The Orlando Pride announced this afternoon that defender Celia Delgado Jimenez, better known as Celia, announced her retirement following the 2024 NWSL season. The right back joined the club via a trade with the OL Reign following the 2021 season.

“Celia has contributed so much to our club and our city. She is an important leader in our locker room and has always challenged her teammates and everyone around her to be their best,” Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter said in a club press release. “We want to thank her for all the work she has put in for the Pride, both on and off the pitch, and the role she has played in making Orlando a place people want to play and work. Celia will always be a part of our Pride family, and we are certain she is going to be successful in this next chapter of her life. We are excited to support her in any way she needs in this transition and appreciate all she has done for us, the community, the NWSL, and the women’s game at large.” 

The 29-year-old defender joined the Pride on Dec. 18, 2021, in a draft-day trade with OL Reign. The deal also included the acquisition of Leah Pruitt and the pick used on center back Caitlin Cosme for Phoebe McClernon. She signed a new two-year contract on Jan. 16, 2023, which expires at the end of the 2024 season.

In three seasons with the Pride, Celia has made 37 appearances with 26 starts and recorded 2,137 minutes in all competitions. She’s scored three goals and provided one assist. The right back was a main feature in the 2022 squad, appearing 21 times with 19 starts. However, her time on the field has diminished the last two seasons, making 16 appearances with seven starts.

This year, the former Spanish international made three league appearances with one start for 74 minutes. She also started all three games in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, recording 270 minutes with a goal and an assist.

“I have given my all to soccer, and in return, soccer has given me everything. While I am courageously competitive, this sport has always meant more to me than just the results,” Celia said in the club’s press release. “Soccer has taught me that the journey — the actions and decisions taken to reach the finish line — truly defines us. This principle has been my guiding star throughout my career. After more than 15 years as a professional athlete, I have been fortunate to play internationally in the most competitive leagues and teams and to represent the Spanish National Team in World Cups and Euros. I couldn’t ask for a better gift than to conclude this chapter by winning the (NWSL) Shield and being surrounded by the most genuine and extraordinary group of people. To Orlando, my team, and the incredible community that embraced me, thank you for giving me a place to call home.”

The Spaniard came to the United States in 2013 to attend Iowa Western. She transferred to Alabama in 2015 and was selected with the 36th overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft by the Seattle Reign. While with the Reign, Celia spent time with Australian club Perth Glory and French club Lyon during the off-season.

Celia represented Spain 23 times and was on the country’s 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup rosters. She started all three games in the 2015 competition as the youngest player on the team. Additionally, she helped Spain to win the 2018 Cyprus Women’s Cup.

The veteran has also made an impact off the field while in Orlando. She was the Pride’s nominee for the 2024 Lauren Holiday Impact Award for her work with SpaceKids Global. She used her aerospace engineering degree to inspire young girls interested in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics (STEAM).

What It Means for Orlando

Celia joined the Pride at the beginning of the club’s rebuild. She was the primary starting right back until October 2022, when the club made a trade with the Houston Dash to acquire Haley McCutcheon. This year, she found herself behind Brianna Martinez, Emily Sams, and Cori Dyke.

Her position on the depth chart in 2024 means she was rarely involved in games, even though she was on the team sheet for 18 regular-season matches. As a result, her departure won’t impact the team very much on the field. However, it does provide more roster space. The Pride have now seen two veteran defenders announce their retirements after Megan Montefusco called it a career on Nov. 1.

The Orlando Pride start their quest for a second trophy this season against the Chicago Red Stars this Friday night at Inter&Co Stadium. The Pride got back on track with a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Reign in their last match to finish the regular season. Now, the stakes are higher in a win-or-you’re-done game against the eighth-place Red Stars.

What do the Pride need to do to defeat Chicago and move on to the next round of the NWSL playoffs?

Defend this House

The Orlando Pride defense was dealt a continuation of a blow when it was announced that Rafaelle has a season-ending injury. It’s not that she had been playing, but some of us were hoping she’d return to help bolster a back line that has given up more goals lately. That help is not coming, and the Pride will have to deal with one Mallory Swanson.

The USWNT and Chicago star has seven goals and four assists this season. She is a seasoned international player who is always dangerous in the attack. Emily Sams will once again anchor the Pride defense, but she can’t do it alone. In fact, one of the reasons the Pride defense was so stingy was that every player on the pitch took offense if the opponents were able to score a goal. As such, they put their bodies on the line over and over to make sure it didn’t happen.

My hope is that the last three matches that saw the Pride give up seven goals was a result of those matches not mattering since the Pride had already won the NWSL Shield and secured the first seed in the playoffs. Now, the stakes matter again. It is a must-win match, so it’s time to get back to the sacrifice-for-the-defense mentality this team had most of the year.

Perhaps a Banda Goal…or Two?

I mentioned in the Three Keys article last week that it was time for Barbra Banda to start scoring goals again. That didn’t happen. She found herself in some dangerous positions, however, and on our latest episode of SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast, Michael Citro said he feels like she’s about to break back out.

