shocked. You know, we’re new to VAR. And while it’s great for some things, it’s not so great when you’re on the opposite end of it,” Cosme said about the Pride’s reaction to the penalty decision. “I think that our discussion was we’re going to be fine. It’s taking this long to come up with the decision, must not have been clear enough. And then when the referee made that decision, I think we all were just like all right, here we go again. So not much discussion. I think we were all pretty confident that it wasn’t going to be a PK but sometimes it doesn’t go your way.”

Mewis held the ball at first while Osmanovic attempted to get everyone in the right positions for the penalty. However, Purce stepped up when it was time to take the kick. The substitute sent her penalty past Collins and into the roof of the net, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.

At 99:53, the goal was the latest goal in NWSL history, passing Angel City’s goal in the same stadium two weeks ago, which went in at 99:12. That gave the Pride the two latest goals conceded in league history. But they weren’t done.

The Pride had one chance to equalize as the game entered the 13th minute of second-half injury time. Looking to bounce back from her handball, Cosme sent a cross into the box that found the head of Montefusco. However, Smith was there to catch the header, maintaining Gotham’s 1-0 lead.

Following the save, Gotham gained possession and Williams continuously took the ball to the corner, shielding it from Pride defenders. But 17 minutes into second-half injury time, she went to goal instead. After receiving a pass from Purce, Williams dribbled into the Pride box and fired from the left of goal and towards the far corner. The ball curled around Collins’ outstretched arm and in, sealing the 2-0 win for Gotham.

At 106:44, Williams’ strike became the new latest goal in NWSL history. The Pride now have conceded the three latest goals in league history, all coming in their last two games.

Due to technical difficulties, there weren’t any stats prior to the 38th minute of the game and most of the domestic audience not at Exploria Stadium saw nothing of the match. However, after that point, Gotham recorded more possession (61.8%-38.2%), shots (15-6), shots on target (4-2), corners (8-2), and passing accuracy (66.5%-54.3%).

“We’re in it the whole way and then a call doesn’t go our way and it just changes the result,” Hines said after the game. “We have a lot of opportunities to score, we don’t take them, leaves Gothem a chance to win the game. So, you’ve got to take your opportunities when they present themselves. But yeah, same old feeling after the game, disappointed with the result. Effort was great, as always. The players are really putting the effort in. Just want the result to really feel like they’re rewarded for their efforts.”

“I think we are all super disappointed,” Cosme added. “I think that we know that we should have put that game away. We also know that we need to stay focused for 90-plus minutes. That’s what this game is about, especially with VAR, people go down. And right now we’re not doing that. And I think the team needs to figure it out. I think we will figure it out. We’re still hopeful. You know, we believe in one another, but we understand that we need to be better. This is just the beginning of the season. So I think that we’re all excited to keep growing but definitely super disappointed with tonight’s result.”

As the 2023 NWSL season continues, the Pride continue to find new ways to lose. After getting destroyed by the Portland Thorns in the season opener, they’ve now set two new records for conceding the latest game-winning goals and three new records for conceding the latest goal in league history.


The team won’t have much time to dwell on this loss as the Pride welcome the North Carolina Courage into Exploria Stadium on Wednesday night as they open the NWSL Challenge Cup.

Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride vs. North Carolina Courage: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Pride look to bounce back from a tough loss in Portland when they visit the North Carolina Courage Saturday.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Welcome to your match thread as the Orlando Pride (5-2-0, 15 points) face the North Carolina Courage (2-3-2, 8 points) in Cary, NC. This is the first of two games the teams will play this season. The return game in Orlando is scheduled for Sept. 19.

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

History

The Pride and Courage have played 26 times since the Western New York Flash moved to North Carolina and became the Courage in 2017. The Pride are 6-13-7 in those games (6-10-2 in the NWSL regular season, 0-0-2 in the Fall Series, 0-3-2 in the NWSL Challenge Cup, and 0-0-1 in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup.)

