Orlando Pride

2025 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Ally Lemos

The midfielder saw an expanded role in her second professional season.

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2 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

The Orlando Pride  selected midfielder Ally Lemos with the ninth overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft — the team’s first selection. The Pride wasted little time inking the UCLA standout to a two-year deal through the 2025 season just two weeks after the draft on Jan. 26, 2024. However, on June 30, the Pride made a long-term commitment to Lemos, signing her to a new contract through 2027 with a mutual option year for 2028.

Lemos saw her role grow in her second pro season, as the 21-year-old started the year as a depth player and became a regular starter in the second half of the season.

Let’s take a look back at the midfielder’s second season with the Orlando Pride.

Statistical Breakdown

The second-year pro played more and more minutes as the season wore on, becoming one of Seb Hines’ more automatic choices for the starting lineup. Whether this speaks ill of Orlando’s depth in the midfield in the second half of the season or Lemos was showing something in training that wasn’t translating onto the pitch during games is hard to say. She certainly seemed to have the tools to lock down a position in the midfield, but Hines curiously deployed her in the attack often, which is an area in which she has yet to impress as a professional player.

In the season-opening NWSL Challenge Cup match, Lemos substituted on for Morgan Gautrat in the 67th minute. She did not register a goal contribution, a shot, or a key pass, hitting on 67% of her nine passes without a long ball attempt. She took part in the postgame penalty shootout but saw her weak effort to the right easily stopped by Aubrey Kingsbury. Combined with Summer Yates’ miss wide on the previous penalty, it contributed to the visiting Spirit taking home the trophy.

Lemos appeared in all 26 of Orlando City’s NWSL regular-season games, starting 16 and logging 1,432 minutes without providing a goal contribution. She attempted 18 shots and put six on target and completed 76.6% of her passes on the year with 18 key passes and 11 successful crosses and connected on 45.9% of her long balls. Defensively, Lemos contributed 29 tackles, 15 interceptions, six blocks, and 14 clearances. The midfielder committed 16 fouls during the regular season, drew 27 on the opposition, and earned four yellow cards.

In the NWSL playoffs, Lemos appeared in both games, starting both, and played 158 minutes. She did not score a goal or assist on one, attempting just one shot, which she put on target from outside the box against Seattle. Lemos completed 36 of her 52 passes for just a 69.2% success rate. She did not deliver a key pass and did not connect on any of her six cross attempts, but she did complete four of her eight long balls (50%). Defensively, Lemos contributed one tackle, three interceptions, one block, and one clearance in the postseason. She committed two fouls, drew two on her opponents, and was not booked.

Lemos appeared in two of Orlando’s four Concacaf W Champions Cup matches, starting one and logging 115 minutes. She scored one goal — her first since joining the Pride — but did not record an assist. She put three of her five shot attempts on target in the competition. Lemos connected on 41 of her 61 passes (83.6%) but did not record a key pass. She recorded two tackles, committed one foul, drew two fouls on her opponents, and she picked up one yellow card.

Best Game

Because of the dominant nature of the game, the Pride’s 5-0 in over Chorrillo FC in Concacaf W Champions Cup play on Sept. 16 has been a best game selection for multiple players, and Lemos is no exception. Lemos came off the bench to start the second half and put in a solid 45-minute shift. She impacted the game from the time she stepped on the field, but her biggest impact came in the 84th minute, when a corner kick delivery was punched away by the goalkeeper, falling to Lemos at the top of the area. The midfielder had time to settle it before sending a well-placed shot over Chorrillo goalkeeper Sara Lozano and in for her first professional goal. Unfortunately, the ConcacafW account did not post a video of it, because it was a well-taken chance.

Lemos put both of her two shots on target that night and completed 24 of her 29 passes for an 83% success rate. She made two tackles on the defensive end, drew a foul on her opponents, and she committed two fouls, picking up a yellow card.

There were several games in which Lemos played well but had nothing to show for it or was wasteful with her chances, but against Chorrillo, she managed to hit the target twice and put one in the back of the net.

2025 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Lemos a composite rating of 5.5 out of 10 for her second pro season. This is the same score she received from us last year. The playoffs were a microcosm of why Lemos didn’t earn a higher score from us. For every good thing she did — such as anticipate a pass, stepping into the passing lane to pick it off and igniting a counter — she would follow it with something…less good. Often that meant a poor decision in the final third, a terrible pass with virtually no chance of completing it, or a shot from distance that either didn’t trouble the goalkeeper or missed the target entirely. In some games, her set piece delivery was threatening, while in others it was wasteful. Consistency is something she’ll need to improve.

There’s talent with Lemos, but she has yet to fully unlock it. As a young player, she will hopefully continue to develop it and make a leap forward in the wake of receiving so many minutes in 2025.

2026 Outlook

Lemos is under contract through at least the 2027 season, so she should be around next season barring an unexpected trade or transfer out. There is clearly plenty of potential, but it’s uncertain where she best fits in with the team. She doesn’t seem suited for the attack, so continuing to deploy her in the attacking midfield seems ill-advised. However, there are better options in the Pride’s double pivot, so she is unlikely to unseat Haley McCutcheon or Angelina. She seems adept at reading the opponents when the Pride don’t possess the ball and anticipates well enough. It’s what she does after taking the ball that is often frustrating to watch. Further, she poses almost no threat with her shot. Lemos had the ball on her foot in enough dangerous positions this season to score at least one goal in league play.

If the Pride front office has a good off-season, Lemos will return to the bench as a depth player. But Hines seems to trust her, so she’ll likely see the field quite a bit in 2026. Hopefully, that will be off the bench to see out games while she continues to develop. At age 21, she still has a lot of time to reach her potential.

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