Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride Midseason Review: Metrics and Milestones

With half of the NWSL season in the rearview mirror, it is time to take a look at how the league table and individual leaderboards are shaping up.

Published

2 years ago

June 26, 2024

Sam Denker

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride.

The NWSL season is just over halfway complete, and the Orlando Pride show no signs of slowing down. With nine wins, five draws, and no losses, they continue to rewrite club and league record books. While there is everything left to play for, this piece will serve as a retrospective on the Pride’s performances and results in the NWSL so far. It will look at notable statistics for the players and the club, as well as highlighting the records and milestones already surpassed by the midpoint of the 2024 season.

Fixture Results and the NWSL Table

Despite the incredible first half of the season for Orlando, the Pride are not the only undefeated team in the league. A look at the league table below shows Orlando and the Kansas City Current tied at the top with identical records, though the Current claim first place due to the goal-differential tiebreaker.

It seemed that the Pride had closed the gap in goal differential with their recent 6-0 win over Utah Royals FC, but the Current then followed Orlando’s lead with a 4-1 road win over the Portland Thorns. Hot on the heels of the teams tied at the top are the Washington Spirit and the NJ/NY Gotham FC side they defeated on Sunday.

NWSL Table and Pride Fixture Results

Points	Club	Home Result	Away Result
32	Kansas City Current
32	Orlando Pride	—	—
31	Washington Spirit		3-2
27	NJ/NY Gotham FC
23	Portland Thorns	2-1
19	North Carolina Courage	4-1	0-0
17	Chicago Red Stars	1-1
16	Racing Louisville FC	1-0	2-2
15	San Diego Wave FC	1-0	1-1
15	Angel City FC	1-1
15	Bay FC	1-0
14	Houston Dash
9	Seattle Reign		3-2
7	Utah Royals FC	6-0	1-0

The 26-match NWSL regular season is formatted so that each team plays each other twice — once at home and once on the road. The table above illustrates that the Pride have played more matches at home and more matches against the middle of the table than the top. However, while the Pride have yet to play either Kansas City or Gotham, wins against Washington and Portland do show that the Pride are beating some of the league’s better teams during their undefeated run.

Even after the 6-0 thrashing of Utah on Friday, the 3-2 win against the Spirit may stand as the most impressive result so far. Fans will remember that game as Barbra Banda’s full debut. With a goal, assist, and penalty drawn on the night, she started her career at the blistering pace that has continued since.

Pride Players on the Leaderboards

Orlando’s place at the top of the table has all the hallmarks of sustained success, with an emphasis on defense and the ability to overcome absences around the pitch. To go along with their league position, Pride players are also among league leaders for defensive performances and goal contributions.

Defensively, the Pride’s 11 conceded goals are tied with Gotham for the fewest goals allowed in the league, and their six clean sheets are tied with the Houston Dash for most in the league. The defense has been critical to preventing opposition chances, and Anna Moorhouse has been a solid shot stopper. Her 41 saves, at an impressive 80% save rate, are enough for fourth in the league. Houston’s Jane Campbell leads all goalkeepers with 67 saves.

Another key to the defensive rigidity has been the availability and adaptability of several defensive standouts. The table below shows Orlando’s leaders in minutes played, headlined by Moorhouse, the only player who has played every minute.

Minutes Leaders for the Pride

Player	Minutes Played (Percent of Available Minutes)
Anna Moorhouse	1260 (100%)
Emily Sams	1170 (93%)
Kerry Abello	1163 (92%)
Kylie Strom	1141 (91%)
Haley McCutcheon	1099 (87%)

Below Moorhouse, the rest of the top five players in minutes played have all started at multiple positions and thrived. The value of being able to deploy Kylie Strom and Emily Sams at center back or fullback, Kerry Abello at fullback or anywhere else, and Haley McCutcheon at fullback or midfield can’t be overstated.

At the other end of the pitch, Banda is putting together a historic run. With 10 goals scored in just 10 matches, she’s tied with Sophia Smith for the most in the NWSL. Banda is particularly lethal with her headers — her five headed goals have already broken the Pride’s record for all-time headed goals in just half of a season.

Banda’s five assists also place her on the league leaderboard behind Spirit rookie Croix Bethune, who has nine, and Smith and Temwa Chawinga, who both have six. Despite dominating the headlines, Banda isn’t the only cog making the Orlando Pride machine run. Orlando’s attacking midfield pair of Marta and Summer Yates have contributed four goals each. Julie Doyle and Ally Watt have each added two goals as well. Behind Banda, Abello has contributed two assists, and no other player has had more than one, as the attacking buildup play has been spread throughout the squad.