The most recent meeting between the two teams was on July 20, 2024, in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup in North Carolina. Manaka Matsukubo gave the hosts the lead just before halftime before Celia equalized late for the Pride. The game went into penalties where the Courage won 5-4

The Pride were the better team on June 15, 2024, with more possession, shots, and shots on target, but the game ended in a scoreless draw. While they were disappointed with the result, the Pride were the first team to take points in North Carolina in 2024. Earlier in the season, on May 1 in Orlando, Barbra Banda and Ally Watt started up top together for the first time, a move that paid off in the game. Banda set up Watt for the opener in the first half, and Watt repaid the favor just over 10 minutes later, as the Pride went up 2-0. Julie Doyle added a goal just before halftime, giving the Pride a commanding lead. Emily Sams’ own goal was the only scoring for the Courage and Banda’s second of the night gave the Pride a 4-1 win.

The first game between the Pride and Courage in 2023 was on April 19 in Orlando. The Pride took the lead after halftime when Summer Yates set up Watt for the opening goal, but Denise O’Sullivan equalized in the ninth minute of second-half injury time, resulting in a 1-1 draw. On June 17 in North Carolina, it was all Courage. Kerolin and Meredith Speck gave the hosts a 2-0 lead before a Haley McCutcheon own goal made it 3-0 to North Carolina.

The Pride didn’t show up for the July 29 Challenge Cup contest in North Carolina, getting demolished by the Courage. Brittany Ratcliffe and Malia Berkely gave the hosts a 2-0 halftime lead before Frankie Tagliaferri made it three, and a late brace by Haley Hopkins completed the 5-0 result. The Pride finally got a win that year on Sept. 17, 2023 at home. Watt got the Pride off to a great start, scoring inside the first minute. After assisting on the first goal, Adriana doubled the lead before halftime. Manaka Matsukubo got one back for the visitors, but it wasn’t enough and the Pride won 2-1.

The first meeting in 2022 came on May 18 in North Carolina. The Pride got off to a great start in that game, with Sydney Leroux scoring early. Mikayla Cluff doubled the lead with her first professional goal. A late goal by Brianna Pinto got the Courage back within one, but it wasn’t enough as the Pride took the 2-1 win. On Sept. 21, 2022, at Exploria Stadium, it was the Courage that got off to the better start when Debinha scored in the second minute. The Brazilian then assisted Tess Boade in first-half injury time to double the lead, and later added another, dooming the Pride to a 3-0 defeat.

The Pride and Courage were placed in the same division for the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup, so the teams played twice before the regular season started. The first game was on March 26 in North Carolina. Merritt Mathias converted a penalty after Gunny Jonsdottir was called for a handball in the box, lifting the hosts to a 1-0 win. The return match in the tournament took place on April 16 in Orlando. The Courage got off to a fast start, scoring three goals in the first nine minutes. Darian Jenkins netted a brace to make it 3-2, but a late Debinha goal put the game away and North Carolina won 4-2.

The teams played three times during the 2021 NWSL season. On May 22 in North Carolina, goals by Leroux and Alex Morgan gave the Pride a 2-0 lead late into the game. Jessica McDonald scored late to pull one back but the Pride held on for a 2-1 win. On July 4 in Orlando, Debinha and Havana Solaun goals helped the Courage take home a 2-0 win. The final game was played July 31 in North Carolina. Leroux opened the scoring but Brittany Ratcliffe equalized moments later and the teams drew 1-1.

The two teams were also matched up in the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup but they only played once in that tournament. Neither team was able to find the back of the net in that game in a scoreless draw.

Similar to the Challenge Cup, the teams were in the same group of the 2020 Fall Series, meeting twice. The first was on Sept. 19 in North Carolina and ended in a scoreless draw. The second was on Oct. 17 at Exploria Stadium. Led by a Debinha brace, the Courage went up 3-0. But the Pride came back with goals by Marisa Viggiano, Kristen Edmonds, and Ally Haran for an exciting 3-3 draw.

The Pride and Courage played three times during the 2019 season. The first game was on April 17 in North Carolina. The Courage took a 1-0 lead into halftime but scored four times in the second half to win 5-0. They played a second time on June 1 in Orlando. Again, it was a dominant performance by the Courage as the Pride fell 3-0. The final meeting that year was another thrashing by North Carolina. The Pride got a goal in that one but still fell 6-1.

