Orlando Pride Sign Maliah Morris and McKinley Crone to National Team Replacement Contracts

The Orlando Pride announced the signing of forward Maliah Morris and goalkeeper McKinley Crone today to national team replacement contracts. The pair will take the roster spots of forwards Marta and Adriana, who have been selected to represent Brazil in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Morris and Crone will be available for selection for tomorrow night’s Challenge Cup game against NJ/NY Gotham FC at Exploria Stadium.

“Maliah and Mac have been putting in a tremendous amount of work this season and we are proud to see their hard work rewarded with these contracts,” Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Haley Carter said. “We’re excited for Maliah to add another element to our attack, while Mac will continue pushing our goalkeeping corps as she has done since joining us in preseason.”

This is the second short-term contract that Morris has signed with the Pride this year. After spending the preseason with the Pride, the Clemson University alum was signed as an injury replacement player when Julie Doyle landed on the 45-day disabled list for an ankle injury suffered against Angel City FC on April 2.

During her first stint with the team, Morris made two substitute appearances in the Challenge Cup. She played the final 19 minutes against the North Carolina Courage on April 19 and the final 29 minutes against the Washington Spirit on May 10. Prior to joining the Pride this preseason, Morris was named 2022 Third Team All-ACC, 2021-2022 United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-Atlantic Region, and twice ACC Offensive Player of the Week.

This is Crone’s first professional contract, though she’s also been training with the team since preseason. The Maitland native played at the University of Alabama, where she set the NCAA record for goalkeeping minutes. She finished her collegiate career with her school’s record in single-season wins (10), shutouts, (23), and career wins (41).

What This Means for Orlando

It was expected that both Marta and Adriana would be selected by Brazil Head Coach Pia Sundhage for the upcoming World Cup. Morris’ selection isn’t a surprise because she’s a forward and can play in the midfield, making her a natural replacement for Marta and Adriana. She also previously signed a short-term contract, making her an easy fit in the squad.

The signing of Crone is surprising because the Pride already have three goalkeepers in Anna Moorhouse, Carly Nelson, and Kaylie Collins. The expectation would’ve been that the club would sign another attacking player as a like-for-like replacement, or a defender if the club felt they needed more depth in those positions.

Regardless, the signings likely won’t have much of an impact on the team while the Brazilians are gone. Anyone signed to these contracts would likely be down the depth chart and unlikely to see a lot of playing time. Morris did play 48 minutes earlier this season, but that was largely because of a lengthy injury list that included attackers Doyle, Kerry Abello, and Haley Bugeja. Recently, the only Pride player injured has been Carrie Lawrence, who’s out for the season with a knee injury.