Orlando Pride at Racing Louisville
When: Saturday, March 15, 4:00 p.m.
Where: Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, KY
TV: NWSL+
As the Pride play their first game of the 2024 regular season, here are five things to watch for on Saturday:
Season Opener
The Pride are set to begin 2024 National Women’s Soccer League regular season going on the road to take on Racing Louisville FC at Lynn Family Stadium. In the regular season, the Pride hold a 2-3-2 overall record against Louisville and are looking to earn the Club's first-ever point at Lynn Family Stadium. These two sides also met in the historic Daytona SoccerFest match which was played at DAYTONA International Speedway back in 2022.
Familiar Faces
The offseason saw the return of defender Kylie Strom who was a free agent and decided to re-sign with the Pride. Last season was one of Strom’s best in her career as she led the NWSL in total tackles (80), tackles in the defensive third (50) and tackles plus interceptions (114). Strom was also named to the May & August Best XI teams. The Pride also negotiated new contracts to keep defenders Haley McCutcheon and Emily Sams, formerly Madril, with the squad for the foreseeable future. Sams played the most minutes this season of all the rookies in the NWSL and led all rookies in total blocks (18) and clearances (73) while McCutcheon appeared in every regular season match and donned the captain’s armband on many occasions.
Fresh Faces
To go along with a strong core from last year, the Pride brought in some signings to help elevate the squad to the next level. They acquired two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion with the United States Women’s National Team Morgan Gautrat in a trade with the Kansas City Current. They also signed Evelina Duljan who previously was with Serie A side Juventus and helped her side win the Italian Cup in 2023. More recently, they also announced the blockbuster deal, acquiring forward Barbra Banda via transfer from Chinese Women’s Super League side Shanghai Shengli FC.
Orlando de Janeiro Grows
The busy offseason continued for the Pride as they welcomed numerous signings including two more Brazilian internationals in midfielders Angelina and Luana, both of which represented Brazil in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the former joining the Pride via Restricted Free Agency. The duo joins fellow Brazilian internationals Adriana, Marta and Rafaelle. Adriana and Rafaelle are both coming off representing Brazil in the 2024 Women’s Gold Cup doing their part to help Brazil make the Final of the tournament before being defeated by the USWNT for a second-place finish.
Another Strong Draft Class
After having success in the 2023 NWSL Draft, the Pride continued the trend by signing three of their four draft picks from the 2024 NWSL Draft. Selected at No. 9 overall, Ally Lemos signed with the Pride after a successful two years out of UCLA starting in every match and tallying 11 assists, nine of which came in her freshman season. The Pride also recently signed their second round, No. 22 overall, Cori Dyke after she was named the 2023 Big Ten Defender of the Year. Forward Alex Kerr was selected with the No. 50 overall pick and had a career-best season in 2023 with the Texas Tech Red Raiders scoring 11 goals and earning five assists while also playing in a career-best 1,631 minutes.
Milestone tracker
- Kerry Abello currently sits one appearance from 50 across all competitions, all of which have come with the Pride.
- Anna Moorhouse is two appearances away from 30 across all competitions with the Pride.
- With her next save, Anna Moorhouse will move into sole possession of second place Club history in total save, currently tied at 81 with former netminder Erin McLeod.
- Marta is two assists away from 20 in her NWSL career.