The teams also met three times in 2018 but the results were much closer. On May 23 in Orlando, goals by Alanna Kennedy and Rachel Hill saw the Pride come back from a 3-1 deficit. But McDonald scored a winner in the 90th minute and the Courage won 4-3. The Pride went down by three goals in the final two games that season, but were unable to come back and fell 3-0 in both contests.

The 2017 season saw the teams meet for the first time. The Courage took the first game 3-1 on April 29 in North Carolina. They played a second time two weeks later in Orlando when the Pride took the 3-1 win. The final meeting in 2017 came in the final game of the season on Sept. 30. The Pride took a 2-0 lead but the Courage came back to even it at 2-2. It looked headed for a draw until Kennedy netted a late winner, leading the Pride to a 3-2 win.

Overview

This season certainly isn’t the record-breaking start the Pride had last year, but they’re still one of the teams to beat in the NWSL. The defending champions won their first four games before falling 1-0 to the Washington Spirit in a disappointing performance. It looked like they would see their first losing streak when they fell behind 2-0 to Angel City FC, but scored three goals in the final 20 minutes to take all three points.

Unfortunately, the winning didn’t last long. The Pride followed the come-from-behind win with a trip across the country to face the Portland Thorns. With a long flight and on artificial turf, Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made several changes to the team, including giving rookie Zara Chavoshi her first start. Reyna Reyes’ goal was the difference as the Pride fell 1-0 for their second loss of the season.

Despite the loss, the Pride remain in first place, tied with the Kansas City Current on points, goals scored, and goals conceded. This is the finale of a two-game road trip before they return home to face the same Current team in a highly anticipated Friday night clash at Inter&Co Stadium.

The Pride are led offensively by Banda with four goals. Marta follows with three goals, McCutcheon has two, and Watt has one goal. The assists have been spread evenly with Marta, Oihane, Morgan Gautrat, and Banda all recording one.

The defense has been the strong point for most of the season, recording shutouts in three of the first four games. The 3-2 win over Angel City is the only time the Pride have conceded multiple goals in a game, with the two losses being 1-0 results.

There was a question who would start in goal tonight, as starting goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse left the game in Portland with a head injury. McKinley Crone did well in her place, playing nearly the entire second half. But Moorhouse is not on the availability report and is expected to return to action tonight.

The Courage currently sit in ninth, three points below the final playoff spot. They got off to a slow start but have been hot in recent weeks. It started with a 3-2 win on April 26 over the then-undefeated Current for their first win of the season. They followed that with a 2-0 win over the Utah Royals on May 3.

Despite having firepower with the likes of Ashley Sanchez and Jaedyn Shaw, the Courage have struggled a bit offensively, scoring eight goals in seven games. They’ve been much better defensively. They’ve conceded nine goals this year, but five of those were against the Current and NJ/NY Gotham FC, two of the best attacking teams in the league.

Sanchez leads the team with two goals this season. Ryan Williams, Kaleigh Kurtz, and Riley Jackson have one each. Williams, Speck, O’Sullivan, and Matsukubo lead the team assists so far this season, but each has just one.

The big concern for the Pride entering tonight’s game is on the offensive end. While they lead the league with 14 goals scored, six of those came in the season opener against the Chicago Stars. Meanwhile, they’ve been kept off the scoresheet in two of the last three games. To claim three points away from home, they’ll have to beat one of the league’s top goalkeepers in Casey Murphy. 

“Always a difficult place to go play historically. It’s always been a challenge there, the way that North Carolina likes to play,” Hines said about tonight’s game. “They’ve found some form in the last two games as well. We’re looking to bounce back from our recent result as well, so it’s an exciting game.”

The Pride go into this game with an unchanged availability report. They remain without Simone Charley (ankle), Luana (illness), Amanda Allen (shoulder), Aryssa Mahrt (knee), Julie Doyle (knee), Rafaelle (thigh), and Summer Yates (ankle).

The Courage will be without Berkely (leg), Sydney Collins (ankle), Hensley Hancuff (excused absence), and Olivia Wingate (leg). Speck (lower body) is listed as questionable.


Projected Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Kerry Abello, Kylie Nadaner, Emily Sams, Cori Dyke.

Defensive Midfielders: Haley McCutcheon, Morgan Gautrat.

