Orlando Pride’s Depth for the NWSL Final Stretch

After nearly a month and half away, NWSL regular-season play resumes for the Orlando Pride on Friday night against the Houston Dash. During the break in league action, Orlando sent seven players to the Olympics who have returned with one gold and four silver medals.

Not all the news from the Olympics was good, however, and newly signed Zambian midfielder Grace Chanda sustained a season-ending injury (SEI) before making her first appearance for the Pride. This news was followed a couple days later by the announcement of a blockbuster trade, as Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Haley Carter acquired former Pride player Carson Pickett in a trade with Racing Louisville. Both of these stories will have ripple effects throughout the depth chart, and this piece will analyze just what it means for the remainder of the season.

Before looking at how Chanda’s injury affects Orlando’s attacking depth, it must be acknowledged how unfortunate the injury is for the player. Chanda had spent much of the previous year unavailable for her prior club, Madrid CFF, due to illness. In only her fifth game since returning, she sustained a torn quadriceps muscle while playing for Zambia in the Olympics before even making her debut for the Pride. Haley Carter has since gone public with complaints that Chanda was mismanaged by her national team, while the congested schedule of the Olympics did her no favors.

Regardless, Pride fans should remain excited to see Chanda play in purple; they will just have to wait a bit longer than hoped.

Chanda’s SEI leaves the Pride with similar attacking depth to where they were before the summer break in play. Despite heading into the Olympics top of the table, Carter identified the attack as the area of the pitch where depth was desired in order to maintain or improve upon a unit that scored 32 goals in 16 matches. This tally is eight fewer than the Kansas City Current, the league’s most potent offense. Carter and Head Coach Seb Hines may have seen an additional attacking option as the little something extra that could continue to keep the likes of Kansas City and the Washington Spirit at arm’s length and secure the NWSL shield. 

As an attacking midfielder, Chanda would have added creative spark behind the key frontline pieces, Barbra Banda and Adriana. Hines would have been able to field her alongside Marta or as additional depth behind Marta, Summer Yates, or Julie Doyle. Without Chanda in 2024, these players will be needed for more minutes, or the club may have to look further down the bench if there is an injury.

Looking beyond the current season, Chanda will still have the opportunity to perform in this role for the Pride after she recovers or potentially replace any player that departs in the off-season. Finally, if Carter feels that the attack could still use additional depth in the shield push, there are two weeks remaining in the NWSL trade window to work with before it closes.

On the defensive front, considering the league-leading performances of the Orlando Pride back line to date, the addition of Pickett is interesting. The defensive players on the roster had to this point been capable of going 19 matches unbeaten in all competitions. However, the opportunity for improvement should not be missed. With team cohesion and culture fit important to both Carter and Hines, this move could only have been made for someone like Pickett, whose prior stint in Orlando and relationship with the fans and the organization will help with a smooth transition. She will certainly be an asset both on and off the pitch.

As for what Pickett brings on the pitch, she is an experienced and talented defender. She plays primarily as a left back, a position that has been shared this season between Kylie Strom and Kerry Abello. In previous seasons, Strom has been the starter at left back, but this year, after an early-season injury to center back Rafaelle, she has filled in admirably at the heart of the defense. In that position, she has partnered Emily Sams — and Rafaelle a few times since her return from injury — to anchor the league’s best defense. With Strom out of position, Abello has also performed well at left back and was recently named to the NWSL Best XI for July as a reward for her performances. 

This leads to the question of why the club would add another good player at the left fullback position, and the answer is stability and versatility. Pickett has one of the best injury records in the league, and as a result, she has been one of the most consistently available players in the NWSL. Over her previous four NWSL seasons, she has featured in at least 20 matches each season, almost always as a starter. This year, she has already started 16 matches for Louisville. Should Pickett come in and nail down her position immediately, some of the musical chairs at the back may stop.

Both Strom and Sams have been consistently available throughout the season as well, which has enabled the Pride to weather the injuries to Rafaelle while also allowing Haley McCutcheon to line up in midfield to cover for missing players there. With Pickett, there is every chance that Hines will be able to field a more consistent lineup in defense.

The other big piece to the puzzle with this trade is what it allows Hines to do elsewhere on the pitch with his squad of highly versatile players. As mentioned above, McCutcheon is primarily a right back, but also a defensive midfielder, so additional depth in the back line inherently leads to more depth if Morgan Gautrat or Angelina are out.

In the case of Abello, having a dedicated left back will free her up to cover multiple other positions, including almost the whole left side of the pitch. Because she is the ultimate Swiss Army knife of a player, Hines can deploy her wherever the need is greater for a given match. In this way, the acquisition of Pickett indirectly adds depth throughout the pitch and can mute some of the effects of Chanda’s injury.

Friday night against the Dash, the Orlando Pride will not look drastically different than they did against the Kansas City Current in early July, before the start of the Olympic break and the trade window. Considering the Pride are undefeated in 2024, more of the same is just what fans will want to see.

With the signing of Chanda and the trade for Pickett, it is clear that Carter sees an opportunity to add just that little bit extra to the squad and push on for trophies. It is just unfortunate that Chanda’s impact will not be felt until the next season due to her injury. Orlando wasn’t the only team to strengthen in the break, but given everything we’ve seen from the team this season, there’s every reason to expect the Pride to pick up exactly where they left off.