Can the Orlando Pride turn the Page?
By Mike Gambill
Unlucky. Overdue. Snakebitten. Any of these adjectives can be used to describe the Orlando Pride’s early season debacle. Any team that starts out 0-4-0 and looks to be the unluckiest team in professional soccer (men’s or women’s) is bound to have a really long season. The big question of the day is can the Orlando Pride turn the page?
The Orlando Pride has broken the wrong records in the 2023 season.
Normally, when a soccer team breaks a league record it’s a cause for celebration. Not so with the 2023 Orlando Pride. Not only has this squad dropped their first four matches, they did so in the most dubious manner possible for a soccer team.
The Orlando Pride has given up four goals in the late, ninth minute of later of stoppage time this season which on the surface just seems to be that soccer phrase we love to throw around – unlucky. However, truth be told, the Orlando Pride were beyond unlucky in giving up those last-moment goals this season since there have only been three goals given up in the ninth minute or later of stoppage time in the entire history of the NWSL and that goes back to 2013.
Two probable draws for the Orlando Pride became absolute last-minute losses including a 100th-minute goal given up to Gotham FC. To make matters worse, Orlando lost their Challenge Cup match to the North Carolina Courage on the very last kick of the entire match. You can’t chalk that up to being simply unlucky; soccer teams who lose based on goals conceded in the waning seconds of a match in stoppage time simply have relegated themselves to a special kind of soccer hell to dwell in week by week.
A funny thing happened on the way to San Diego.
This past weekend, the Orlando Pride no doubt found themselves staring into the void and hoping to avoid yet another stoppage-time loss on their west coast trip to San Diego. Facing the heavily favored San Diego Wave FC, Orlando gave up an early goal to Jaedyn Shaw but the entire squad showed a new level of focus and intensity, items that have been sorely missing since the beginning of this season. Along with a heavy dose of patience, the Orlando Pride pulled off an impractical and unlikely 3-1 win over San Diego and with that win seemed to break the “unlucky” curse that hung around this squad for the past five weeks.
Can Orlando actually turn the page?
The fact of the matter is that the Orlando Pride found a new level of patience and discipline to win this match and other teams in the NWSL need to watch out for this sleeper team. More than likely, the Orlando Pride won’t be in the NWSL cellar for much longer if they can translate this win into turning around their season. It’s simple: one win, change your season trajectory and turn the page. It’s time for Orlando to step out of the unlucky moniker and move on with a new watchword: focused.