Midfielders: Angelina, Marta, Prisca Chilufya.

Forward: Barbra Banda.

North Carolina Courage (3-4-3)

Goalkeeper: Casey Murphy.

Defenders: Natalia Staude, Kaleigh Kurtz, Maycee Bell.

Midfielders: Feli Rauch, Riley Jackson, Denise O’Sullivan, Ryan Williams.

Forwards: Shinomi Koyama, Manaka Matsukubo, Ashley Sanchez.

Referees

REF: Brad Jensen.
AR1: Katarzyna Wasiak.
AR2: Melissa Beck.
4TH: John Rush.
VAR: Danielle Chesky.
AVAR: Kevin Huet.


How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park — Cary, NC.

TV: Ion.

Streaming: Prime Video.

Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow our David Rohe on Bluesky or the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter feed (@ORLPride).


Enjoy the game. Go Pride!

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Orlando Pride

Pride Opponents Reducing Barbra Banda’s Available Space in 2025

How changes in the opposition’s defensive strategies have led to a decline in Barbra Banda’s statistics.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

A few years ago, I heard a basketball analyst talking on a podcast about Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors and how his shooting prowess completely changed the geometry of how his opponents were trying to defend him. Geometry, as you all remember from high school, is the area of mathematics that is focused on understanding space and the positions of items in space.

As a mathematician, my ears perked up, since geometry is rarely referred to on NBA podcasts, and I immediately understood his point was that because Curry was such an offensive shooting threat, the opposition had to think differently about their positioning than they would with just about any other player, and they could not afford to give Curry any space on the court or else he would punish them with his proficiency at shooting the basketball.

Basketball is a much different game than soccer, in particular because hoops shots from behind the arc are worth three points while shots from inside the arc are worth two. Defenses have to consider the talents of their opponents at shooting three-pointers and adjust accordingly. Curry is the only player in NBA history with more than 4,000 made three-pointers made during the regular season (4,058), and is nearly 1,000 ahead of the next player on that list, James Harden, who has made 3,175. It can be argued that the only person to make better use of an arc than Curry was Noah, but that is for another article.

What does any of this have to do with Barbra Banda? Well, nothing and everything. I have no idea what kind of basketball player Banda is, but I know that just as defenses in basketball have had to dramatically change their normal styles to defend Curry, so too have they changed in how they defend Banda. If we take a look at some of Banda’s style-of-play statistics from the 2024 regular season and compare them to 2025, we can see the evidence of how defenses are clearly making changes to their positioning and to the space they are allowing Banda to operate in on the field (all data is from fbref.com, all metrics are on a per-90-minute basis except shot distance and expected goals, which are per shot taken):

Metric20242025Difference
Passes Received22.715.7-31%
Progressive Passes Received7.416.57-11%
Shots5.234.14-21%
Shot Distance in Yards14.615.6+7%
Expected Goals0.140.12-14%
Progressive Carries5.803.71-36%
Attempted Take-Ons5.233.14-40%
Touches in the Attacking Third21.918.0-18%
Touches in 1810.68.0-25%
Shot-Creating Actions4.603.58-22%

I called these her style-of-play statistics because I think these describe what she is doing on the field and where she is doing it, or in this case, not doing it as much as she was doing it in 2024.

Let’s start with the top two: passes received and progressive passes received per 90 minutes. The Pride are completing nearly the same number of passes per 90 minutes in 2025 (357.3) as they did in 2024 (364.4), but Banda is receiving 31% fewer passes this season than she did last season. She is also receiving 11% fewer progressive passes, which are passes of 10 yards or more that move the ball closer to the goal in the attacking area of the field. Banda is healthy and still in her athletic prime, so it is not that she has lost a step and is unable to run as she did in 2024, but it is clear that opponents are making concerted efforts to track her more closely and deny her the ball all over the field.

