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Challenge Cup Shows Orlando Pride’s Need for Adriana and Marta

The Pride have had trouble with their shooting accuracy, but that should change when Marta and Adriana return.

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1 year ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

The Pride lost fewer players to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup than most NWSL sides, only losing two players that were with the team prior to the tournament. However, after winning two consecutive league games, the team has struggled to find the target during the past three Challenge Cup matches. The recent performances have shown that the two Brazilians can’t return soon enough.

The best example of how much the Pride have missed Adriana and Marta was on display Saturday night in a 1-0 loss to the Washington Spirit. Using a heavily rotated lineup, the Pride dominated the 90 minutes with 56.3% possession and out-shot their opponents, 25-7. However, while the Spirit put two of their seven shots on target, the Pride only hit the frame seven times. The lack of finishing allowed Washington to remain in the game, eventually finding a winner in second-half injury time.

While the Pride had a rotated lineup, they used several players that have contributed to regular-season games. Julie Doyle started in the midfield, as she has been since returning from injury, and Ally Watt started up top. Messiah Bright, the usual starting striker, came on at halftime for Watt.

Spirit goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart had an excellent game, but the Pride weren’t anywhere close to clinical in front of goal. Only six of their 25 shots Saturday night were taken from outside of the box and seven were taken from closer than the penalty spot. And yet, only seven of their 25 shots were on frame. That’s not good enough in a game where you’re creating the majority of the chances.

“We had a good performance and we need to work on putting the ball in the back of the net,” midfielder Kerry Abello said after the game. “I think that’s where we focus because we’re creating chances.”

“I felt that there was goals on the table (Friday),” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines added. “You know, we’ve walked away with no goals. So that’s an area that we need to improve on. We need to score goals when we’re so dominant in the game.”

Part of the problem at the moment might be depending on young players. The team’s strikers include Bright, Watt, and Doyle. Bright is in her rookie season and Doyle is in her second professional campaign. Watt is the most experienced of the three, but has been injured during much of her career.

The Pride caught a break when Brazil had a disappointing World Cup, getting eliminated in the group stage for the first time since 1995. Two of the players on that team are Pride attackers Adriana and Marta. They’ve been the two most important offensive players for the Pride this season and can be back with the team before it restarts regular-season play on Aug. 20.

Adriana joined the Pride this past off-season from Corinthians and the 26-year-old immediately became a key part of the attack. She got off to a bit of a slow start to her Pride career, often looking too much for her teammates. That changed when the Pride took on the San Diego Wave on April 29 in California. It was the first win of the season, the first result of a four-game unbeaten run, and Adriana scored her first NWSL goal.

“We had spoke to her about being more selfish, taking on players, getting more shots off,” Hines said after that game. “She has a terrific shot. And it’s getting her to use it more often.”

The other returning Brazilian is the Pride’s all-time leading goal scorer. Despite playing primarily as a 10 rather than a striker, Marta has scored 29 goals in her Pride career, more than U.S. international Alex Morgan during her six years in Orlando.

This season, Adriana and Marta have been two of the leading attackers on the team. Bright leads the team with four goals, but Adriana is right behind her with three and Marta has two. The only other player with multiple regular-season goals this year is Doyle, who also has two.

Arguably more important is the number of shots these players have put on goal during regular season games. Bright has put nine of her 24 shots on target (37.5%) and Doyle has put five of her 11 shots on target (45.5%). Meanwhile, Adriana has put 15 of 28 shots on frame (53.5%) and Marta nine of 12 shots on goal (75%). These numbers show that the pair of Brazilians have been more efficient than the younger players.

There will be games when Bright and Doyle will rise to the occasion and lead the team to victory. In the first game after the departure of the Brazilians, Doyle scored a brace inside the first 16 minutes of a 3-0 win over the Spirit. She assisted Bright the next weekend, a 1-0 win over OL Reign. But there have been few of those moments.

The team has struggled since those back-to-back wins. In the three Challenge Cup games during the World Cup break, the Pride have only scored one goal, a Megan Montefusco header against NJ/NY Gotham FC on July 23. More concerning than their lack of goals is that only 11 of their 42 shots have been on target.

With Brazil’s 2023 World Cup campaign over, the Pride will welcome three of the participants back to the starting lineup. Arguably the most important players will be the attacking threats of Adriana and Marta. The lack of finishing during the past few games has been troubling, a fact the players and coaches have said needs to change. It should with the return of their experience attacking threats.

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Rafaelle

The Brazilian’s season was plagued by injury problems but she played well when healthy.

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19 hours ago

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December 18, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride signed Rafaelle on July 3, 2023 to a contract running through the 2025 NWSL season. The Brazilian international joined the Pride after the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, partnering with Emily Sams (then still known as Emily Madril) at center back and becoming a key member of the starting lineup, as the Pride fell just short of the NWSL playoffs on the goal differential tiebreaker.

