Orlando Pride Defensive Success is a Team Effort

The Orlando Pride are off to their best start in team history with a six-game winning streak and nine-game unbeaten run to begin the 2024 NWSL season. Much has been made of the development of second-year attacker Summer Yates and the arrival of Barbra Banda, but the team’s strength has been its defense.

During the current six-game winning streak, four of the games have been shutouts, including the last two games. It’s been necessary in those contests, because the team has won each of those four games 1-0. Much of that success can be credited to the back line, primarily consisting of Kerry Abello, Kylie Strom, Rafaelle, and Emily Sams. While the credit will largely go to the defenders, keeping the opposition off of the scoresheet is a team effort.

“I think when you say defense, you talk about the whole team, because the work that everyone is doing to keep the clean sheet is unbelievable,” Head Coach Seb Hines said after the 1-0 win over Bay FC Saturday night. “You know, it starts from the front and having the structure and the organization from the front and reading those triggers, and obviously you talk about midfield and then the back line and goalkeeper. You know, it’s a real togetherness to keep the ball out of the net.”

As Hines said, the defensive effort begins up front. The Pride have been using a high press on the opposing back line to put them under pressure as soon as they lose possession of the ball. That strategy has resulted in several turnovers over the past few weeks and created chances for the Pride.

Additionally, the speed in their Pride’s attack is unrivaled by other NWSL sides. The typical attacking midfield includes Julie Doyle and Adriana, two players that possess tremendous speed and a willingness to attack opposing defenses. Hines also recently made a tactical change that proved successful. Usually deploying a 4-2-3-1 formation, we’ve seen a 4-4-2 at times with Banda and Ally Watt — arguably the fastest player in the league — as the striking pair. The duo’s speed has enabled the Pride to quickly counterattack. As a result, opposing teams have to be careful with how many players they send forward.

“Our forwards work so hard, our midfielders work so hard to put some pressure on, make it predictable, and make it easy for us to read the play and step in,” Strom said about how the back line benefits from the pressure. “So it’s a team effort and it feels good.”

As Strom states, the pressure the forwards and midfielders provide, as well as the transitional threat, makes the job of defending much easier on the back line. They’re less likely to deal with opposing counterattacks. But the back line has stood strong when the opposition has gotten into positive positions in the final third. In the same way the attackers assist the defenders, the strength of the back line makes it easier for the attacking players.

“Our back line has also been phenomenal helping us not conceding, so then we are able with our players, Marta, Summer, everyone, to be able to defend and help,” Adriana said about the team effort. “And also us, in the attacking side, be able to go fast and work on transition. So we can also help the team that way.”

Hines said everyone buying into the system and their specific role is another reason why the team has been so solid defensively. When the young head coach took over in 2022, it was obvious the players bought into his style of coaching. They would frequently repeat his teachings, something rarely seen under previous coaches. There have been multiple changes to the squad since then, but the newer arrivals still buy into the team-wide effort taught by the former center back.

“Everyone has a responsibility out of possession and you can see that the work ethic and the attitude and the desire to put teams under pressure and win the ball and then you know, again, being threatening in transition if we win it. Can we have a mindset of going to the other side and being threatening in goal scoring opportunities,” Hines said about his team’s mentality. “So I can’t just pinpoint on the back line, because they are doing a great job, but it’s the whole team. Everyone’s doing their role.”

Most of the focus is on the team’s current form because of the Pride’s success, which has pushed them to the top of the NWSL standings. But they’ve been successful in limiting scoring opportunities all season. As we near the midpoint of the season, the Pride have only conceded seven goals in nine games. That’s second in the league behind San Diego Wave FC, which has conceded six goals. However, the Wave have only scored seven goals and the Pride have netted 15. Their goal difference of +8 is also second in the league to the Kansas City Current (+9). Unsurprisingly, the Pride and Current are currently battling for the top spot in the NWSL standings.

As the season continues, the Pride’s defensive efforts will be crucial to their success. The team has been much better this year in putting shots on target. But you can’t always depend on goals to carry a team through. The Pride had far more shots (18-6) and shots on target (18-4) Saturday night, but Bay FC goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland had a career day with nine saves. The defending keeps the team in games and enables Orlando to win in different ways.

The Pride’s attack has been unpredictable this season. After netting two in the first game against Racing Louisville FC, they scored a single goal in each of their subsequent four games. In back-to-back wins over the Washington Spirit and North Carolina Courage, the Pride scored seven goals, outscoring the first five games combined. But the two most recent wins have been 1-0 nail biters.

“I think it allows us to be somewhat unpredictable,” Hines said. “I think, going back to the North Carolina game, it was very much a transition type of game. Being defensively solid to then transition and, whether it’s half the field or full field transition, we always feel like we can be threatening in the attack. It’s a great mix of being adaptable to what the game gives you.”

What has been predictable is the team-wide defensive effort. In addition to the four clean sheets, the Pride have only conceded once in three other games. The only two times they’ve conceded multiple goals were the 2-2 draw against Louisville and the 3-2 win over the Spirit. And the Spirit only scored twice because of the ball slipping through the hands of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse on a relatively innocuous shot.

The Pride currently sit atop the NWSL standings with 21 points from their first nine games. After narrowly missing out on the playoffs in 2023, they could be contenders for the NWSL shield this season, which would be the team’s first trophy. If they continue to play as well defensively as they have so far, that result is a legitimate possibility.