Receiving the ball less often certainly contributes to taking fewer shots, and, unsurprisingly, Banda is taking approximately 1.1 fewer shots per 90 minutes thus far this season. In addition, she is, on average, taking her shots from 7% farther (not further, thank you, Finding Forrester) away from the goal and from areas of the field which historically have produced fewer goals, as evidenced by the decrease in expected goals per shot. I did not include her conversion rates on her shots in this table, because that is not about style of play and rather about her proficiency. It is interesting, however, to note that her proficiency is nearly exactly the same: shots on target percentage of 44.6% in 2024 and 44.8% in 2025 and a slight increase in goals per shot from 13% in 2024 to 14% in 2025. It is not that Banda’s skill has diminished, it is how her opponents are changing the geometry of their defense.

The biggest drops from year to year tie right into this, which are Banda’s 36% decrease in progressive carries per 90 minutes (progressive carries are the dribbling equivalent of progressive passes received, when a player dribbles the ball for 10 or more yards towards the goal in the attacking area of the field) and 40% decrease in attempted take-ons. Teams are simply not allowing her to get a head of steam and get into space like they did last season, to the tune of two fewer progressive carries per 90 minutes and two fewer attempted take-ons PER MATCH. Banda has actually been slightly more successful in her take-ons in 2025 (50% success vs 47.5% success in 2024), but as teams are working to have her receive the ball in less dangerous places she is choosing not to try to take on a defender as often and is less often able to receive the ball and turn on the burners towards the goal.

With fewer passes received and fewer progressive carries she is also not touching the ball as often in the opponents’ attacking third and 18-yard box, which ties back to the reduction in shots taken, and also the final metric, shot-creating actions. Banda was fourth in the NWSL last season with nearly five shot-creating actions per game, and she has dropped to 16th this season with only 3.58 thus far. Being in the top 20 is still excellent, but goals generally come from shots, and Banda’s shot creation is down through seven games. The eye test does not reveal a player who is tentative or shying away from trying to create. I think she is just being defended differently, and as yet she has not unlocked a good counter.

Even with all of this said, it is not like Banda is having a bad year or is in any danger of losing her starting role. She has dropped in shot-creating actions, but she is making use of the ones she does create, ranking fourth in goal-creating actions by averaging 0.72 per 90 minutes. She is also fifth in goals scored per 90 minutes and third in goals scored. Her goal output is also lower in 2025 than it was in 2024, but as I noted, it is still better than most of the league’s offensive players.

Increasing her output is partly on her and partly on her teammates, as they need to work together to counteract how Banda is being defended by making some changes of their own. The losses of Adriana to a new team and Julie Doyle and Summer Yates to injury have hurt the offense, as the attack cannot build on all the cohesion that those players built with Banda last season, and Ally Watt and Angelina have not contributed as much as was expected, at least not yet. As The Mane Land’s Dave Rohe said on this week’s SkoPurp Soccer podcast though, all of this is true and the team is still tied for first place and tied for the league lead in goals scored.

The Pride have two tough games coming up — on the road at North Carolina, always a tough opponent, and then at home against Kansas City, the team currently tied with Orlando at the top of the table. Winning both games will be an acute challenge, but if the Pride can do that they will create a degree of space at the top of the table, though it would be more of an algebraic than a geometric sequence, since they would be adding three points and then another three points.

Whether algebraic or geometric, the Pride will continue to work to calculus, sorry…calculate, how best to sequence their offense to unlock Banda and improve an offense that, excluding own goals, has scored only six times in their last six games. They will surely be considering all the angles in practice this week, but let’s hope that in the end the angle they choose to go with for their offensive strategy is right.

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Orlando Pride Depth Tested Early This Season

The Pride are being forced to test their newly acquired depth early in the 2025 NWSL season.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride started a full rebuild in 2022, which culminated in the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship in 2024. With the core of the team well set, Haley Carter and Seb Hines began work on building depth in the squad. Early this season, that work is being put to the test.

Just seven games into the 2025 NWSL season, the Pride have already suffered several key injuries. The first occurred in the NWSL regular season opener when midfielder Julie Doyle suffered a knee injury 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute. The following week, Rafaelle was replaced at halftime. Hines insisted it was precautionary, but the center back has yet to return.

Summer Yates, expected by many to replace Marta when the club captain retires, was injured on April 12 while assisting Barbara Banda’s game-winning goal in Seattle. The most recent injury occurred Saturday night when starting goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was kicked in the head by Mimi Alidou in the 47th minute, forcing her departure from the game.

