ORLANDO, Fla. (Nov. 16, 2025) – No. 4 Orlando Pride fell to No. 8 Gotham FC, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon at Inter&Co Stadium, ending the Pride’s title defense in their second straight semifinal appearance after winning the NWSL Championship and Shield in 2024.
After 90 minutes of back-and-forth play with chances on both sides, stoppage time proved decisive.
In the seventh minute of added time, Gotham earned a free kick just outside the corner of the box. Forward Jaedyn Shaw curled her shot behind the Pride’s defensive line, where it bounced in the six-yard box before slipping past goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse into the bottom-right corner.
Less than three minutes later, the Pride had a chance to equalize with a free kick of their own. Marta sent the ball into the box, where defender Oihane flicked a header toward goal, but Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger made a last-second stretch save to preserve the win and end the Pride’s hopes of repeating as champions.
Scoring Summary:
90+7’ Jaedyn Shaw – GFC 1, ORL 0
Head Coach Seb Hines:
“The result was a tough one to take. I don’t think it’s a reflection of the performance; I thought we were brilliant tonight. I thought, even toward the end, that we were going to be the team that scored the first goal, but it wasn’t meant to be. This is a cruel game, and you don’t always get what you deserve, but it’s going to be a motivator for us now. We’ve had so many highs in the last couple of years. Obviously, this is a disappointing result, but this will motivate us to move forward, and we’ll reflect. It’s bittersweet because we’ve done so many great things this year and faced so much adversity. One thing that I’ll speak highly of about this team is that we’ve got some grit, and we have to continue that. That’s part of the culture, that’s part of the togetherness, and that will never end.”
Match Notes:
- The match marked the Pride’s second consecutive trip to the NWSL Semifinals and second consecutive at Inter&Co Stadium.
- The Pride finished the 2025 campaign with 12 wins, including playoffs, which is the second-most wins in Club history, following their historic season in 2024.
- Head Coach Seb Hines made no changes to the starting lineup from the Club’s 2-0 win against Seattle Reign FC in the 2025 NWSL Quarterfinals.