One of the underappreciated aspects of Orlando’s season has been the development of talent acquired through the NWSL draft. While not every drafted player stars immediately, Head Coach Seb Hines has a proven track record of developing players to contribute. To show this development, the table below includes nine players drafted over the previous three seasons who have debuted for Orlando. The minutes these draftees have played in the NWSL is then tallied as a percentage of the full season to track each players’ involvement from year to year.

Pride Draftee Development by Season

Player	First Year Percentage of Minutes Played	Second Year Percentage of Minutes Played	Third Year Percentage of Minutes Played
Julie Doyle	35%	42%	67%
Mikayla Cluff	47%	76%	Traded
Emily Sams	100%	93%	–
Summer Yates	6%	56%	–
Bri Martinez	2%	55%	–
Messiah Bright	69%	Traded	–
Ally Lemos	23%	–	–
Cori Dyke	20%	–	–
Alex Kerr	1%	–	–

Starting with the 2022 rookie class, Doyle shows the trajectory any coach would hope for. She has been rewarded for her year-over-year improvement with more involvement each season. Cluff was on a similar trajectory before her trade to Utah. While she no longer plays for the Pride, her development in Orlando increased her value and the returns for the Pride when she was traded.

The 2023 rookie class was signed to contribute immediately, as shown by the large minute shares garnered by Emily Sams and Messiah Bright in their first seasons. While Bright requested a trade before year two, Sams is just as important for the club in her second season. She has played almost every minute since being drafted, showing her fitness and importance to the team.

Yates and Brianna Martinez, on the other hand, show a different path to impacting the club. While their involvement in 2023 was minimal, they worked hard on their fitness and skills in the off-season and have played bigger roles in 2024, earning the trust of Hines. (Note: Martinez was drafted by Louisville, but signed by Orlando in early 2023 after not catching on with that club.)

This growth is something the new rookies should be keen to learn from. Both Ally Lemos and Cori Dyke are featuring periodically from the bench. The plan is that exposure now hastens their development into key players one to two years down the road.

All in all, Hines and his staff have a track record of improving players and maximizing the roster. It will be up to the rookies and younger players to make the most of the opportunities in front of them.

Milestones and Records Broken in 2024

Marta continues to surpass her own milestones. Every match she plays grows the club record for all-time appearances, standing now at 132. Her goals against Utah also extended the club record for career goals to 35.
Banda has set the club record for braces in a season with four. Is it only a matter of time until she achieves the first Pride hat trick?
Friday against Utah, Orlando set team records for goals scored and winning margin with six each. This surpassed the previous records set in a 5-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars in 2023.
Earlier in 2024, Orlando set the NWSL record for consecutive wins with eight by defeating Portland at home. The streak ended with the Pride’s draw at San Diego Wave.
The Pride continue to extend their team-best undefeated streak, which sits at 15 games and dates back to the final day of 2023.
Orlando’s 0-0 draw against the North Carolina Courage on June 15 marked the end of a 16-match scoring streak, which was a new club record.
Orlando has 32 points in NWSL play and is rapidly closing in on the club’s best single-season points total of 40, set in 2017. Just three wins from the final 12 games would be enough to exceed the current record.

As the numbers and milestones show, Orlando is having a historic season in the NWSL. In post-match interviews however, the players and staff repeatedly make it clear that the club’s biggest goals are still ahead of it.

Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride Sign Jamaican International Forward Solai Washington

The Pride add attacking depth by signing former Florida State forward Solai Washington.

Published

2 days ago

January 19, 2026

Michael Citro

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The Orlando Pride announced today that the club has signed Jamaican international forward Solai Washington. The former Florida State Seminole through the 2027 season with a mutual option for the 2028 season.

“Solai is a player we’ve had an eye on for a while during her two years in college,” Orlando Pride head coach Seb Hines said in a club press release. “Her composure on the ball, her ability to break lines, and the maturity she showed at Florida State make her a fantastic fit for what we’re building here. She brings energy, versatility, and a real competitive edge, which is what we look for in players. We’re excited to have her here in Orlando and to see the impact she can make in our environment both on and off the field.”

The 20-year-old attacker from Atlanta made 35 appearances in her two years in Tallahassee, scoring eight goals and adding four assists while helping the Seminoles win the 2025 NCAA national championship and the 2024 ACC tournament. Washington was a member of the 2024 ACC All-Freshmen Team, the 2024 All-ACC Academic Team, and was named to TopDrawerSoccer’s postseason Top 100 Freshman list (at No. 42).

On the international stage, Washington has already represented Jamaica at the senior level on the biggest stage, making three appearances with the Reggae Girlz at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, debuting in a scoreless draw with France.

What It Means for Orlando

The Pride’s need for depth in the attacking positions is well documented, and Washington is a young player with a ton of upside in an area of need. From that perspective alone, this is a signing that makes sense. While it would be nice for the club to sign some proven NWSL-level scorers to provide depth for Barbra Banda, Marta, and Jacquie Ovalle, it’s always good to develop young talent. Since the abolition of the NWSL Draft, teams must work harder to secure the services of players like Washington.