The Pride did suffer a key injury last season when Rafaelle was injured during the Summer Olympics while representing Brazil. However, the solution was rather simple as Emily Sams moved to center back and Cori Dyke took over at right back. Despite being a rookie, Dyke was exceptional the remainder of the season, securing the starting right back spot through the NWSL Championship.

Neither Doyle nor Yates were starters at the beginning of the season. While Doyle has started many games for the Pride in her career, Hines has gone to Ally Watt and Angelina as the outside attacking midfielders. But with Angelina playing regularly for Brazil, Doyle and Yates were expected to play significant roles during the season.

Fortunately, the Pride were well prepared for this situation. They signed Zambian internationals Prisca Chilufya and Grace Chanda, who have filled those roles so far this season. Both are more than capable of starting for the Pride and filling the gaps left by Angelina and Watt when necessary.

Rafaelle is a more significant injury for the Pride. Her replacement in the lineup was a simple decision. Sams is a natural center back and started most of the 2024 games alongside Kylie Nadaner. The duo was arguably the best center back pairing in the league last season, resulting in Sams being awarded NWSL Defender of the Year. The bigger issue was who would be behind the starters.

Dyke and starting left back Kerry Abello both played games at center back last season. It wasn’t a completely foreign position for them as they’d spent time there in college. However, moving your starting right back or left back to the central defender position is less than ideal. Preferably, you would have a player able to come off the bench and replace Sams and Nadaner when needed.

Hines showed his preference Saturday night when Nadaner was given the night off. Rookie Zara Chavoshi had played minimal minutes this season, taking part in only two games. However, the Pride boss decided to throw the 22-year-old into the fire, giving her the first start of her professional career. Making the decision more questionable was sending her into arguably the league’s most hostile atmosphere at a venue where the Pride have only claimed points once.

Despite the tough circumstances, the rookie defender did very well, holding her own. It was a valuable experience for the young center back, who will likely be called upon again as the season continues.

“Giving Zara the first opportunity to start the game in a hostile environment and get tested in certain situations, I thought she did very well for her first NWSL start,” Hines said of his rookie center back after the game.

The final injury occurred during the game Saturday night when Moorhouse suffered an injury. The shot stopper has been the Pride’s number one since Erin McLeod left the club following the 2022 NWSL season. There was only one choice as her replacement, the team’s backup goalkeeper the past two seasons. While it was McKinley Crone’s first appearance in an NWSL game, it wasn’t her first appearance for the team.

The Maitland, FL native originally joined the club in 2023 as a preseason non-roster invitee. She was signed as a National Team Replacement Player later that season, but didn’t make any appearances. The club signed Finnish goalkeeper Sofia Manner prior to the 2024 campaign, putting Crone’s future with the club into question. But Crone beat out her Finnish teammate to earn the backup spot behind Moorhouse.

Crone made her professional debut last season during the NWSL X Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup against the North Carolina Courage. The game ended 1-1, with the Pride losing 5-4 on penalties. It was the last appearance by Crone, as Manner and Moorhouse started the other two Summer Cup games. Saturday night may not have been her first professional appearance, but it was unquestionably her most significant.

The 26-year-old goalkeeper wasn’t forced to do much, saving the only shot she faced. Despite the lack of action, it was good for the Pride to get their backup some meaningful minutes in case Moorhouse is called into international duty or is unable to return next week.

“Mac’s been waiting a long time for that opportunity,” Hines said. “It’s in a way that we didn’t want it to happen. Obviously, you never want to see a player get injured. But Mac’s been patient waiting for this opportunity and I thought she did well when she came on.”

So far, the Pride have passed the test. While they’re not on a record-breaking unbeaten run like last year, they sit tied with the Kansas City Current atop the NWSL standings. The two teams are tied in every way, with the same record, the same number of goals scored, and the same number of goals conceded.

The recent experiences of the Pride reserves should only help the team moving forward. Whether Hines wants to provide more rest for his starters before the playoffs, someone gets injured, or international callups result in missing players, the Pride coach must have more confidence now that he can plug in less experienced players and trust them to do the job. That will only benefit the Pride as they look to defend their crown as NWSL champions.

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