Rafaelle’s second season was marred by injuries, including one she sustained while helping Brazil reach the Gold Medal game at the Summer Olympics that kept her out the rest of the 2024 NWSL season. She also missed the first four matches of the season and a couple of games in the early summer due to injury.

It’s time to look back at her injury-marred second season with the Pride.

Statistical Breakdown

Injuries limited Rafaelle to just nine appearances (six starts) for the Pride in 2024 — all in the regular season, in which she played a total of just 618 minutes. The Brazilian defender did not record a goal contribution in 2024, attempting three shots and putting one on target. She completed 86% of her 324 passes without a key pass or successful cross, however, she managed to connect on 30 long balls in her short season, which is impressive. Defensively, she contributed nine tackles, nine interceptions, and 23 headed duel wins. She committed four fouls, suffered one, and was booked once.

Due to injury, Rafaelle did not appear in Orlando’s playoff run, and because she was away at the Olympics, Rafaelle also did not participate in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenina Summer Cup.

Best Game

Rafaelle’s best match came in a 1-0 home win over Racing Louisville on May 5. The Brazilian started and went the full 90 minutes with an excellent two-way performance. She didn’t contribute directly to a goal, but she registered a shot, which was her only shot on target of the season, forcing Katie Lund into a save off a free kick about 40 minutes in. She also had a season-high 76 touches and passed at an impressive 93.75% rate on a season-high 63 attempts. Her passing accuracy in the match was her season high for any game in which she played more than 16 minutes. On the defensive end, Rafaelle helped her team keep a clean sheet and chipped in a tackle. She did not commit a foul or get booked in the match. Her strong tackle in the box in the 82nd minute on Reilyn Turner prevented a dangerous shot attempt, helping Anna Moorhouse preserve the shutout and keeping the Pride on top.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gives Rafaelle a composite score of 7 out of 10 for her 2024 season. This is a slight improvement over the 6.5 we gave her last year. As well as the back line played in her absence, it’s easy to forget just how formidable she was while she was on the pitch. The strong partnership between her and Kylie Strom allowed Seb Hines to move Sams to fullback for a time, and that’s a considerable compliment, given the fact that Sams won the 2024 NWSL Defender of the Year Award. The back line continuing to excel in Rafaelle’s absence speaks highly of the group’s performance and the coaching staff’s ability to get the most out of the players.

2025 Outlook

It’s easy to say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” in terms of the Pride’s defense. However, I expect Rafaelle to regain her starting center back spot when healthy. Rafaelle was considered the team’s best center back entering the season and early in 2024, although it’s fair to say Sams and Strom weren’t far behind. Rafaelle is under contract through the 2025 season, so she’ll want to perform well to earn her next deal. At 33 (she’ll turn 34 in June), it’s uncertain how much longer she’ll be able to play at such a high level, but prior to her injury in the Olympics, she was playing excellent soccer (it’s notable that the play she was injured on was a vital challenge for her national team). She is nearly impossible to leave out of the starting XI when fit.

What remains to be seen is how the team accommodates the Brazilian’s return. The most natural center back pairing would be Sams and Rafaelle. That would mean Strom would have to return to left back unless the team adopts a three-player back line. The ripple effect of staying in a traditional four-player back line would potentially mean displacing Kerry Abello, who “only” made the NWSL Best XI Second Team in 2024, or Cori Dyke, who handled some of the league’s best players in the stretch run to Orlando’s NWSL Championship drive. Having to reinsert Rafaelle into the lineup is a good problem for Hines to have, as it may allow him to rotate and rest his center backs more in 2025.

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Emily Sams

A look at the season that finished with Sams as the 2024 NWSL Defender of the Year.

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2 days ago

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December 17, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

The Orlando Pride selected former Florida State defender Emily Madril with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. Sams, a two-time national champion (2018 and 2021), left FSU, signing a contract with the National Women’s Soccer League through 2025 and was loaned to Swedish side BK Hacken FF. After a stellar first year with Orlando, in which she played all but three minutes in the regular season, Sams was rewarded by the Pride with a new contract through 2026.

All that Sams did with that new contract was win NWSL Defender of the Year and help the club win the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship. Let’s take a look at her award-winning second season with the Orlando Pride.

Statistical Breakdown

Sams appeared in 25 games during the regular season, starting 24 and logging 2,185 minutes, which was the most playing time among all outfield players and second only to goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse. The only match she didn’t start and play the entire match was against the Portland Thorns — the game after the Pride won the NWSL Shield.

She scored her first professional goal on two shots — both of which were on target —  and provided three assists in the regular season. Sams completed 1,159 of her 1,314 passes (88%), tallied three key passes, and completed one cross and 83 long balls. Defensively, she contributed 24 tackles and 26 interceptions, winning 31 headed duels. She committed 21 fouls, suffered 21, and was booked twice.