It will require some time to know whether Orlando’s faith in Washington will be rewarded, and she wasn’t the most prolific scorer at FSU, but it says something about a player that they can get minutes at age 17 in a World Cup. It will be up to Hines and his staff to develop Washington, who will have no shortage of great mentors as teammates.

Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride Announce 2026 NWSL Schedule

We now know who, when, and where the Pride will play during the 2026 NWSL regular season.

Published

6 days ago

January 15, 2026

Sean Rollins

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

The National Women’s Soccer League schedule was announced this morning, telling us who, where, and when the Orlando Pride will play this year. The 2026 season will once again feature a balanced schedule with all teams playing the other 15 teams once at home and once on the road. The addition of Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC will see each team play 30 games, making it the longest regular season in league history.

The Pride will begin the season at home, facing the Seattle Reign on March 15. This season begins with a two-game homestand, ending with the club’s first-ever match against the Summit and the return of Ally Watt. The first road game will occur on March 25 when the Pride face Chicago Stars FC in Evanston, IL.

The Pride’s home schedule will end on Oct. 25 when they face NJ/NY Gotham FC. They’ll then travel west to face Seattle on Decision Day in the return game on Nov. 1, concluding the team’s 11th season in existence.

Orlando’s games this year are well distributed among the league’s various broadcast partners. The Pride will play nine times on Victory+ — the league’s new free streaming partner. Additionally, they’ll play six times on Prime Video, five times on Ion, twice on CBS Sports Network, once on ESPN, and once on ESPN2. The remaining games will be available on NWSL+.

Should the Pride qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive year, the quarterfinals will take play Nov. 6-8, followed by the semifinals on Nov. 14-15. The championship game will take place on Nov. 21 at a location yet to be determined.

The longest homestand this year is two games and will occur three times. As previously mentioned, the Pride begin with a pair of home games against Seattle and Denver on March 15 and March 20, respectively. They’ll host the Washington Spirit and North Carolina Courage on May 2 and May 8, respectively; the Kansas City Current and Boston on July 10 and July 15, respectively; and Utah Royals FC and the Houston Dash on Aug. 29 and Sept. 6, respectively.

The longest road trip this year is a three-game swing in May. Orlando will face Boston at Gillette Stadium on May 12, Denver on May 16, and San Diego Wave FC on May 24.

The league will take a month-long break during June as the country hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Pride’s final game before the break is on May 29 at home against Bay FC and they will return to action on July 3 against Angel City FC in Los Angeles.

The busiest months of the season will be May and July, when the Pride will play six times in each month. They’ll play four times in March, August, and September, three times in October, twice in April, and once in November.

Here’s a month-by-month breakdown of the regular season:

March — 4
April — 2
May — 6
June — 0
July — 6
August — 4
September — 4
October — 3
November — 1

The most common day the Pride will play this year will be Friday (11 times), the same as last year. They’ll play nine games on Sunday, seven on Saturday, two on Wednesday, and one rare Tuesday match.

Here’s the Pride’s breakdown by day for the regular season:

Monday — 0
Tuesday — 1
Wednesday — 2
Thursday — 0
Friday — 11
Saturday — 7
Sunday — 9

For fans that follow Orlando City and the Pride, the teams will play on the same day five times. However, two of the days won’t see the games overlap. On May 2, the Pride hosts the Spirit at 4 p.m. and the Lions face Inter Miami away at 7 p.m. On Sept. 19, the Pride host the Portland Thorns at 4 p.m while City plays at the New England Revolution at 7:30 p.m.

The teams’ games will overlap on three occasions, but they never start at the same time. On May 16, Orlando City hosts Atlanta United at 7:30 p.m. before the Pride play in Denver at 8:45 p.m. On Aug. 15, Orlando City hosts FC Cincinnati at 7:30 p.m. and the Pride play in Portland at 8:45 p.m. On Aug. 29, the Pride host the Royals at 7 p.m. and Orlando City faces Minnesota United FC away at 8:30 p.m.

