Orlando Pride Struggling with Set Piece Defending Heading into Postseason

The Orlando Pride began the 2024 NWSL season on a 23-game unbeaten run. They were three results away from being the first team in league history to complete a full season without a loss. However, they lost a pair of away games before returning home and defeating Seattle Reign FC 3-2 in the regular-season finale.

While the Pride have big names in their attack, it’s their defense that lifted them to unprecedented heights. The team conceded just 13 goals in their first 23 games and had13 clean sheets. But those stellar performances have stopped over the last three games.

One of the reasons why the Pride were so successful defensively for most of the season was their ability to avoid conceding on set pieces. A primary way many teams score is through free kicks, corner kicks, and throw-ins. Through the first 23 games, the Pride didn’t give up a single goal from a set piece.

That changed when they traveled west to face the Portland Thorns. A corner kick in the 12th minute found the head of Reyna Reyes, who headed the ball towards goal from near the penalty spot. Morgan Weaver slipped behind Carrie Lawrence and Cori Dyke to touch it in and give the Thorns an early lead.

In the 55th minute, the Thorns earned a throw-in. Quick passing off the set piece saw the Thorns play through the midfield line, setting up Christine Sinclair for the second goal.

“I think it came down to, you know, a defensive set piece and a throw-in,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said after the game. “And so it’s a good opportunity for us to reflect, review the game, and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Unfortunately, they were unable to fix the problem. The following game against NJ/NY Gotham FC, the Pride conceded their third goal from a set piece in two games. This one came off an early corner kick when Sam Hiatt got a foot to the ball, albeit with a weak touch, and the Pride were unable to clear. It’s questionable whether there was another touch in front of goal, but it doesn’t matter as none of the defenders were able to get a piece of it.

Saturday night was the third consecutive game that the Pride conceded a set -piece goal. This one was off a throw-in in the 84th minute when nobody closed down the players on the outside, enabling Veronica Latsko to find the head of Maddie Mercado to cut the Pride’s lead to 3-2.

After conceding only 13 goals in the first 23 games, the Pride have conceded seven in the last three. Of those, four have come from set pieces when they hadn’t given up a single set-piece goal all season prior.

According to Hines, these defensive lapses come down to concentration. Against Portland, Weaver snuck behind two defenders to get on the end of a header towards goal. The Pride let the ball travel through multiple defenders before reaching the goal against Gotham and left Mercado wide open in the box Saturday night.

“The second goal comes from a defensive throw-in that, similar (to the first goal), we allow a ball to get into the box. She’s open again, free header, and it goes into the back of the net,” Hines said about Seattle’s second goal. “So these are things that we can control. It’s concentration.”

Despite Hines’ claim that the team focuses on each game individually, part of the problem might be the achievement prior to the game in Portland. The Pride clinched the NWSL Shield against the Washington Spirit on Oct. 6, securing the team’s first trophy and the top seed in the playoffs. There wasn’t much to play for other than setting more league records.

The next game is Friday night against the Chicago Red Stars with a lot more on the line. The NWSL’s playoff structure is single-game rounds, so a lapse in concentration can end your season. Additionally, the team’s primary goal this year was winning the NWSL Championship, something that’s still very much achievable.

The Pride have a big advantage in that the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be at home. They’ve yet to lose this year at Inter&Co Stadium and Saturday night was the first time they’ve conceded multiple goals in their home stadium. The team will have to keep their concentration and return to their defensive efforts on set pieces to achieve their ultimate goal.