In the NWSL playoffs, Sams started in all three games, logging 270 minutes. She did not score any goals or even take a shot, however she did record an assist. The defender connected on 144 of her 158 postseason passes (91%). Defensively, Sams contributed four tackles and three interceptions but did not commit any fouls, nor was she booked.

Sams did not make any appearances in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup as she was with the USWNT at the 2024 Olympics.

Best Game

You might think that if a defender scores a goal in a match, that would be their best match — especially if it is that player’s first professional goal, and it’s an absolute banger like Sams scored in the Pride’s 3-2 victory over Seattle Reign FC on May 19.

However, that wasn’t her best match, though it was a good performance. Naturally, the defender of the year had plenty of great matches to choose from. Her performance in the title match earned her Player of the Match on SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast, but her best match was actually the Pride’s first match of the season.

The Pride went down two goals and ultimately went down to 10 players when Kylie Strom received a second yellow. The team was able to come back thanks to an own goal before Strom was off and a goal from Summer Yates after. For 28 minutes of normal time, plus 12 minutes of stoppage time, the Pride defense held Louisville in check while down a player.

Sams was the leader of the defense in that match logging five tackles and two interceptions, while committing one foul. She was 48 of 52 (93%) passing, with 70 touches and played the entire match. Sams wasn’t culpable on either of Louisville’s goals.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gives Sams a composite rating of 9 out of 10 for the 2024 season. It’s a big jump from the 6.5 we gave her last season, but it’s easy to see why. The Pride made the decision to build the defense around Sams when they drafted her, and it paid dividends in 2024. The NWSL Defender of the Year wore a Pride uniform, and helped her club win two trophies as the number one defense in the league. It’s hard to ask for more than that.

2025 Outlook

It might be difficult for Sams to top her 2024 season, but I know that she will try in the second year of her current contract. As unlikely as it might seem, Sams might be able to improve in 2025. It’s amazing to think that it will only be her third professional season. As good as she’s been, there’s still room for her to grow her game. Depending on which players are available, Sams may play either center back or fullback. No matter which position she plays, she will be a leader and will anchor the back line that will try to defend the club’s first titles.

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Angelina

Angelina was a key player during her first season with the Pride.

Published

3 days ago

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December 16, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

The Orlando Pride signed defensive midfielder Angelina on Dec. 13, 2023 as a restricted free agent. It was a three-year deal through the 2026 season and the Brazilian international quickly became a key part of the starting lineup. A surgical procedure early in the season kept her out for five games and she played for Brazil at the 2024 Summer Olympics, but she was present for the final stretch of the season.

Let’s take a look at Angelina’s first season in Orlando.

Statistical Breakdown

Angelina was a key player in the Pride’s starting lineup, taking up her spot in the defensive midfield. 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. 

The midfielder made 21 appearances in the NWSL regular season, starting 16 games and recording 1,487 minutes. Of her 11 shots, six were on target and she scored two goals. Additionally, she completed 82% of her 849 passes, including two assists, three key passes, and three crosses. Defensively, Angelina had 39 successful tackles, 21 headed duels won, and 14 interceptions on the year. She committed 19 fouls, suffered 22, and was booked once.

In the playoffs, Angelina started all three games, recording 266 minutes. She put one of her four shots on target and didn’t score, but completed 80% of her 116 passes and assisted Barbra Banda’s game-winning goal in the NWSL Championship. She was also active defensively in the postseason, completing 10 tackles and making seven interceptions. She committed two fouls in the playoffs, suffered one, and was booked once.

Best Game

Angelina had several games where she was a force going forward, assisting in the buildup to goals and completing a high percentage of her passes. However, her best game was in the NWSL semifinal against the Kansas City Current and it was because of her defensive play. The midfielder only completed 64% of her 41 passes — a low number for her — and took one off-target shot. However, she played a strong defensive game.

The Pride went down a goal in the 33rd minute, but equalized shortly before halftime. A Banda goal early in the second half gave the Pride the lead and they had to stand tall defensively. That’s when Angelina made her biggest impact, touching the ball 61 times while recording three tackles and a season-high six interceptions. Her play in the defensive midfield had a significant impact on the Pride holding on for the win and reaching the NWSL Championship for the first time in club history.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Angelina a composite grade of 8 out of 10 for her first season with the club. She helped the Pride control the midfield all season, a major reason why they were unbeaten in their first 23 regular-season games. Her contributions to the attack helped the Pride outscore opponents when needed, and her defensive prowess contributed to the best defense in the NWSL. She brought stability and a sense of calm to Orlando’s midfield all season. For these reasons, we considered her one of the best players on the team for 2024.

2025 Outlook

Angelina signed a three-year deal prior to the 2024 NWSL season, keeping her in purple through the 2026 NWSL season. She proved herself to be an essential part of the starting lineup, often serving as the team’s best defensive midfielder and a key link between the back line and the attackers. Provided she is healthy, the Brazilian will remain a regular starter and a key player in the team moving forward.

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