Orlando Pride
2023 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Carly Nelson
Nelson replaced Erin McLeod on the roster and settled into the backup role.
The Orlando Pride signed goalkeeper Carly Nelson prior to the 2023 season on Jan. 29. The former Kansas City goalkeeper signed through the 2024 season to replace former goalkeeper Erin McLeod, who left the NWSL in the off-season. Nelson had spent the previous two seasons on loan with Danish top-tier side FC Nordsjælland. After arriving in Orlando, Nelson took part in a goalkeeper battle with Anna Moorhouse and Kaylie Collins and eventually emerged as the Pride’s second option in the position.
Let’s take a look at the goalkeeper’s first season with the Orlando Pride.
Statistical Breakdown
Nelson appeared in three matches during the NWSL regular season (two starts), logging 265 minutes. She backstopped the Pride to a record of 1-2-0, allowing four goals, making 10 saves on 14 shots, and finishing with a 71.4% save percentage. Nelson did not record a clean sheet. She completed 35% of her long passes, 85.3% of her passes in the defensive half and 37.5% in the attacking half (and yeah, it’s weird to see a goalkeeper in the attacking half but it happens on occasion during sustained possession). She did not commit or draw a foul on the season and was not booked.
In the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup, Nelson played in one match, which she started and went the full 90 minutes, making her Pride debut against the North Carolina Courage on April 19, a 1-1 draw at home. She saved five of the six shots she faced in that match for an 83.3% save percentage. Nelson passed at an 81.5% rate in her own half and 14.3% in the opposing half, connecting on 38.9% of her 11 long pass attempts. She did not commit or draw a foul and was not booked.
Best Game
It’s tempting to take Nelson’s lone victory as her best game, but she was only called upon twice against the Courage on Sept. 17 and saved one of the two Courage shots on target. I’m going with her performance on Sept. 3 in a 1-0 road loss to OL Reign. Nelson was forced into action when Moorhouse made a terrible challenge on a Reign break and was sent off in the third minute — an NWSL record for the earliest sending off. Nelson had to come off the bench in a vital game in the playoff race with her team a player down. She handled the pressure well, despite often being under siege, stopping six of the seven shots on target she faced.
She did have one key mistake when her pass attempt for Kylie Strom resulted in a turnover and that led to the game’s only goal. There wasn’t much she could do about Jordyn Huitema’s 49th-minute goal, as she was recovering from knocking a dangerous cross away, but it was an attack of her own making. Her only real mistake was a costly one, but it’s hard to fault a player for making one after not playing in a match for almost five months. Regardless, she handled herself well overall in a high-pressure situation, facing 18 total shots under a relentless Reign attack. Her save percentage for the game was 85.71% in her 85 minutes on the field. In that time, she showed her shot-stopping ability with some beauties, including these:
2023 Final Grade
The Mane Land staff gave Nelson a composite rating of 6 out of 10 for the 2023 season. Her performance against OL Reign after coming off the bench rusty was impressive and she beat the North Carolina Courage in her next outing, subbing for the suspended Moorhouse. After facing 61 shots in just four matches across all competitions and conceding just five total goals, Nelson perhaps earned more playing time than she received in her first year with Orlando.
2024 Outlook
Nelson is signed through the 2024 season, but the Pride re-signed Moorhouse through the 2025 season on Oct. 5. This unfortunately came one day before Moorhouse punched a Racing Louiville corner kick cross into her own net for a game-deciding own goal. Unless she is selected by Utah in the upcoming NWSL Expansion Draft (the Pride traded a draft pick to Bay FC for expansion protection from the newest California club), I would expect Nelson to remain the Pride’s backup goalkeeper during the 2024 season. If Moorhouse continues to struggle with drops in the box on crosses and long-range shots, the Pride at least know there’s a solid option waiting on the bench.