Orlando Pride
2025 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Elyse Bennett
The forward signed a short-term contract to add attacking depth for the struggling Pride offense, but she ultimately played very little.
The Orlando Pride signed forward Elyse Bennett to a short-term contract through the rest of the 2025 season on Sept. 1. The Pride badly needed help in the attack for a struggling offense. Although Bennett was on a short-term deal and is out of contract now, she’s hardly the only Pride player out of contract. Not knowing whether she’s in the club’s future plans, it’s still worth including her in our 2025 Season in Review.
Let’s look back at Bennett’s first (and last?) season in Orlando.
Statistical Breakdown
Bennett did not appear in an NWSL regular-season match or a playoff game, making the bench for three matches. She made three appearances in the 2025 Concacaf W Champions Cup, making her debut against L.D. Alajuelense at home on Sept. 2 and starting one match at Chorrillo FC on Sept. 16. Bennett logged a total of 118 minutes on the pitch. She did not score a goal in the competition but did provide one assist. The 25-year-old attempted one shot but did not put it on target and completed 19 of her 26 passes (73.1%) with a key pass. Stats from the competition are spotty, so it’s difficult to get a complete picture of her defensive contributions, but she committed two fouls, drew one, and was not booked in the competition.
Best Game
Because two of her three outings were short stints off the bench late in games, it’s easy to say Bennett’s best game with the Pride in 2025 was her outing on Sept. 16 at Chorrillo FC in Orlando’s 5-0 road win. The Washington State product started and went the full 90 minutes for the Pride that night in Panama, helping her club reach the top of the table at that point in the competition with a dominant performance. She earned her first goal contribution with the Pride just past the 20-minute mark, taking a pass on the right from Luana and sending a good ball across the box to Summer Yates at the penalty spot. Yates converted to make it 3-0 and put the game out of reach early on the second of her three goals on the night. Bennett completed 12 of her 17 passes (71%) in the match, including that key pass for her assist. She committed a pair of fouls and drew one on Chorrillo as she stayed involved and played the entire match despite having only been with the team for a couple of weeks.
2025 Final Grade
Bennett fell well short of the required 400 minutes across all competitions to qualify for a season grade after her first season in Orlando. Therefore, The Mane Land staff has no choice but to give her an incomplete grade for her 2025 campaign.
2026 Outlook
Bennett is out of contract, and I don’t expect her to return in 2026, but if the coaching staff likes her, she could be brought back as a depth piece at a reasonable salary. She has scored goals in the NWSL before, which is something the Pride could use. However, she’s not been a highly productive player throughout her NWSL career, scoring three times in 21 games with Kansas City, two more times in 21 matches with OL Reign (now Seattle Reign FC), and no times in double-digit appearances with the San Diego Wave. Bennett will likely land somewhere other than Orlando next year.