2026 Orlando Pride Schedule (All Times Eastern)

Sunday, March 15 — vs. Seattle Reign FC, 4 p.m. (Victory+)
Friday, March 20 — vs. Denver Summit FC, 8 p.m. (Victory+)
Wednesday, March 25 — at Chicago Stars FC 8 p.m. (Victory+)
Sunday, March 29 — at NJ/NY Gotham FC, 7 p.m. (Victory+)
Friday, April 3 — vs. Angel City FC, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Friday, April 24 — at Racing Louisville FC, 5:30 p.m. (Victory+)
Saturday, May 2 — vs. Washington Spirit, 4 p.m. (ION)
Friday, May 8 — vs. North Carolina Courage, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Tuesday, May 12 — at Boston Legacy FC, 8 p.m. (Victory+)
Saturday, May 16 — at Denver Summit FC, 8:45 p.m. (ION)
Sunday, May 24 — at San Diego Wave FC, 7 p.m. (Victory+)
Friday, May 29 — vs. Bay FC, 7 p.m. (NWSL+)
Friday, July 3 — at Angel City FC, 10 p.m. (Prime Video)
Friday, July 10 — vs. Kansas City Current, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Wednesday, July 15 — vs. Boston Legacy FC, 7 p.m. (NWSL+)
Saturday, July 18 — at Utah Royals FC, 8:45 p.m. (ION)
Friday, July 24 — vs. Chicago Stars FC, 8 p.m. (Victory+)
Friday, July 31 — at North Carolina Courage, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Saturday, Aug. 8 — vs. Racing Louisville FC, 7 p.m. (NWSL+)
Saturday, Aug. 15 — at Portland Thorns, 8:45 p.m. (ION)
Sunday, Aug. 23 — at Washington Spirit, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday, Aug. 29 — vs. Utah Royals FC, 7 p.m. (NWSL+)
Sunday, Sept. 6 — vs. Houston Dash, 7 p.m. (Victory+)
Friday, Sept. 11 — at Kansas City Current, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Saturday, Sept. 19 — vs. Portland Thorns, 4 p.m. (ION)
Sunday, Sept. 27 — at Bay FC, 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Friday, Oct. 2 — vs. San Diego Wave FC, 8 p.m. (Prime Video)
Sunday, Oct. 18 — at Houston Dash, 1 p.m. (CBSSN)
Sunday, Oct. 25 — vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, 3 p.m. (CBSSN)
Sunday, Nov. 1 — at Seattle Reign FC, 5 p.m. (TBD)

Orlando Pride

How the Orlando Pride Can Return to the Mountaintop

What needs to happen for the Pride to win hardware in 2026?

Published

6 days ago

January 15, 2026

David Rohe

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

A fall-off after winning the double in 2024 was probably inevitable, yet the Orlando Pride still managed to come within minutes of playing in a second straight NWSL championship match. Many of the pieces are still there, and there are resources to get more. However, there have been some big changes in personnel on and off the pitch.

What needs to happen for the Pride to challenge for another double in 2026?

Reinvigorate the Attack

The return of Barbra Banda is the balm to soothe the worries of Orlando Pride fans. Even when the Pride struggled before she was injured, Banda scored plenty of goals. The biggest problem is she was left on an island as the team tried lobbing the ball up the field to her, hoping she’d do it all herself. Jacquie Ovalle didn’t take the NWSL by storm as we hoped, but it sometimes takes time for a player to adjust to a new league and club. If they had been able to work together, it’s likely the Orlando attack wouldn’t have faltered. Ovalle’s ability to deliver the ball into the box, combined with Banda’s ability to put the ball in the net, is a dangerous combo.

Of course, the Pride will need more than the two of them if the club is to win some trophies in 2026. I made this point several times last season, but Marta needs to find her form from 2024. With Banda and Ovalle in the attack, it should allow Marta the freedom she needs to be creative without having to carry the offense. Additionally, the Pride need other attackers to also find their 2024 form. I’m looking at Julie Doyle and Summer Yates in particular.

Fill the Roster

Haley Carter didn’t leave the cupboard bare when she departed for the wicked Washington Spirit. As such, Seb Hines and new Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Caitlin Carducci don’t have too much to do. But, the transfer of Emily Sams did create a need at center back. Fortunately, the Orlando Pride received $650,000 in intraleague transfer funds for Sams. That kind of cash can go a long way to filling the gaps in the roster.

With Kylie Nadaner on maternity leave and Rafaelle seemingly always on the verge of injury, finding a replacement for Sams is a priority. Some might point to Zara Chavoshi, but unless she levels up quickly, Carducci will need to look elsewhere. Offensively, as important as Banda is, adding another striker is necessary for quality depth. The departures of Ally Watt and Prisca Chilufya mean there’s a spot for an even better backup striker. I’m also not opposed to a quality left back.

Find the Grit

In 2024, the entire Pride team was personally offended if the opposition scored a goal. The level of defending up and down the pitch was a big factor in breaking records and winning hardware. The players need to pick up the chip and put it back on their metaphorical shoulders. I somewhat addressed this with the need to replace Sams, but there’s more to it than that. The Pride wore teams down over the course of a match, meaning it wasn’t necessary to score tons of goals. Of course, it’s not just the back line that needs to be better, but the entire team. Fortunately, Hines knows a thing or two about defenses. The Pride still have Marta to motivate them, and that — while not everything — is not a small advantage.

Those are the things I will be looking for in 2026. Let me know your thoughts or ideas in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!