I certainly hope that’s the case, since the Pride need a victory or Banda will have to wait until next season to start scoring again. I agree with Michael about Banda. She is long overdue to score a goal with her foot, and once she does, I think the floodgates will open.

Precision Scoring

Regardless of whether it is Banda, Marta, Adriana, Ally Watt, or any other Pride player, they will need to be precise when taking their scoring chances. The Red Stars have Swanson on one end of the pitch, and on the other they have Alyssa Naeher in goal. The USWNT’s number one keeper is one of the better keepers in the world, and scoring on her won’t be easy.

The Pride scored just one goal in each of the two regular-season matches against the Red Stars, winning 1-0 on the road and drawing 1-1 at home. Just to be safe, I think multiple goals will be better. It is something we know the Pride can do, since in their last three wins, the Pride have scored eight goals. Continuing that type of attack will go a long way to seeing the Pride advance to the next match.

That is what I will be looking for Friday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

Saturday at Inter&Co Stadium, the Orlando Pride finished their NWSL Shield-winning regular season with a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Reign. Orlando showed some of the same warning signs in this match that plagued the club in its previous two losses at the Portland Thorns and Gotham FC, including poor defending, especially from set pieces. This dip in form came in matches that didn’t carry the same weight for Orlando after the Pride clinched the top spot in the league, but they will have to get back on track in a hurry for the playoffs.

Orlando was the best team in the NWSL during the regular season, but to evaluate how form can be a factor in crowning a champion, this piece will open the history books to compare Orlando’s performances in the final matches to prior NWSL Shield and championship-winning clubs.

Before looking at recent NWSL trophy winners’ end-of-season performances, it is important to contextualize Orlando’s end to the season. Over the final five matches, the Pride racked up three wins and their only two losses of the season. The Pride won the shield with three games remaining on the calendar, which created a strange situation for the club. These remaining matches mattered less in context, and due in part to tough matchups, heavy lineup rotation, and maybe some drop in concentration, the Pride had just one win and two losses to close the campaign.

In the 11 matches leading up to winning the Shield, the Pride only conceded two goals, but in the three matches since, they have conceded seven times. Returning to their defensive roots, quickly and without Rafaelle, who is now out for the year, will be critical for Orlando’s chances in the playoffs.

After looking at the Pride’s form, it can be compared to prior NWSL Shield and championship winners from each of the previous five seasons:

The good news for Orlando is there is some precedence for the Pride’s situation. In both 2018 and 2019, the shield-winning North Carolina Courage went on to win the NWSL championship as well. Each season, the Courage dropped a result or two in the final games, before getting a final-day win to propel them into the playoffs. These teams were two of the best ever in the NWSL, winning the shield with four games and two games left to be played, respectively. With the Pride’s win against Seattle on Saturday, they surpassed the 2018 Courage team to break the record for the most points and the most wins in a single regular season, showing just how special this season has been so far.

Since the North Carolina Courage completed back-to-back domestic doubles, the NWSL Shield winners have not won a playoff game, let alone the NWSL championship. In each season from 2018 to 2023, the shield winner had fewer points than the year before, showcasing the league’s parity. In 2021, the Portland Thorns struggled mightily down the stretch, winning only one of their final five games. That year it was the Washington Spirit, undefeated in their final seven regular-season matches, that took home the trophy. The following year, the shield-winning Reign lost in the first round despite coming into the playoffs on a seven-match unbeaten streak. That season, the Thorns won the NWSL championship after a five-match unbeaten run to close the regular season. Both of these years, hot teams kept their streaks going into the playoffs to win it all, regardless of who won the shield.

The 2023 NWSL campaign stands out as one of the more unique seasons. The San Diego Wave won a tight shield race on the final day despite accumulating only 37 points. Then, Gotham, which just barely beat out the Orlando Pride for the final playoff spot on goal differential, won the NWSL championship despite poor form to close the season. San Diego’s early exit from the playoffs continued a trend of tight shield races followed by first-round losses. This pattern, shown below, highlights how Orlando’s early shield win has more in common with the 2018 and 2019 Courage teams than recent shield winners.

The table above shows some correlation between how tight a shield race is to the playoff result of the winner. This pattern could be explained by how hard a team is working in the final weeks of the season to win a trophy before running out of steam for the playoffs. On the other hand, it may show that tight races mean there are multiple good teams capable of winning the NWSL championship, unlike the 2018 and 2019 seasons, in which the Courage were a step above the opposition.

The Pride will hope that winning the shield early means they are fresh and well rested for the playoffs. If not, the other top teams in the league have been in great form at the end of the year, as Washington, Gotham, and Kansas City have each only dropped points in one of their final five matches heading into the playoffs.

At the end of the regular season, it was clear that the Orlando Pride’s form had dipped after winning the NWSL shield. The win against Seattle on the final day of the regular season was a step in the right direction, but unconvincing. A look at the history books shows that the best teams in NWSL history have been able to win both the NWSL Shield and championship. For Orlando to stake its claim as having had the best season in league history, the Pride will need to reverse their form and defeat some of the hottest teams in the league.